Cycle carrier replacement

[Rapidorob]

On my Rapido 924F I have a two bike Fiamma rack rated to 35 kgs. I have been carrying our two folding electric bikes weighing 18 kgs each so exceeding the rack weight by 1 kg. I have recently noticed a bulge in the paneling below the bottom rack fixings. I am planning to remove the existing rack and fit a towbar mounted Thule bike rack. Before we purchased the van we had a weigh bridge measurement which registered 2960 kgs and the van is plated at 3500 kgs. Front axle 1850 kgs and rear 2120 kgs. Is it reasonable to assume that a towbar, with towbar mounted bike rack (replacing the fiamma rack) and bikes will not breach the axle and total weight limitations?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

 

[Two on Tour]

We have a bathroom across the back of our van, and I noticed that with our E-bikes on our bike rack the back wall of our van move away from the washbasin by a couple of mm, and of course this gap would be greater as we hit bumps and potholes in the road.
I fitted Fiamma mounting bars which spread the weight over a bigger area across the back of our van rather than just the original 4 small points, and now we have no deflection in our back wall at all.
I also swapped over to the E-bike version of the Fiamma Carry-Bike Lift 77 which saves my lifting our bikes on at height.

 

[Phill D]

the current bike rack weighs very little on its own whereas a tow bar will be probably in the region of 30 / 40 kg plus the weight of the new bike rack.

the total weight of the towbar, new bike rack and bike will have a much greater loading on your rear axle that is for sure.

Will it tip the balance on your rear axle loading would be a complete guess, as it will depend on many factors not least the new bar and bikes but also how you load the van over the rear axle.
you may be able to calculate the additional loading but it will not be accurate.

i would load the van in travel mode including current rack and bikes and weigh the rear end, then i would find out the weight of the proposed towbar and rack, the weight of the bikes you know.
that may give you an idea of some of the weight increase but that is without calculating its true weight because of the distance of the new rack from the rear axle.

hope that reasonably clear.

 

[Rapidorob]

Thanks for your replies, Two on Tour, as the existing rack is causing a bulge in the panel which doesn't disappear when the weight is off, I would be reluctant to make new fixings on the rear.
Phill D, I am afraid that you are right, the only way to resolve this is to use a weighbridge to confirm the existing loadings to determine whether the towbar mounted solution is practical.

Rob

 

[davidathomas42]

Can I hijack this thread. Anyone got this one on my soon to be new van. Do you know the weight carry limit? Ive got an eBike which I suspect will probably be the limit by itself. Want to get one from my current future ex girlfriend too so we can zip between villages when out touring.

Thanks in advance

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[Two on Tour]

Can I hijack this thread. Anyone got this one on my soon to be new van. Do you know the weight carry limit? Ive got an eBike which I suspect will probably be the limit by itself. Want to get one from my current future ex girlfriend too so we can zip between villages when out touring.

Thanks in advance

View attachment 543274

 

[davidathomas42]

View attachment 543285

Thanks for that. Off to the bike stores site I go to check weights. I think my removable battery is 5kg so with 2 thats 10kg not on the rack.

 

[Two on Tour]

Thanks for that. Off to the bike stores site I go to check weights. I think my removable battery is 5kg so with 2 thats 10kg not on the rack.

We never travel with the batteries on the bikes.

 

[Wingman123]

We have a bathroom across the back of our van, and I noticed that with our E-bikes on our bike rack the back wall of our van move away from the washbasin by a couple of mm, and of course this gap would be greater as we hit bumps and potholes in the road.
I fitted Fiamma mounting bars which spread the weight over a bigger area across the back of our van rather than just the original 4 small points, and now we have no deflection in our back wall at all.
I also swapped over to the E-bike version of the Fiamma Carry-Bike Lift 77 which saves my lifting our bikes on at height.




View attachment 543009

View attachment 543010

Hi Two on Tour,
very interesting to read your article on the Fiamma bike rack.
I would like to change my Fiamma Pro 60 kg for the cantilevered lift version you fitted but my fixing bars are only 60 cm apart and I note that these need to be 68 cm so replacement horizontal mounting bars are required.
How did you mask the holes from the previous bars when you fitted the larger full width bars?
Also access to the upper bar fixing bolts on the inside of the van is difficult due to bed headlining and cupboards in our fitted bed wardrobe layout so I may be considering lowering the lowest bar by 8 cm. Do you also know if the original bars for my rack are the same as the lift version?

Appreciate any tips advice on this please.

Colin

 

[Two on Tour]

Hi Wingman123 sorry I have just by chance seen your post, if you put a @ directly (no gap) in front of a Funsters forum name then they get an email linking them to the thread they were mentioned in, anyway, back to your question.

When I fitted the new bike rack and horizontal mounting bars, I used the original top mounting holes through the back wall for the top bar, and I also fixed into the corners of the back wall where the back wall joins the side walls as there is a lot of strength at that point.
I mounted the new lower horizontal mounting bar as low as I could so I could still get access to the mounting bolts inside the van.
The original lower bar mounting holes inside the van were filled with a magnolia coloured decorators caulk which was a good match for our interior wall colour, and the external holes were filled with Sikaflex sealant but the four filled holes stuck out like a sore thumb, so I covered them with the stick on chequered strip across the back of the van you see in the photo.

You ask " Do you also know if the original bars for my rack are the same as the lift version? "

Here is a link to the fitting instructions for the Fiamma Carry Bike Lift 77E that I fitted, but I have found with the various Fiamma bike racks that I have fitted, that the mountings are interchangeable between the different models.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1723088/Fiamma-Carry-Bike-Lift-77-E-Bike.html#manual

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[Wingman123]

On my Rapido 924F I have a two bike Fiamma rack rated to 35 kgs. I have been carrying our two folding electric bikes weighing 18 kgs each so exceeding the rack weight by 1 kg. I have recently noticed a bulge in the paneling below the bottom rack fixings. I am planning to remove the existing rack and fit a towbar mounted Thule bike rack. Before we purchased the van we had a weigh bridge measurement which registered 2960 kgs and the van is plated at 3500 kgs. Front axle 1850 kgs and rear 2120 kgs. Is it reasonable to assume that a towbar, with towbar mounted bike rack (replacing the fiamma rack) and bikes will not breach the axle and total weight limitations?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Hi Wingman123 sorry I have just by chance seen your post, if you put a @ directly (no gap) in front of a Funsters forum name then they get an email linking them to the thread they were mentioned in, anyway, back to your question.

When I fitted the new bike rack and horizontal mounting bars, I used the original top mounting holes through the back wall for the top bar, and I also fixed into the corners of the back wall where the back wall joins the side walls as there is a lot of strength at that point.
I mounted the new lower horizontal mounting bar as low as I could so I could still get access to the mounting bolts inside the van.
The original lower bar mounting holes inside the van were filled with a magnolia coloured decorators caulk which was a good match for our interior wall colour, and the external holes were filled with Sikaflex sealant but the four filled holes stuck out like a sore thumb, so I covered them with the stick on chequered strip across the back of the van you see in the photo.

You ask " Do you also know if the original bars for my rack are the same as the lift version? "

Here is a link to the fitting instructions for the Fiamma Carry Bike Lift 77E that I fitted, but I have found with the various Fiamma bike racks that I have fitted, that the mountings are interchangeable between the different models.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1723088/Fiamma-Carry-Bike-Lift-77-E-Bike.html#manual

View attachment 557897

Hi Wingman123 sorry I have just by chance seen your post, if you put a @ directly (no gap) in front of a Funsters forum name then they get an email linking them to the thread they were mentioned in, anyway, back to your question.

When I fitted the new bike rack and horizontal mounting bars, I used the original top mounting holes through the back wall for the top bar, and I also fixed into the corners of the back wall where the back wall joins the side walls as there is a lot of strength at that point.
I mounted the new lower horizontal mounting bar as low as I could so I could still get access to the mounting bolts inside the van.
The original lower bar mounting holes inside the van were filled with a magnolia coloured decorators caulk which was a good match for our interior wall colour, and the external holes were filled with Sikaflex sealant but the four filled holes stuck out like a sore thumb, so I covered them with the stick on chequered strip across the back of the van you see in the photo.

You ask " Do you also know if the original bars for my rack are the same as the lift version? "

Here is a link to the fitting instructions for the Fiamma Carry Bike Lift 77E that I fitted, but I have found with the various Fiamma bike racks that I have fitted, that the mountings are interchangeable between the different models.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1723088/Fiamma-Carry-Bike-Lift-77-E-Bike.html#manual

View attachment 557897

Hi Wingman123 sorry I have just by chance seen your post, if you put a @ directly (no gap) in front of a Funsters forum name then they get an email linking them to the thread they were mentioned in, anyway, back to your question.

When I fitted the new bike rack and horizontal mounting bars, I used the original top mounting holes through the back wall for the top bar, and I also fixed into the corners of the back wall where the back wall joins the side walls as there is a lot of strength at that point.
I mounted the new lower horizontal mounting bar as low as I could so I could still get access to the mounting bolts inside the van.
The original lower bar mounting holes inside the van were filled with a magnolia coloured decorators caulk which was a good match for our interior wall colour, and the external holes were filled with Sikaflex sealant but the four filled holes stuck out like a sore thumb, so I covered them with the stick on chequered strip across the back of the van you see in the photo.

You ask " Do you also know if the original bars for my rack are the same as the lift version? "

Here is a link to the fitting instructions for the Fiamma Carry Bike Lift 77E that I fitted, but I have found with the various Fiamma bike racks that I have fitted, that the mountings are interchangeable between the different models.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1723088/Fiamma-Carry-Bike-Lift-77-E-Bike.html#manual

View attachment 557897

Thanks for getting back to me Two on tour; must sort the Gremlins out on my computer!
So recapping, it looks like you bought two extra reinforcement bars of unequal lengths to replace the existing bars but using the original top holes. Wasn't this difficult to remove the top bar which is sealed with sikaflex without damaging the bodywork?
I have the same rear bathroom layout and the top bar bracket bolts are covered by the headboard lining of the bedroom and I'm not sure this is easy to remove without damage. Did you have problems or is it fitted with Velcro?
Really would appreciate any advice here.
Thanks in advance.
Colin

 

[Two on Tour]

Wingman123 , the Fiamma mounting bars are normally sold in pairs at 2.4m long, and you just cut to suit the length you require.

https://www.leisureoutlet.com/cycle...m21Cuk4neV-qa-zzoD34tPuFMjd0apSRoC5DAQAvD_BwE

The original Fiamma bike rack that was on our van when we bought it had the single type mounting at the top which have a rubber gasket, so no silicone, and the bottom standard bar type mounting only had a bead of silicone along the top and bottom edges, which carefully running a blade run along them released the mounting bar.

Our bathroom runs full width across the back of our van, so no obstacles in the way.

If your original mounting bars have been fully silicone on, then carefully removing them with a paint scraper or a cheese wire is your best bet, and then remove any silicone left with Screwfix silicone remove which I have found to be the best on the market. The new mounting bars are wider than the standard mounting bars. so are likely to cover any minor misdemeanors.