[jvossman]

howdy. usually ride my 29er to work on Wed and Friday (about 10 miles each way) here in Miami FL. It's an XL GF paragon..

Anyway , it rained for about 9 hours today, and at the last minute I decided to take the bus home. They have the bike racks in front, but I left my bike at work because I didn't think it would fit. Anybody try this before? The tires are 2.1s if that matters...

THanks

John V
Miami FL

 

[Qfactor03]

Voss,

A lot of public buses were outfitted with racks made by Sportworks. The hitch mount racks they originally manufactured (now owned by Thule) were based off of their public transport systems and I am able to fit a Rampage 2.35 into it just fine. I imagine a 2.1 would fit into the bus rack.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Good question!

The hoops for the original Sportworks *did not* fit 29" tires. I've got a Sportworks Mod series hitch rack with the original bungee-sprung wheel hold-down arm, and it's a no-go -- a sore spot since my and my wife's mountain bikes are 29"ers.

Assuming Sportworks updated the bus design at some point, this begs another question: how to determine which rack is attached to the front of a bus, if that transit agency uses "mixed fleet" of bike racks. The uncertainty would certainly suck for a 29"er owner trying to commute.

Give Sportworks a ring (or email) and ask. They're very responsive -- I had to talk to them about 6 months ago to locate installation instructions for a rack that Thule never picked up, and they had them to my inbox within minutes.

I don't know if Mary Jo is the right person to answer your question, but try her: marijom at sportworks d.o.t com

 

[Endomaniac]

The racks on the majority of public transportation buses (racks manufactured by sportworks etc&#8230 will accept the front wheel just fine regardless of tire size. These racks are considerably different than the one on your car. The problem lies in that 29ers wheelbases are a good bit longer than these racks ever considered. If you're riding something with a wheelbase over about 42" you are likely to run into issues that the front wheel fits down in its grove and locks in with the arm but the rear wheel hangs off the back edge of the rack and it's a pretty sketchy situation.

I've put my Wily on a bus twice and decided it was too risky to ever do it again. My cross bike and fixie fit perfectly.

 

[jrm]

If its the commecial sportsworks rack

yes they fit no problem. On another note seat your slf in view of the bike and when you get off use the front door so the driver knows that its your bike on the front of the bus. ive seen bus drivers drive away with peoples bikes on the rack and the bike owners running to catch the bus. Saw one guy alomost beat the shlt outta the driver after he had to run 3 blocks to catch the bus in orde rto get his bike. .

John V
Miami FL[/QUOTE]

 

[Pabs]

The racks on the majority of public transportation buses (racks manufactured by sportworks etc&#8230 will accept the front wheel just fine regardless of tire size. These racks are considerably different than the one on your car. The problem lies in that 29ers wheelbases are a good bit longer than these racks ever considered. If you're riding something with a wheelbase over about 42" you are likely to run into issues that the front wheel fits down in its grove and locks in with the arm but the rear wheel hangs off the back edge of the rack and it's a pretty sketchy situation.

I've put my Wily on a bus twice and decided it was too risky to ever do it again. My cross bike and fixie fit perfectly.

What size 29er do you have?

I'd like to use the buses near Boulder, Colorado (RTD) when I move in a few months with my 29er, which is a medium Qball. I've used the bus racks with my fixie and with a 26er mountain bike.

Anyone have experience with RTD in Denver/Boulder?

 

[jvossman]

hmm, i'll email dade transit

 

[Black Bart]

I learned this morning that my Rip 9 with Minute 120 is longer than the bus rack and a Stout mounted on a Flow rim is too large for the arm to clear. Something I wish I'd have learned on a day that it wasn't 98 degrees.

Ryan