Bike rack/road grime

Mildly Wild

Mildly Wild

Active Member
During or after a snow, whether I use our 1 Up tray style rack or our Kuat mast style carrier on either of our 2 cars, I get either slush or road grime (salt) kicked up onto the lower portion of the bikes. Lots of it. That is on the bottom bracket, the wheels, the rotors, cassette etc. Even after the roads are cleared several days later, I'll get grayish powder all over the same areas. I assume there's salt in that powder so it necessitates a quick bike wash down. Not a task I look forward to in this weather.

Anyone experience this and is there a solution?
 
At the risk of stating the obvious, can you keep the bike(s) in the car? If not you could try something like this:
IMG_4067.png
 
Edit to my first post…which for some reason didn’t take: the pic above is of a cheap product. You’ll want something made of material similar to a BbQ grill. I’ve seen them on the back racks of RV’s so maybe try an RV supply store?
 
iirc @UtahJoe has wrapped his bikes in a tarp for this reason. . . .

this is one of the many joys of having a pickup, just toss the bike in the bed (laying down usually as being under the cover is additional protection) and its not a concern.
 
Within the first few weeks of opening my shop we had a mother and teen boy pick up his shiny new MTB. In order to protect it from scratches they wrapped it in a blanket on the rear trunk rack. They were back in the shop later that day explaining how they got rear ended because they didn't realize they had covered all the brake lights. I can't imagine how many times I've repeated that story to customers who wanted help from us to cover up their new bike.
 
Bike N Gear said:
Within the first few weeks of opening my shop we had a mother and teen boy pick up his shiny new MTB. In order to protect it from scratches they wrapped it in a blanket on the rear trunk rack. They were back in the shop later that day explaining how they got rear ended because they didn't realize they had covered all the brake lights. I can't imagine how many times I've repeated that story to customers who wanted help from us to cover up their new bike.
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Honestly - that is one of the bigger concerns I've had about putting a rack on the back of my MINI - a car that is already prone to get rear-ended because the 3rd brake light can be obscured by the roof spoiler from the view of drivers in taller vehicles. My hypothesis is 3rd brake lights are something we look for subconsciously and if that light is either not there (all of my classic cars) or may be obscured, then it can add a split second to the reaction time of the driver behind you. For this reason, I have a 4-pin connector on the MINI so I can add auxiliary lights to the rack (that I still need to buy...).

This all generally a moot point for me during winter since I have no plans to use the MINI for bike hauling and my bike will go into the back of the minivan. I know one of my friends doesn't use has rack when the roads are salted and just stuffs his bike into the back of his SUV.
 
Bike N Gear said:
Within the first few weeks of opening my shop we had a mother and teen boy pick up his shiny new MTB. In order to protect it from scratches they wrapped it in a blanket on the rear trunk rack. They were back in the shop later that day explaining how they got rear ended because they didn't realize they had covered all the brake lights. I can't imagine how many times I've repeated that story to customers who wanted help from us to cover up their new bike.
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Thanks this is good info since I've been considering one of these covers too.

I don't mind the extra hassle of putting the bike in the back of my SUV, but that still involves moving car seats which is the bigger PITA.
 
Another solution is to carry a sprayer and jug of water in the car in the event you anticipate a messy drive. As soon as you reach your destination give it a good spray to rinse off the crap before riding
Something like this..
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/RYOBI-USB-Lithium-Cordless-Compact-Sprayer-with-2-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charging-Cable-FVSP51K/331513754

I use roof racks instead of back racks. If I can’t put it inside, it goes up top. The bikes still get some grime but typically only on the front-facing surfaces (handle bar, head tube, fork legs).
 
icebiker said:
Another solution is to carry a sprayer and jug of water in the car in the event you anticipate a messy drive. As soon as you reach your destination give it a good spray to rinse off the crap before riding
Something like this..
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/RYOBI-USB-Lithium-Cordless-Compact-Sprayer-with-2-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charging-Cable-FVSP51K/331513754

I use roof racks instead of back racks. If I can’t put it inside, it goes up top. The bikes still get some grime but typically only on the front-facing surfaces (handle bar, head tube, fork legs).
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This is a good point. I could take my spare 1-UP and mount into my roof rack, but that’s a pretty high lift with a 5” fatty.
 
Getting there with the bike in the car is great but then you have to put a dirty bike in your vehicle going home. Depending on trail conditions, it could be a really messy affair.

Buy a pickup.

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@one piece crank, buy a bed extender.
 
a.s. said:
Getting there with the bike in the car is great but then you have to put a dirty bike in your vehicle going home. Depending on trail conditions, it could be a really messy affair.

Buy a pickup.

View attachment 275729
@one piece crank, buy a bed extender.
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I owned pickups for most of my driving life.

No.

Advantage of being single and owning a minivan. I seriously DGAF about putting a messy bike into the back.
 
icebiker said:
But we don’t ride in messy conditions, do we? 😁
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I borrowed my wife's Tesla one time because the truck was getting repaired. Threw the bike in the back and went on a particularly wet and dirty ride. All I remember was cleaning and vacuuming her car for an hour while she stood impatiently over me because she had an appointment with the hairdresser. 😂
 
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