Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Rocky Mounts Tie Rod universal fork mount bike rack



If you like fork mounted bike racks, then you will love the Tie Rod.  Simply put, this may be the last bike rack you ever need and here's why.

Rocky Mounts designed the Tie Rod to be able to mount to any crossbar shape and size (Thule racks, Yakima racks, factory racks).  Put this bike rack on you buddies car when its his/her time to drive.  The Tie Rod will probably outlive your vehicle.

The Tie Rod has an all-metal construction with an aluminum tray that won't rust.  The tray is super low profile and can accomadate skinny tires and fat tires.  What if my bike has disc brakes you ask?  No problem at all.

The quick release attachment is the easiest to use on the market.



Choose from a variety of colors.  We could all use more color in our lives, right?  Stand out from the crowd.

Visit Backcountry Racks for more info.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

4FRNT skis company vehicle racked!

Matt Sterbenz, Wiley Miller, and Joey Weamer stopped by on their annual fall trip through Montana to visit all 4FRNT dealers, including us (heck out www.backcountryfreeskier.com to see our winter business).  Anyway, they had waaaay too much gear in that Dodge Magnum.  It was time for us step in.

Drilling into a car is never easy, especially without removing the headliner.  But that's exactly what we did.  Thanks to the blind fasteners included in the Thule Tracker 14 Kit, this is easier than it sounds.  The tricky part is picking where to drill.  We picked our spots based on many factors:
  • bar spread (30-32" is ideal to be able to carry the full line of rack accessories)
  • aerodynamics
  • distance from the windshield
  • ability to open the trunk with a cargo box mounted
  • solid mounting points on the roof (as determined by feel)
  • making sure the bars are level
I highly recommend a dry and well light work space.  Use a flexible, cloth type tape measure and measure carefully.  The rack must be square/parallel to be installed properly.

Once you have a general idea of where you want to mount the rack, pre-assemble all of the pieces (Tracker rack, TK14, and crossbars).  Do not tighten anything yet.  Then place the semi-assembled rack on the roof.  Now you can get a visual of your plan.  Pretend to load something on the rack.  Is it in an area for easy loading and unloading?  Is it in an area where you could hit your head on the bars?  If you put a pair of skis or cargo box on the bars, can you still open the trunk fully?  These are all important questions that can/need to be addressed before drilling.

Adjust your measurements as needed and repeat.

With the rack exactly where you want it, tape the edges of the rubber tracker kit pad to the roof using electrical tape.  Gently lift the Tracker towers out of the base leaving the it taped in place where we want to drill.  Mark the center of the holes with a tape, nail, or marker.

Now comes the easy part:  drilling

All tools, instructions, drill bit, and silicone sealant are included.  You will need a drill.

Use the included tool to thread the blind fasteners into the drilled holes.  Put the rack back on the roof and tighten down.

I'm sure we left out a lot of details.  Please feel free to post any questions.  Thanks and good luck.

Installed components:

  1. Thule TK 14
  2. Thule Tracker II roof rack
  3. Thule 58" bars
  4. Thule 4 pack of lock cylinders for the roof rack towers (We took the 2 locks from the cargo and the 2 locks from the ski and installed 8 locks total for all accessories so they all used the same key, instead of 3 keys)
  5. Thule Ascent 1100 cargo box
  6. Thule Universal Flat Top 6 ski & snowboard rack

Time from start to finish:  2 1/2 hours

Tracker kit base with holes marked for drilling.  We already removed the electrical tape.

Blind fasteners threaded into the roof

Completely installed Tracker II roof rack


All rack up and looking good

View from above

Wednesday, May 4, 2011