Fiamma cycle racks (1 Viewer)

injebreck99

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Following our trip to the Mosel area in September we decided to buy 2 electric bikes to use when away in the M/H, we already had a Fiamma rack fitted to the Bolero, given the weight of leccy bikes, has anybody had any issues carrying them on the bike rack, fitted to the rear panel, not the towbar incidentally, the rack is showing max weight at 60KG, bikes are approx 22KG each,without the batteries fitted.?
 
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i have electric bike but a folder as i did not want to put on a bike rack because of the weight.

i know the rack says 60kgs but what di Swift say about the back wall loading? i would enquire before any issues arise. dont want any cracke in the rear wall due to leverage on the back wall on uneven roads.
 

Jaws

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We always remove the batteries from the bikes, and I also replaced the top fitting bolts on the rack with longer ones, which I passed through a nice bit of baton that is 5ft long, thereby spreading the load right across the rear wall

I appreciate not everyone can do this, but no matter what, I would suggest doing something similar ( even if it is just large squares of plywood on the inside of each mount ) as they bikes ARE heavy and do put a lot of load on the small area even the internal spacer plate covers

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injebreck99

injebreck99

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We always remove the batteries from the bikes, and I also replaced the top fitting bolts on the rack with longer ones, which I passed through a nice bit of baton that is 5ft long, thereby spreading the load right across the rear wall

I appreciate not everyone can do this, but no matter what, I would suggest doing something similar ( even if it is just large squares of plywood on the inside of each mount ) as they bikes ARE heavy and do put a lot of load on the small area even the internal spacer plate covers

I don't think I can reinforce the mountings on my M/H, it is a rear kitchen type, can't see how to remove cooker and sink/fridge, otherwise I would think about it.
 

SandJ

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Too long lol
We carried electric bikes for years no problem, we had the Bolero 680fb though and now the Bessie e450.

I would join Link Removed and ask on there.

:thumb:
 

Jaws

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I don't think I can reinforce the mountings on my M/H, it is a rear kitchen type, can't see how to remove cooker and sink/fridge, otherwise I would think about it.

Son-in-law has a Ci with rear kitchen
You do not have to worry too much about the lower mount points, just the top ones ..
I suppose it does make a difference what type of Fiamma rack you have .. both his and mine have the top mounts going through above a window, his being the kitchen window, mine going in to the garage area ( for some weird reason !!! )

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peter marshall

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Hi
We had two full size leci,s on a rear rack, we went over a rail crossing in Devon (slowed down) but the off side of the crossing must have been to steep, the back of the van dropped down with a jolt, when we got to the camp about an hour later the bikes were hanging off and the rack bent, I sold them and got 2 folders for under the bed, solved the storage prob now we have changed the van to one with a large garage, we was lucky the other van wasn't damaged only the rack. Pete
 

themogs

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:Angry:Whatever you do , don't buy the Fiamma Cycle covers !!!!!
An absolute nightmare to fit.:cry-smile:
 

Jaws

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Yes, forgot to mention....
I was concerned about the actual arm strength of the rack ( and judging by Peters experience I was about right )..
When I load up I always put a tie down strap from the top cross rail down to the rear rail of the fold down part, thereby spreading the down across the whole rack rather than relying on just a couple of quite thin walled tubes !

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Chockswahay

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Hi
We had two full size leci,s on a rear rack, we went over a rail crossing in Devon (slowed down) but the off side of the crossing must have been to steep, the back of the van dropped down with a jolt, when we got to the camp about an hour later the bikes were hanging off and the rack bent, I sold them and got 2 folders for under the bed, solved the storage prob now we have changed the van to one with a large garage, we was lucky the other van wasn't damaged only the rack. Pete

When we were at the NEC last month I asked similar questions when speaking to the 'main man' at Thule. He said the real issue is not the measured weight but the (hugely) increased G force shock loading if you hit a bump (speed ramp etc) at any speed.

His advice was to consider the fitting very carefully and have the inside mounts reinforced. My questions were relating to a panel van but similar problems I think.

This all suited me coz we also have two Brompton folders from our boaty days which will simply fit under the rear bed (and no one can nick em off the back!)

I agree with Pete on this one :thumb:
 

peter marshall

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Just an other point I have remembered friends have the bike rack, and had a Fiamma back box mounted to give storage, they were traveling with friends behind who fortunately saw what was happening, the rear panel was flexing has they were going along, luckily no damage, box now gone, it wasn't,t even fully packed. Pete :Sad: :Sad:
 

Peter JohnsCross MH

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Glen's comments (My service Manager)

[FONT=&quot]Hi Peter[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We have fitted dozens of racks for customers to carry electric bikes, however even though the rack is designed to carry 60k we would not want the rear panel of the bolero (nor would Swift) to carry such a weight.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When we fit racks we would always try and fit the largest rack possible i.e “carry rack Pro” as it offers less leveridge to the rear panel also we insert 10mm copper pipe through the wall so not to damage the thickness of the wall when tightening the brackets.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To be honest I think looking at this he would be fine as he has only 44k max anyway.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Regards[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Glenn[/FONT]

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injebreck99

injebreck99

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Son-in-law has a Ci with rear kitchen
You do not have to worry too much about the lower mount points, just the top ones ..
I suppose it does make a difference what type of Fiamma rack you have .. both his and mine have the top mounts going through above a window, his being the kitchen window, mine going in to the garage area ( for some weird reason !!! )

My window is to the left hand side of the rear panel,, the rack is to the left as well with all the mounting points below the window itself.
I was thinking of bracing the rack with a towball mounting, but as the rack is offset to the left, even that would be arkward, oh well.
 
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injebreck99

injebreck99

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[FONT=&quot]Hi Peter[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We have fitted dozens of racks for customers to carry electric bikes, however even though the rack is designed to carry 60k we would not want the rear panel of the bolero (nor would Swift) to carry such a weight.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When we fit racks we would always try and fit the largest rack possible i.e “carry rack Pro” as it offers less leveridge to the rear panel also we insert 10mm copper pipe through the wall so not to damage the thickness of the wall when tightening the brackets.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To be honest I think looking at this he would be fine as he has only 44k max anyway.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Regards[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Glenn[/FONT]
My rack is a Fiamma carry bike Pro C, if that means anything, 60kg capacity, it was already fitted to my Bolero when we bought it, I don't know whether to risk carrying the bikes now, I don't want to damage the rear panel, and can't get to the upper mountings to strenghen then.:Doh:
 

Peter JohnsCross MH

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Without being able to check how it has been installed, difficult to say but as Glenn says you have the better rack.

You can always give him a ring or if your down our way we could check it for you

Peter

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Jaws

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My window is to the left hand side of the rear panel,, the rack is to the left as well with all the mounting points below the window itself.
I was thinking of bracing the rack with a towball mounting, but as the rack is offset to the left, even that would be arkward, oh well.

Ahhh.. perhaps it would be well worth selling that one on ( nice line in rubber grommets at Halfrauds to fill the old holes ::bigsmile: ) and do as Peter suggests.. use the same rack as all my family use, the Pro. It mounts above and below windows thereby maximising available load spreading :thumb:
 
D

DM14742

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Hi
We had two full size leci,s on a rear rack, we went over a rail crossing in Devon (slowed down) but the off side of the crossing must have been to steep, the back of the van dropped down with a jolt, when we got to the camp about an hour later the bikes were hanging off and the rack bent, I sold them and got 2 folders for under the bed, solved the storage prob now we have changed the van to one with a large garage, we was lucky the other van wasn't damaged only the rack. Pete

I think that raises a good point, 60Kgs weight limit is all well & good as a static load but as soon as an additional downward force is added such as the Rail crossing, potholes, or road humps for example then there is every chance of well overloading the rack at that point and causing damage to the securing fixings. I for one only put one bike on mine to minimise the chance of damage.
 

peter marshall

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[FONT=&quot]Hi Peter[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We have fitted dozens of racks for customers to carry electric bikes, however even though the rack is designed to carry 60k we would not want the rear panel of the bolero (nor would Swift) to carry such a weight.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When we fit racks we would always try and fit the largest rack possible i.e “carry rack Pro” as it offers less leveridge to the rear panel also we insert 10mm copper pipe through the wall so not to damage the thickness of the wall when tightening the brackets.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To be honest I think looking at this he would be fine as he has only 44k max anyway.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Regards[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Glenn[/FONT]
Hi Glenn
The prob I had was on my last MH, a Chausson 76, when I bought the van it had pre fitted fittings on already so I bought the rack to fit, the damage caused to the rack was the right hand side u shaped bar joining the two fitting point top and bottom was bent out of shape, like I said Isold them big bikes after that to be on the safe side. Pete :thumb:

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