Anyone made a Kamm back extension around a hitch mount bike rack?
 

Hi, Just came across this forum today and it has really got me thinking.

I'm a cyclist who uses his car primarily as an accessory for getting to bike races and mountain bike trails. I've been using a roof rack and of course noticed that it annihilates my mileage.

I've been driving a 98 Ford Escort sedan and may get a Ford Focus ZX-5 in the near future (a deal I cannot pass up).

I am seriously considering getting a hitch mount bike rack like this.

My questions is: has anyone built a kamm back style cover over one of these things and/or would it be worth it? If so any details as to design/construction would be very appreciated.

Another option of course would be to attempt to fabricate some kind of rack that would keep the bike(s) inside the car.

Thanks!

Dave

dbisers -

Welcome to EM! People have thought of this strategy, but to my knowledge I've seen no working versions.

I think it's a great idea because (#1) it should be 100% reversible, and (#2) I *think* it could be done so as to make the rear hatch still usable, assuming the bike rack is also designed with that purpose in mind.

I've toyed with the idea of buying a trailer hitch as a mount for something like this, but I've never pulled the trigger.

CarloSW2

in car option
 

I'm sure the kamback could be done, but if you want an in car option..

Get a piece of wood (1x6 works well) almost as long as your car is wide--this will give you stability. Attach a fork mount to the wood. (you'll probably have enough room for two) The fork mount is only about $25-$30. Remove the front wheel and attach the bike(s). Depending on height, you may have to lower or remove your seat post.

has anyone
 

Dave,I kinda did it,but it was for a pickup.It could have been part of a receiver-hitch style setup,but it was just the unit with two inverted j-clamps which laid over the top of the gate,with a tension strap at the bottom to keep it snug.And it was inflatable,which isn't necessary.The T-100 got 30 mpg with it along with a half tonneau cover(about 5-mpg increase).Your sedan would probably benefit,more maybe,with some sort of decklid wing added.------ In September,Ill be experimenting with a boat tail trailer behind the truck.Something like this might be great for the bikes although certainly more ambitious.

I was thinking of a simular idea independantly of you, dbisers.

I was thinking of a boattail attaching from a hitch. A few issues block me from persuing this yet, like

1) Not having a hitch on my car (yet?). Hunting around, I can get one for around $200.
2) My idea of a boattail would obscure my rear lights, so I'd have to do some research into trailer / local statutes, and then, wiring diagrams, to splice in the harness to enable lights.
3) Moving in a few months, to return to school. I'd love to have this ready beforehand, but because of the previous two, and finances, I'll delay until I have access to my Dad's workshop (including fibreglass supplies - woo!) in said few months.

Be a pioneer, and show us what can be done with a bike-rack based setup, dbisers!

rear lights
 

The sides of the tail can be relieved to allow the vehicles taillights to be visible from the rear.Reflectors and reflective tape can be applied to the back of the tail for added visibility.Also,the license plate can be moved to the back of the tail.The top of the tail can also be relieved to allow the third brake light to be visible from behind.

Just install a 4-wire trailer electrical jack along with your hitch and plug your boattail lighting into the jack.

Thanks for all your replies; alot of excellent ideas. Turns out I'll be sticking with the escort sedan. I took the rack off and put my 1 bike inside for my drive alone to a race in bend, or. I'll have to do more research as to optimal fairing shapes to work with a rack for the car.

Anyone know off hand as to the legalities of rear license plate obstruction in Oregon? You can have a standard rear rack without fairing, would anything change with a fairing?

thinking of extending one off the aero cap for my truck

Boy I wish Mr. Kammback and all of those inspired never suggested that my Chevy Malibu Maxx is a prime Kammback candidate. I have the advantage of a true hatchback that is sloped like a car with a small deck lid. I can envision a removable Kammback made of plexiglas and aluminum that locks down into a hitch mounted bike rack when the hatch is closed. Very plausible since I have a edge to hook onto at the roof, unlike a regular trunk. Love / hate my newfound obsession... Thinking of ways to Eco Mod my Blue Maxx.

I have a trunk mounted bike rack - pretty similar form factor to the hitch mount, just different attachment method to the car.

You definitely will get considerably better mileage with the bike on the tail than with the bike on top, even if you don't do a Kammback.

Are you sure you want the Kammback mounted on the rack? I think either car could have a Kammback mounted to the car as a separate item. For the hatchback, the bike probably won't even affect drag, and on the sedan it's probably a pretty small contribution, since it does stick out of the wake a little, but really not very much (the wake on sedans, excluding about the last 5 years of production, is a few inches above the trunk lid, I think). Of course the Kammback provides its own benefit in either case.

If you want it all on the rack you'd have to design it (with plenty of folks here ready to look at your ideas and give you pointers).

I'll just brutally resurrect this long-necroed thread.

When our 3 person family travels, we fit the bikes inside the car to minimize aero drag:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...3&d=1712518045
But this configuration is quite demanding on time/ease of packing and unpacking, and while travelling we would like to sometimes quickly have access to the bikes for a short ride, but resign from this due to the hassle.

We do not want the fuel penalty of a roof rack, so most likely I will invest in a hitch and then a hitch-mounted bike rack. But I am afraid that even then the parts of the bike sticking out the sides (and possibly the top) will mess up the aero :(
This pic that freebeard posted:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...9-100-0381.jpg
and this random pic:
https://shop.sportsbasement.com/cdn/...g?v=1637101392
only confirm my doubts:(

So back to the original question: Can the bikes be made to fit:

1. inside of the wake of the rear of our stationwagon?
2. inside of the reduced wake of a Kammback?

Or is hiding the frame in the wake, but still getting the penalty of the wheels sticking out on the sides, the best compromise I can expect?

Two thoughts I had were:

1. a rack where the bikes are oriented in forward direction. This would be very long, and hitch-mounted racks cannot extend more than 1 meter, iirc, so out of the question.
2. taking off the wheels (maybe only front wheels) to make the bikes shorter and lower.

Any ideas, comments?

Or maybe in the years since this was originally posted someone has some practical experience?

Thanks for the repost. :) That's the World's shortest stop sign. The car needs work and the bike is in pieces. Here's the earlier combo, with a roof rack:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...1-100-0037.jpg

And the Bug Bearer rack before I made custom bumper mounting brackets.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...5-scan-34.jpeg

A folding bike hung wheels down on the rack would fit inside a Kammback.

It depends on the car, and depends on the bike. I cherry-picked an example article: flatbike.com/how-to-haul-bikes-with-a-car/

Number four:
Then they go on to making the bike fit the car.

Expect that modern times have produced exceptions, I used a folding bike that was hand carry-able AKA: steyer puch "cobra" that was suitcase size folded. Have seen electric assist cargo bikes capable today that collapse to that size and it wouldn't take much to fair it into the turbulent area.