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Bike Racks
For school i am looking at making a bike rack which fully incloses your bike on the back of the car to minimise the bike from being damaged or stolen. I was wondering if you could please fill out this survey for my research.
It will take no more than 3 mins.
Thanks in advance
Ben
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Interesting, but you'll face many hurdles!
I use a 2 bike hitch mounted rack that folds up so I don't need to remove it.
The sheer size of a box would be totally impractical IMHO.
Too high to see anything out the back and reverse safely. Wider that than some cars, and even overlapping 2 bikes, you're probably looking at 1500mm depth.
That's a massive crate to cart around when you're not riding, and a sizeable item to store. It needs to be strong, so make it out of cheap mild steel and it will weigh a ton. Probably need two people just to move it. Make it out of composite (carbon etc) and you're looking at a few thousand to make.
One thing that would be interesting is to integrate a 'smart' alarm to an existing bike rack.
Find a rack where you can mount some internal batteries, and a trailer plug to charge as soon as the vehicle is started.
Integrate a tamper sensor into the locks with an audible alarm. Control (arm/disarm) via mobile phone, with short range notifications via bluetooth, or add your own sim card.
.... but using my Googlefu I quickly found this http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/r... which sounds fantastic. That was 4 years ago and it got national coverage on ABC TV and radio. Wonder why I've never seen anything like it in production?
So I applaud the idea, but perhaps include a question in your survey about price that people might be willing to pay. That might help to rule certain options in or out.
Looks massive on a big 'Murica Truck, but can you imagine that on a hatchback?
No way you'll drive around with that on all week just for your weekend ride, and at 43kg, taking it off is definitely a two man job.
At ~$1,000USD, you can bet it's going to be at least $1,500AUD
I have multiple 5 figure bikes, and I'm more than happy using this:
http://reviews.mtbr.com/review-yakima-holdup-bik...
It has integrated cable locks, folds up and down easily for boot access, doesn't block the rear camera much, and the only time I take it off is when I need a recovery point for 4w driving.
Nice idea.
Maybe you could use a tough cut proof vinyl/canvas cover to go over the bikes instead of a full on box. A bit like the secure covers they use to cover popup retail stores in shopping centers.
This would keep the weight down and also open your market to existing bike rack owners who want to secure their bike.
Good luck.
Holy SH!T its like a glorified dog kennel. my car would be doing wheelies all the way down the road.. imagine the fuel consumption on this puppy!
I like the theoretical concept....but dam!
or buy a van.
HEHe
My suggestion would be something like this to go over your bike. It could probably be used on any rack if designed right giving you a bigger market. You also aren't forced to use it every time you load the biked on the car.
http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/pacsafe-85l-exom...
It may also be good when locking a bike up in the city etc after a commute.