OB Bikers (bicyles) - Show Yours

[Trojans1993]

Originally Posted by TxTony

Have not taken the 29er plunge yet but thinking about it..just switched over all the bike racks to the 13 Outback..Thule T2 with the add on carrier..a Yakima roof rack..I have carried up to 5 bikes on the Outback with no problems hitch rack and roof rack..the wife bikes also and when friends go with us our car always looses the toss for the ride to go in.

Does the OB get much rear sag with 4 bikes on the T2? Seems if you had 4 full size bikes on there it could get pretty heavy hanging off the back.

I have a T2 and it works great with the Torklift but I'm only hauling 2 bikes back there.

[TxTony]

Originally Posted by Trojans1993

Does the OB get much rear sag with 4 bikes on the T2? Seems if you had 4 full size bikes on there it could get pretty heavy hanging off the back.

I have a T2 and it works great with the Torklift but I'm only hauling 2 bikes back there.

I hauled 4 bikes to New Mexico from Ft Worth on it. It really did not make the vehicle sag any at all. Drove like a champ all the way to Sante Fe and back.

Two Mountain bikes on the back near the bumper and one road bike and cyclocross on the extension. I have hauled three mountain bikes on it as well all over Texas. 2 all mountain rigs and a hard tail with zero issues.

I never really noticed any sag issues at all. On my Honda just the T2 with no extension and 2 bikes caused enough sag that I was always worried about it. I have not had the chance or needed to use the extension since getting the 2013 model but on the 2012 it was rock solid with 4 bikes on it.

I thought about the sag issue before getting the extension and was going to get a Kuat rack because they are so much lighter than the T2..but Kuat seems pretty proud of their racks by the time I got one set up for four bikes it was going to be fairly expensive.

It can look a little unnerving seeing four bikes hanging off the back of your Outback but they are on there just as solid as with the T2 alone, rides great, handles great..no issues.

[Trojans1993]

Originally Posted by TxTony

It can look a little unnerving seeing four bikes hanging off the back of your Outback but they are on there just as solid as with the T2 alone, rides great, handles great..no issues.

Thanks, that's great to know. I was reading a thread about bike hitches and people seemed pretty paranoid about the cantilever effect of the extended rack.

BTW - I did some snow off-roading in 12"-18" of fresh last weekend up in Big Bear and once again I was blown away with the 4x capabilities of this machine. I was marching up unplowed roads like a snowcat with snow coming over the hood in sections - simply amazing vehicle. I got in a few sticky situations, but not once did I have to get out and dig. Highly recommended!

[Planner]

2010 Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon 29er. This bike is much more capable than I am - stiff and efficient with a neutral XC geometry. Love it - especially the simplicity of 1x10 (after riding a rigid SS the preceeding 3 years).



My roadie (2008 Fetish Cycles Penna w/ 2010 wheels/Rival gruppo and 2012 Force crank)


2009 Soma DoubleCross (bought in the box, 2012 as NOS, was dirt cheap, All City fork).
1x10 with Velocity Major Tom tubular/Ultegra hubs. Rival gruppo.

[nipper]

Sadly Sandy managed to tak my bicycle too. Just looked in the shed, the bike is completly rusted. Sigh. We wont even talk to what happened to the electronics. on the e-bike part of the bike.

[Storkiln]

I've got a question to all riders who have transported bikes on the roof. What generation of car / engine combination do you have, and what mileage were you getting on the highway?

I'm asking because towards the end of March, my friends and I will be driving my 4 cyl OB from So Cal to SW Utah for some mountain biking. We'll be transporting 5 bikes - 2 behind the car, and 3 on the roof.

I have a 2 bike hitch rack, and only 1 roof carrier. This already gives poor mileage. I'm borrowing 2 more roof trays from a friend to get 3 bikes up there, and I'm dreading what mileage that's going to give me.

Any answers and input will help me estimate the gas cost as part of our trip planning. Thanks!

[nipper]

Have you thought of a bigger bike rack? Maybe a trailer instead?

[rockthebeef]

Originally Posted by Storkiln

I've got a question to all riders who have transported bikes on the roof. What generation of car / engine combination do you have, and what mileage were you getting on the highway?

I'm asking because towards the end of March, my friends and I will be driving my 4 cyl OB from So Cal to SW Utah for some mountain biking. We'll be transporting 5 bikes - 2 behind the car, and 3 on the roof.

I have a 2 bike hitch rack, and only 1 roof carrier. This already gives poor mileage. I'm borrowing 2 more roof trays from a friend to get 3 bikes up there, and I'm dreading what mileage that's going to give me.

Any answers and input will help me estimate the gas cost as part of our trip planning. Thanks!

I carried 2 road bikes on my roof on a trip from San Diego to Santa Barbara and got 26.8 mpg driving at normal speeds (70-75ish). This was when my 2012 2.5 had less than 1000 miles on it.

On other road trips after the car's break-in period without any roof cargo, I have managed 29-29.9 (hand calculated).

I think a 10% hit on mpg like I experienced is fairly accurate. I know I got worse mileage during the break-in period, but in all honesty I've been getting about the same mileage since Day 1. Others say that the mpgs will go up after 10k. Well, I have 12k on my car now and mpg is the same (a little less lately due to winter gas and/or recent rain/bad weather).

[Altadude]

I ride a 2006 Specialized Allez Comp, A mid 80's Bianchi Campione d'Italia, I have an old fixie that I used to track race back in the 80's and I have a unicycle that I ride around the neighborhood once in a while.

[Storkiln]

Thanks for your input, Nipper and Rockthebeef. I'm impressed with how the latest Outbacks can easily get 30 mpg. Even under the best conditions and driving like a saint, I can't even hit 28 mpg on a tank. Just cross bars and a wind fairing alone puts a 25 mpg ceiling on me, and it's all down hill from there. With 5 bikes and some passengers, I am expecting 15 mpg.

If that's a realistic estimate, then 400 miles each way, and $4.20/gal would equal about $225 in gas. That's what I'll tell everyone riding with me for now, so they know how much to chip in.

As for a larger hitch rack, I can't justify it for a couple reasons. One is I forgot to say that my OB came with a 1-1/4 receiver, which I'm hesitant to hang too much load on. Another is I don't want to invest in a large rack purely for this one time event. I normally carry only 2 or 3 bikes, which my set up has been fine for.