Yakima Front Loader Bike Carrier
Yakima make carriers all kinds of bikes, and their Front Loader is probably one of the most secure and well fitting bike carrier on the market. We tested it both in Romania and in the U.K.
Yakima make carriers all kinds of bikes, and their Front Loader is probably one of the most secure and well fitting bike carrier on the market. We tested it both in Romania and in the U.K.
For someone whose riding is carefully circumscribed by a radius from my house, there’s something impossibly glamorous about a dedicated bike bag. It’s sitting there now, daring me to turn my back on Northern England, with its endless floods and storms, and get myself on the nearest flight to somewhere warm and dry.
I can’t claim I’m not tempted. But,even if you’re not about to jet off to somewhere exotic, bike bags are handy things to have for a number of reasons:
They tidy the bike into a more stowable shape that doesn’t lock pedals with neighboring kit (a perennial problem if you’re one of those folk for whom the correct number of bikes is n+1)
They hide expensive kit from acquisitive eyes.
They allow the bike indoors without fear of getting chain oil on your new cream sofa (if you’re one of those folk who worry about bikes catching a chill in the garage)
They keep the car upholstery clean when lifting bikes in.
This one is very smart. Ideal for road bikes (an MTB would probably require disconnecting the bars before you could do the zip up),and it has a robust ABS tray with an alloy subframe that supports the bike by its drop-outs. The wheels zip into circular pouches on either side of the bike but inside the bag. The whole thing zips into a neat, portable package that feels tough and will protect your prized ride for when you unwrap it at the other end. There are several handles for grabbing hold of the bundle and, if in transit through a large airport, you can fasten wheels on one end and pull it behind you. In effect it’s easy to move around and won’t trouble the keen traveller.
The bag fits neatly into a hatchback with the seat down, and easier still into the back of an estate car. Packing the bike is ease itself, and wheeling it along at the other end is simple and effortless. We’ve taken this out and about a bit during the late winter and it’s been a good piece of kit for keeping the bike tucked safely away. In terms of storage in the house, when the bike is back hanging, the bag folds down small enough to be tucked away into the garage – simple.
More importantly, as highlighted, the robust nature of the bag means that both it and the contents will survive the efforts of airport handlers and luggage systems, leaving you free to concentrate on planning the rides!
Now, where’s that passport?
Yakima make carriers all kinds of bikes, and their Front Loader is probably one of the most secure and well fitting bike carrier on the market. We tested it both in Romania and in the U.K.
For someone whose riding is carefully circumscribed by a radius from my house, there’s something impossibly glamorous about a dedicated bike bag. It’s sitting there now, daring me to turn my back on Northern England, with its endless floods and storms, and get myself on the nearest flight to somewhere warm and dry.
I can’t claim I’m not tempted. But,even if you’re not about to jet off to somewhere exotic, bike bags are handy things to have for a number of reasons:
They tidy the bike into a more stowable shape that doesn’t lock pedals with neighboring kit (a perennial problem if you’re one of those folk for whom the correct number of bikes is n+1)
They hide expensive kit from acquisitive eyes.
They allow the bike indoors without fear of getting chain oil on your new cream sofa (if you’re one of those folk who worry about bikes catching a chill in the garage)
They keep the car upholstery clean when lifting bikes in.
This one is very smart. Ideal for road bikes (an MTB would probably require disconnecting the bars before you could do the zip up),and it has a robust ABS tray with an alloy subframe that supports the bike by its drop-outs. The wheels zip into circular pouches on either side of the bike but inside the bag. The whole thing zips into a neat, portable package that feels tough and will protect your prized ride for when you unwrap it at the other end. There are several handles for grabbing hold of the bundle and, if in transit through a large airport, you can fasten wheels on one end and pull it behind you. In effect it’s easy to move around and won’t trouble the keen traveller.
The bag fits neatly into a hatchback with the seat down, and easier still into the back of an estate car. Packing the bike is ease itself, and wheeling it along at the other end is simple and effortless. We’ve taken this out and about a bit during the late winter and it’s been a good piece of kit for keeping the bike tucked safely away. In terms of storage in the house, when the bike is back hanging, the bag folds down small enough to be tucked away into the garage – simple.
More importantly, as highlighted, the robust nature of the bag means that both it and the contents will survive the efforts of airport handlers and luggage systems, leaving you free to concentrate on planning the rides!
Now, where’s that passport?
The truth of the matter is that wherever you live, at some point you’ll want to travel elsewhere to ride your bike – and your mates will want to come too. With this simple fact, bike racks are a necessity unless you own a transit van; in which case your mates will be uncomfortable. For mere mortals with simple cars, choosing the rack is the issue then.
This rack is the type of quintessential engineering that you’d want to carry your pride and joy. It folds up for ease of storage and is like a ‘mini transformer’ when you fold it all out to put your bikes on it. Built by Buzzrack, the model tested is for 2 bikes. It’s a techies dream, with lots to show off to your buddies about it. It’s a solid steel frame that will take the daily knocks with ease and will carry the heavier bike – up to 30kg per bike. Everything is so simple and smooth when setting this little gem up for carrying the bikes.
Straight out of the box, all you have to do is fit the clamp arm post to the main body with 4 bolts – instructions and tools supplied again, then it’s ready to use and put on the back of your vehicle. Once you’ve had a play with it, it just gets easier and slicker to set up or take off and store.
The rack is heavy duty so may be a little weighty for some users, but don’t let that put you off. Heavy is good, as it will last the test of time, with all parts available as spares if damaged or lost. As with everything, there are some bits that a heavy hand could lose or knock lose, so spares may be useful – and cheap. The tow ball attachment takes a bit of getting used to (unscrew fully before dropping onto tow ball) but once again, when you’ve done it a couple of times you’ll be all over it. The screw lock for the tow ball is supplemented with a locking bolt for that extra security and comes with a spanner to tighten it more securely onto the tow ball. I used my own adjustable for extra purchase to ensure it was ‘on’.
The carrier is ideally suited for big bikes, including electric models, but we’ve used it for MTB – 29er, 27.5 and 26, as well as road bikes. We’ve carried carbon, aluminium and steel frames and it hosted and carried them all admirably. The wheel supports, which are easily adjusted by screwing the locking bolts via plastic handles, easily accommodated all the bikes carried.
The rack will also take the kids bikes if required, with easy to use ratchet straps and locking clamps on the securing arms which again – are easy locked with the keys provided. Once clamped and ratcheted in, which is very simple to do indeed – there were no worries whilst transporting the bikes.
Safe as houses and no fear of losing a bike in a ditch on a sharp bend.
There’s a built in tilting handle, which enables you to get into the boot when required – very simple to operate – so no more taking the bikes off to access the boot. Another well thought out design feature by Buzzrack. The company have also just introduced a loading ramp accessory to help with Electric Bikes, making this an even better option all round.
The lighting rack is built in and has 5 function lights with adaptors to suit most tow bars. When you’ve finished using it, you just fold it all up while its still on the tow ball, lock it down, take it off and store it away, very easy. Be mindful when using it in the wet or having hosed it down, the frame stores water in the recesses and it will trickle out, so store in the shed, on the garage floor or on an old towel / sheet. Overall we’re very very pleased with this rack and the performance and usability – everything about it is hard-core and it will, without shadow of a doubt last longer than your bike and quite possibly your motor – well-earned 4.5 stars.
If you’re a keen cyclist, at some point in time you’ll want to take your trusty steed on an adventure to far flung places. In terms of the transportation options, there’s a myriad available.
The tow bar option, where you can’t always fit into parking places, or you reverse into walls. The rear mounted rack, which in most cases means that you can’t access the boot, and the lights can’t be seen without a lighting plate fitted. You can of course stow the bike in the car, which is fine if you’re ‘Billy no mates’ and you only have one friend at most. You could even buy a van – but that’s not as cool as a slick Audi A4 (don’t comment – I own one).
Then finally, there’s the roof mounted option, which you can’t see, and which may lead to you forgetting about things when you drive under that barrier or into the garage! Arh! Maddening all of them in one way or another. My personal choice is the roof mounted option, as it offers these benefits: access to the boot, access to parking places, and my friends can join me too – if I had any!
Testing the Inno Tyre Hold Bike Carrier from those clever people in Japan has been a joy. I mean it – a real pleasure producing joy. It’s light for a solid and firm frame carrier, well-engineered and well made, easy to fit, and holds the bike rigid. Living on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, there’s some great tight and twisty, steep and stomach churning lanes to drive along. Ideal then to see if the bike takes off in the wrong direction on route to a ride! Taking the carrier from the box, I not only read the instructions (I have 3 sisters – they told me instructions are invaluable guys), but I also looked at Youtube for a fitting video – off we go then.
It was simplicity itself, with the locking brackets easy to adjust, loosen and tighten, and the slotted arms also being simple to adjust for the variety of wheel sizes, by the removal and adjustment of the shaped wheel holder. All that remained was to lift the bike up and slot the front wheel into the front arm, then fit the extra cable around the frame and into the locking mechanism before snapping shut.
This action brings in the rear arm against the rear wheel and ‘hey presto!. Even better, once the front wheel is up and in, the carrier makes the bike stand firm and self-supporting, allowing you some thinking time. The laws of physics then ensure that the wheels cannot move and the bike is firm and secure, and no part of this ingenious carrier is touching your valuable frame; a real bonus these days, with most carriers clamping down on expensive carbon.
Test drive time then!
For the first drive I set off into the wilds of Wensleydale, taking in the trickiest roads on route to Semer Water. Yes I did worry a bit at first, but before long I was confidently whizzing along and enjoying the feeling of security that comes with knowing that the bike will not move and fly over a drystone wall hitting a shocked sheep and spoiling my day.
In terms of fuel consumption, I’ve noticed very little difference at all, and very little noise – if any.
Arriving at the other end, it was simply a case of one quick unlock, lift the bike down and off I pedalled. Finishing the ride was just as quick and easy, and it even drew in a small audience of interested Dales wanderers.
Over many months I’ve used both road and mountain bike on the ‘Inno Tyre Hold’, all with equal success. I’ve driven as recklessly as common sense allows, and have been pleased that the bike stayed safely attached to the car. Better still, I also feel confident leaving it attached when popping into cafes for tea and cake, as the rear locking arm also locks the bracket that attaches to your roofbars.
If I had one negative thing to say, it would have been the lack of a ‘T Bar’ fitting for my roofbars. However, having fitted and taken off the carrier several times now, this is definitely not an issue, and I’m actually really pleased that the brackets are designed as they are. It makes fitting to the bars a matter of a couple of minutes – brilliant. The carrier is also really good looking, top quality and well-engineered and should last a long time, protecting your precious bike frame at the same time.
I’m genuinely in awe of this carrier. It has to be the best cycle accessory I’ve personally tested this year. A well-earned 5 stars for Inno and Roofbox Company.
Whether or not you’re heading out into the mountains locally, or taking a bikecation abroad, travelling with your bike is far more frequent these days. We think that it’s important to get it right, and give your bike the best chance for staying looked after. Time then to look at what we think are the best options for your own travels with your bike.
These days, with so much carbon around, we need to take extra care and frame protection has to be top of the list. That’s we we recommend bike carriers that hold the wheel rather than the frame. In terms of bike boxes, top of the tree in our book is Yorkshire based Bike Box Alan and during 2020 and beyond, we’ll be testing and reviewing their boxes as we travel around the globe.
We truly believe that the kit that we like and that we use ourselves, looking after our own bikes at home and during our travels, is the very best available. That’s why we want to share it with you, so that your own bikes can have the same superb treatment.
YAKIMA HIGH ROAD TYRE HOLD BIKE CARRIER
The latest technical carrier from this Japanese brand, and it’s perfect for just about every bike imaginable.
INNO WHEEL HOLD BIKE CARRIER
The perfect bike carrier for your carbon dream machine,the Inno wheel hold carrier is strong and super secure, without touching the frame.
TAILFIN CARBON PANNIER
The Tailfin totally changes the concept of a bike tour, as you can now take your best carbon bike fully loaded, making the riding so much easier.
REVELATE DESIGNS BIKE BAGS
Taking yourself on a bike tour requires the very best kit. Our Alps editor, Scott fitted himself out with some great kit from Revelate Designs, carrying all he needed with ease.
YAKIMA FRONT WHEEL LOADER
The Yakima front wheel loader is surprisingly strong and secure,and on tests here and in Europe, it took bikes of all types and sizes.
BUZZ RACK SCORPION 2
Foldaway and titling bike rack for tow bars, that’s super strong and easy to stow away. The Buzz Rack comes in various sizes and is a well engineered product.
CAMELBAK MULE PR0 14 3L BACKPACK
We think that this could be the ideal bikers backpack. Camelbak have revised the legedary MULE, and their latest bag is now even better.