I was having trouble finding a bike rack that would work for my Class I trailer hitch, while supporting an E-Bike weight (Yukon 750 is ~62 pounds without battery), support 4-inch tires, and not cost an arm and a leg. I don't know about lifting the bike up onto the hanging style racks (or how well they work with the curved top frame bar) so I also wanted a platform style rack.
I noticed a lot of platform racks that were in my price range used a bar that clamped down on the front tire and they all made it clear not to use them with fenders or clamp far out on the tire. I ended up deciding to go with the Rockymounts Monorail Solo since it was under $300 and met most of my needs. I'm a couple pounds over the maximum weight of 60 pounds, but I couldn't figure a way around that. Since Rockymounts sell an addition to this rack that lets it take a second bike (Class II hitch only) and my hitch is rated for 200 pounds I'm taking my chances that 2 pounds aren't going to send my bike bouncing down the highway (fingers crossed).
Anyway, my original plan was to take the front fender off the Yukon for transport, but I quickly realized this would be a nuisance. So I got some help modifying the fender to solve the problem by drilling a couple holes, adding a new L-bracket to the front of the fender (Edit: Use stainless steel), and rotating the fender so the bike rack can clamp where it needs to, but the fender still does it's job (maybe better than before?). I left the original L-bracket on since it would have to be drilled out to remove (this way it could be bent back and re-used). I rode 18 miles this morning and didn't have any issues with the new fender position.
Before:
After:
End result:
I figured I would post this for anyone else who is thinking of getting one of these wheel clamping bike racks.
I noticed a lot of platform racks that were in my price range used a bar that clamped down on the front tire and they all made it clear not to use them with fenders or clamp far out on the tire. I ended up deciding to go with the Rockymounts Monorail Solo since it was under $300 and met most of my needs. I'm a couple pounds over the maximum weight of 60 pounds, but I couldn't figure a way around that. Since Rockymounts sell an addition to this rack that lets it take a second bike (Class II hitch only) and my hitch is rated for 200 pounds I'm taking my chances that 2 pounds aren't going to send my bike bouncing down the highway (fingers crossed).
Anyway, my original plan was to take the front fender off the Yukon for transport, but I quickly realized this would be a nuisance. So I got some help modifying the fender to solve the problem by drilling a couple holes, adding a new L-bracket to the front of the fender (Edit: Use stainless steel), and rotating the fender so the bike rack can clamp where it needs to, but the fender still does it's job (maybe better than before?). I left the original L-bracket on since it would have to be drilled out to remove (this way it could be bent back and re-used). I rode 18 miles this morning and didn't have any issues with the new fender position.
Before:
After: End result:
I figured I would post this for anyone else who is thinking of getting one of these wheel clamping bike racks.
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