By gabe on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 05:21 pm: Edit

Hey guys i was wanting some ideas on how to strap a mountain bike on my stock rack on a 95 disco

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 05:59 pm: Edit

seriously, I wouldn't trust the factory rack with anything more valuable than firewood. Those factory crossbars aren't very secure. Try a Thule system (footers that attach to rain gutter and solid crossbar) - there is someone selling Thule for a Disco in the classified section. I may buy it from him, but I'm trying to cope with my really low-clearance lame-ass garage door right now...

By Tate on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 10:47 am: Edit

Rhode Gear makes nice racks. I've had an on-the-back rack for my volvo and a sturdy receiver hitch model for the Disco, and they've both worked well. You don't have the clearance issues with a rooftop mount, you don't have to take the wheel off to put them up there, and it's almost always cheaper. Rhode Gear makes a spare-tire rack, and the vehicle in their brochures is a Disco! I wouldn't trust the rear door for more than one or two bikes, though.

By garrett on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 10:59 am: Edit

The advantages of a roof top rack are there is no visibility lost from the rear of the vehicle, they are much more safe from someone stealing your bikes and I believe they are a little more stable. As for having them on the back you have less wind resistance and it sure would be easier to put a bike on the back than on the top. I have a Thule system and use it for other things as well like my canoe and ladders and so on. A much more usuable system than any rear carrier.

By tomorover on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 11:08 am: Edit

I just bought one of those Hitch-Haul carriers that slips into the hitch receiver. The platform is 20" X 60", supposedly will carry 500 lbs. There is an add-on available that enables you to carry three bikes. Hitch haul was $70 at Wal-Mart, bike carrier add-on is about $20.

With this system, not only can you carry your bikes, but you can carry assorted other goodies that you don't want to put inside you truck (gas cans, firewood, deer, etc.) when you are not carrying your bikes.

These racks kill your departure angle, of course!

By SmokinBro on Wednesday, May 23, 2001 - 02:16 am: Edit

I recently put on a set of Thule racks.
Excellent....
Holds the bikes,holds the ladder, holds buildign materials, and once I've fab'd the cargo rack, it'll hold my gear - or just me and a few beers

By Jon on Wednesday, May 23, 2001 - 09:49 am: Edit

www.performanceproducts.com sells OSI brand hitch mounts, and I got one for my Disco. It's a fold-away design so I can still use the back door, and the carrier features a pedal-mount fixture for the bike that seems strong enough and securely holds my bike. It was like, $226.00, and about $235 delivered. I don't know if I'd put anything up top, since it's so high. But it's up to you...

By bryan on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 09:52 am: Edit

I have had the LR bike rack for the past few years and it is great. It is hitch mounted and swings away so that you can access the rear door without a problem (even with bikes on the rack)

I also holds 4 bikes easily without sacrficing the bike's paint job and is a pleasure to put bikes on and take them off. It holds the bikes steady and provides a lock. It can also be converted to carry skis/snowboards with another attachment. I believe the unit is somewhat exensive $350 but is worth it if you ride a lot like I do.

The roof is pretty high on the Discos. I can't imagine getting a bike up there without damaging the bike, car, and my back. Plus, I don't think you can carry 4 bikes either. Give the LR bike rack a good look before you buy.

It also mounts/dismounts in a matter of a few minutes when you do not want it there. I personally leave it on for the season -- it hasn't really rusted (perhaps only inside the box steel section)

The only negative is that with the 2-bike extension added (rack initially contains 2 holders) it sticks out pretty far in the back. This is problem for other motorists at night if they cannot see the rack and like to play "how close can I get to the person's rear bumper at the traffic light"

By Leslie on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 11:12 am: Edit

I've got a Yakima Terrafirma... it is a hitch-mounted bike rack that holds 4 bikes. I like it a lot. One downside, it will pivot down, but doesn't swing to the side (the Roc-n-Gate does swing away, but was twice as much $$). With the new built-in wrench, though, it is no problem to throw it on and off as needed to get into the back when there aren't bikes back there... and I don't leave my bike on there all of the time, so I don't have any trouble with getting into the back while the bikes are on...

Where I live, I've got several railroad underpasses which would clean a bike off the top of the Disco... so I HAD to go with a rear-mount instead of putting one on top.

Mi dos centavos...

-L

By Stephen on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 11:39 am: Edit

I have a 'bic' rack that holds three bikes and mounts to the rear tire - nice because it has minimum weight and hardware, and is easy to put on and remove. I also have a thule that holds one bike up on the roof. You have to remove the front tire and the back tire sits in a tray. The front forks lock with a key. I picked mine up at a 'Volvo' dealership, where they were selling for much cheaper than several 'Rack- specific' retailers. It's not that hard to get the bike up there - but than I ride a Rocky Vertex TO - a pretty light ride! Wouldn't want to be hefting my 50# DH up there - save that for the back door!

By Greg Braswell on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 05:43 pm: Edit

Stephen,
What kind of rack do you have? I'm looking for a spare tire rack for two lightweight bikes. I've been looking at a Yakima SpareROC, however,I have not found one locally. Can't tell much about the Yakima from the descriptions I've seen.

By Bill on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 06:56 pm: Edit

Look on the yakima.com website....I've done a ton of research on rack for the disco and the website has loads of info.

By Stephen on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 08:00 pm: Edit

Greg -
I've got a 'SportRack' on my Disco - it came with the truck when I bought it.
I also have a tire mount "Swagman" that I used to have on my 95' Pathfinder. I sold that truck with the inside of the mount attached (unknowingly).
If you did some research you might be able to source that piece or get one made up. I'd be willing to part with the rest of it for cheap+shipping. It holds and locks 3 bikes. Try a search under 'Swagman'. E-mail me if your interested.

By Stephen on Friday, June 01, 2001 - 08:47 pm: Edit

Here's the site for 'Swagman'
http://www.swagman.net/
Mine is the 3 bike spare tire mounted version.It says you can purchase 2 different backing plates (that's what I'm missing) dependent on the size of your spare.
Hope that helps!
Stephen