Bike Rack

[mwalsh]

Brompton is another I would see on occasion http://www.brompton.co.uk/

Funny you should mention a Brompton...I took this photo in the Covent Garden tube station a couple of weeks ago. The Underground guy was all like "You can't bring that bike on here!" (the Piccadilly line being one on which you cannot take bicycles), to which the owner simply folded it up and thumbed her nose at him! :lol:

We brought back two non-folding Moultons that Naomi's grandson had purchased off eBay - a Moulton Mk3 (16" wheels) and a Moulton Mini (14" wheels). All three bikes are, of course, as rare as hen's teeth round these parts. In fact, we reckon his Moulton Mk3 is one of only a handful currently in CA!

 

[Electric4Me]

At this moment there is only one way to do an accurate range check.. and it involves using a 120V kill-a-watt meter and the 120V Nissan EVSE. You make a midnight hwy trip, hopefully traffic is light, use the cruise control and drive out 30 miles at a constant speed of your choice.. immediately turn back home and then put the car on charge. Measure the power used to charge the car. The % difference will be your range reduction.

The round trip will cancel out elevation changes and hopefully winds. The hwy will remove stop and go traffic uncertainties.

I do have a kill-a-watt meter so will do this for a 30 mile round trip. (L1 is too slow for me to fully charge with since I need to use the car.) Midnight isn't necessary for light traffic though.

 

[Herm]

I do have a kill-a-watt meter so will do this for a 30 mile round trip. (L1 is too slow for me to fully charge with since I need to use the car.) Midnight isn't necessary for light traffic though.

30 miles round trip should be enough to give you accurate data.

Just document everything, including the route, so you have a repeatable test for the future .. new tires?.. do the test again, inflate the tires to 50psi?.. redo the test. Sounds like a lot of geeky Leaf fun

 

[prberg]

Just a quick bike rack update.

We took the LEAF on a trip to Santa Monica (about 25 miles away). While the bike rack (Yakima SuperJoe 3) was not listed as compatible with the LEAF, I was able to make it work. I didn't feel that it was secure enough for the freeway, but it worked well on the city streets. Just wanted to let anyone know in case they wanted to try a similar trip.

 

[Christopher]

While the bike rack (Yakima SuperJoe 3) was not listed as compatible with the LEAF, I was able to make it work. I didn't feel that it was secure enough for the freeway, but it worked well on the city streets. Just wanted to let anyone know in case they wanted to try a similar trip.

I tried mounting a new Yakima rack similar to that one, maybe even that same model. In the end I returned it because I wasn't comfortable with how the two top straps ran over and put pressure on the spoiler bit and lights over the rear glass. Worrisome to me but best of luck to you!

Hey, I see you've placed just one of the three California HOV lane use stickers. The two additional required side stickers are certainly obnoxious. I'll be curious to hear if you ever get harassed for not complying with the placement of the full set.

 

[Electric4Me]

Well, come on then, where are the bloody pictures! I want to see. Any idea on estimated cost and when they might be available?

I'd really love to get a hitch receiver installed on the Leaf. I have a 2" hitch type bike/ski rack that I use on my SUV and the back of my tent trailer. I'd rather just be able to use that on the Leaf as well, but I don't think my lease would allow me to cut through the rear bumper and weld on a 2" receiver...

Here are the installation instructions for this: http://tinyurl.com/3pd6n44 I need to fix a few of the photos that came out wacky in the pdf...
Price and timing I'm working on and will start a new thread.

Bill

I have my 2nd prototype hitch available now. I have it in 1-1/4" size at the moment, but could make the 2" size reciever in a few days. I'll sell my introductory ones at $150, unpainted, plus shipping. For those that are in the Bay Area, I'll help install it as well. Send me a PM if you're interested.

Bill

 

[prberg]

I tried mounting a new Yakima rack similar to that one, maybe even that same model. In the end I returned it because I wasn't comfortable with how the two top straps ran over and put pressure on the spoiler bit and lights over the rear glass. Worrisome to me but best of luck to you!

Hey, I see you've placed just one of the three California HOV lane use stickers. The two additional required side stickers are certainly obnoxious. I'll be curious to hear if you ever get harassed for not complying with the placement of the full set.

Yeah I didn't like the pressure that the straps put on the spoiler. But I guess I like to use the LEAF whenever possible and it didn't seem too bad. While I like the keep the car in a new condition, I like to also show that the car is pretty darn versatile and can be used for almost any trip we need to take.

I did forget to put the side stickers on. There really isn't a good place on the side for them. I actually haven't needed to use the carpool lane yet (luckily my job is close to home) but if I do need to, I might have to just slap them on the side (maybe just the passenger side).

thanks,
Peter

 

[Christopher]

Yeah I didn't like the pressure that the straps put on the spoiler. But I guess I like to use the LEAF whenever possible and it didn't seem too bad. While I like the keep the car in a new condition, I like to also show that the car is pretty darn versatile and can be used for almost any trip we need to take.

Oh, the lack of a bike rack certainly won't keep me from using my LEAF! I've actually always preferred to carry bikes inside my vehicle just to keep them safe. I was happy to discover that my XL size mountain bike fits into the LEAF even easier than the Audi A3 I traded in. And in fact, a second bike loaded on top (blanket between) works just as well in the LEAF. I went to REI and tried out the rear hatch style rack since a bunch of friends like to use them. But it seemed like too much pressure on the spoiler so I'll continue to load the bikes inside -- wrapped in blankets of course to keep the interior pristine:

I did forget to put the side stickers on. There really isn't a good place on the side for them. I actually haven't needed to use the carpool lane yet (luckily my job is close to home) but if I do need to, I might have to just slap them on the side (maybe just the passenger side).

Yeah, I stuck mine where I've seen others do it: as low as possible above the mud flaps and wrapped around to the rear a bit.

 

[mzwibel]

I ordered (and should receive tomorrow) the Yakima KingJoe pro 2. That one is supposed to work with the leaf. Hopefully I will have good luck with that.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, the lack of a bike rack certainly won't keep me from using my LEAF! I've actually always preferred to carry bikes inside my vehicle just to keep them safe. I was happy to discover that my XL size mountain bike fits into the LEAF even easier than the Audi A3 I traded in. And in fact, a second bike loaded on top (blanket between) works just as well in the LEAF.

Yeah, good luck getting 2 full size bikes plus a kid bike in the back, including the carseat... I'm hoping to get the hitch receiver system posted on here and using my existing rack.

 

[Deleted member 770]

I ordered (and should receive tomorrow) the Yakima KingJoe pro 2. That one is supposed to work with the leaf. Hopefully I will have good luck with that.

Did you call Yakima to confirm that? If you work through their website, one page lists about trunk-mount racks under the description of "These products will fit your 2011 Nissan Leaf". But if you click on any one of them, you'll see in the detailed description a line like "The KingJoe Pro 2 will not fit your 2011 Nissan Leaf".

For anyone who's successfully attached a hatch/trunk mount rack - did you have to modify the clips for the top of the hatch? My Bell two-bike unit uses thick metal clips that have an angle of about 45°, and because there's a lip on the front edge of the top of the LEAF's hatch, the clip can't fit between the hatch and rear of the roof. I tried bending the clips, but it was a no-go (too thick). And the fact that the top of the hatch actually ducks below the roof level when the hatch is open just makes things worse. Sigh.

I too am somewhat concerned about the flexing of the plastic spoiler...if anyone has had a rack on for some time, I'd be curious to know your experiences.

Please share...thanks!

 

[DaveEV]

FWIW - took the wheels off my road bike and it fit nicely in the trunk without issue. Just put an old towel down in the truck so you don't grease it up with the chain/chainrings like I did!

 

[darelldd]

Adding a hitch or a roof rack although would add weight and wind resistance causing the range to decrease significantly but I presume that is a given and understood and is out it scope for discussion.

This is not a "given" by any stretch of the imagination. Cross bars can be removed when not in use, and the mileage effect of a hitch is not measurable without instrumentation. How do I know this? From having a receiver hitch added to my EV as well as my Prius, as well as every car before that. NO difference in range on the Rav4EV, and no difference in fuel economy in the Prius.

 

[Herm]

Yes, perhaps the extra 20lbs from the hitch wont noticeably affect the range, but I bet adding a roof mount will have a big effect due to aerodynamic drag on the hwy.

 

[darelldd]

Yes, perhaps the extra 20lbs from the hitch wont noticeably affect the range, but I bet adding a roof mount will have a big effect due to aerodynamic drag on the hwy.

Like I said... you take the cross-bars off when you aren't using them. Hauling gear outside the car in any way will lower aero efficiency. THAT is a given. But as long as the car can be mostly put back to factory form for the other 360 days of the year, there's not much to worry about.

Here's a page I've started on the various ways to carry bikes on cars... their pros and cons. As you can see, I think about this stuff maybe a bit too much. There are four ways that I carry bikes in both of my cars. They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
http://darelldd.com/bicycle/bike_carrier.html

If you look closely at both the Rav4EV and Prius roof, you'll see that I have permanent roof mount anchors attached. Little warts. Makes roof-racking effortless, and no, the warts don't affect range in any humanly-measurable way. I toss the cross bars on when I want them, and take them back off when I don't.

Here's my page on the Prius roof mounts:
http://evnut.com/prius_rack_pads.htm

 

[Electric4Me]

Like I said... you take the cross-bars off when you aren't using them. Hauling gear outside the car in any way will lower aero efficiency. THAT is a given. But as long as the car can be mostly put back to factory form for the other 360 days of the year, there's not much to worry about.

Here's a page I've started on the various ways to carry bikes on cars... their pros and cons. As you can see, I think about this stuff maybe a bit too much. There are four ways that I carry bikes in both of my cars. They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
http://darelldd.com/bicycle/bike_carrier.html

Well put Darell! Thanks for sharing.

Bill

 

[darelldd]

Thanks Bill.

I've also designed my own 1-1/4" hitch-mount bike rack that's more aero and much lighter than anything on the market (not yet available for public consumption as I attempt to patent something on it!). I can't wait to see what you come up with re. the hitch for the Leaf. Are you going after the 2" crowd, or the more practical-for-small-cars 1-1/4"?

 

[hill]

FWIW - took the wheels off my road bike and it fit nicely in the trunk without issue. Just put an old towel down in the truck so you don't grease it up with the chain/chainrings like I did!

That's what I do with my P-38 recumbent too. Fits just fine on the inside. All the wimps that I hang with? Bikes? That's not the way they roll. So my biking is solo

 

[DaveEV]

FWIW - took the wheels off my road bike and it fit nicely in the trunk without issue. Just put an old towel down in the truck so you don't grease it up with the chain/chainrings like I did!

That's what I do with my P-38 recumbent too. Fits just fine on the inside. All the wimps that I hang with? Bikes? That's not the way they roll. So my biking is solo

Should have noted that I didn't even fold the seats down to get the bike fit in the trunk - just had to remove the cargo cover.

 

[Electric4Me]

Thanks Bill.

I've also designed my own 1-1/4" hitch-mount bike rack that's more aero and much lighter than anything on the market (not yet available for public consumption as I attempt to patent something on it!). I can't wait to see what you come up with re. the hitch for the Leaf. Are you going after the 2" crowd, or the more practical-for-small-cars 1-1/4"?

Have you not seen what I'm offering yet elsewhere on this thread? I'm making them for either 2" or 1-1/4" (or interchange them).

Bill