Easy Way to Determine How Much Bikes Weigh to See if they Can be Used on Ladder Mount Bike Rack

Question:

Hello, I am looking at this bike rack SP501BR and am interested in it... we have 2 specialized expedition elite bikes we ride and take with us and did not have much luck with a hitch type rack... I can not find exact weight on the bikes , but I think they are 35-40 lbs each, and am concerned with the capacity... any advice or can you find the weight of the bikes somewhere I am not looking? we found with our hitch mounted racks everytime we hit a bump or dip in the road our bikes became less and less secure due to the wave effect and several times were honked at and told our bikes were about to fall off... hoping to avoid that with the swagman, we own a 36 foot keystone Laredo fifth wheel.

asked by: Grant S

Expert Reply:

If you have a bathroom scale what you can do is place a board on it long enough for both wheels of the bikes to rest on it and then subtract the weight of the board. That will give you the weight of the bikes. You can reduce the weight of the bikes a little by taking the seats and seat posts off.

Regarding a hitch mount bike rack the problem could have been that you were using a bike rack that is not rated for use at the back of an RV or trailer. Only certain bike racks are rated for this application for the exact reason you have described.

A hitch mount rack rated for use at the back of an RV/trailer such as # S44FR would be a much better option.

expert reply by: Michael H