Product Review ISI 2 bike carrier 2x4x4

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
A good mix of reviews & opinions. Undoubtedly gives good cause for consideration, as too for George in terms of ways the product could potentially be refined as it evolves- user feedback is the best kid of feedback after all.



Maybe I've been unlucky, but I have to wholly disagree with this. Not only have I been booked twice in the space of 3yrs for obscured brake & signalling lights as a result of a towball rack, but I've also been victim to almost running up the arse of a car loaded 4 deep with bikes on a towball rack (admittedly the douchebag driver decided to throw the anchors out & peel off the road very late) as a result of their indicators & brake lights being obscured. After the $300+ of fines it was a no brainer to contend with the minor PITA & install a light bar for my rack, especially when considering the outcomes of someone running up my arse while loaded with expensive bikes.
There's always one....

;)

Vague question, were you by any chance pulled over for something else and had it added on, or just pulled over for the obscured lights?

It would be hard to imagine having a lower opinion of highway patrol than I do, but this might identify a new low
 
There's always one....

;)

Vague question, were you by any chance pulled over for something else and had it added on, or just pulled over for the obscured lights?

It would be hard to imagine having a lower opinion of highway patrol than I do, but this might identify a new low
Unless they just hated people who drive Volvo XC70s, then no.

First time was passing through a random breath test & vehicle check area outside the Yass super servo heading back to Melb from a week riding Stromlo- one officer RBTed me while the other went over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb. Got to my bike rack displaying my rego etc, called his partner around to also look at it & they both agreed my brake lights & indicators were obscured by the two bikes I was carrying- despite the secondary indicators being mounted high & visible in the rear pillars & the factory rear brake light in the top of the rear window. While remaining polite & somewhat stunned, upon the ticket being issued I was also informed I wouldn't be able to continue my journey. As a result I had to unpack the back of the wagon, then be a tetris wizard in order to fit one of the bikes in the back. Pleaded with them that I had nowhere else to stow the second bike & after much umming & ahhing they sent me on my way. Suffice to say the moment I got on the highway & a few kms up the road I pulled over, pulled the bike out & put it back on the rack, not least of all for the fact that said bike was obscuring & view out the rear view mirror.

Second time was then being pulled over on dusk in Mansfield on my way home from Buller. This time however the po-po was making a left turn onto the roundabout I was going through. He impatiently wheeled in behind me, coming what must've been awfully close to clipping the extra 700mm of length of rack hanging off the back of my car (3 bike tray style carrier), & pretty much immediately lit me up. Once again he wasn't happy about my lights being partially obscured, despite the factory brake light at the top of my rear window & secondary indicators being abundantly clear.

It's a fine line between doing their job & being a knob. On both occasions I felt like they were being knobs. Nonetheless, for the sake of the $50 for the rear light bar I'm glad I bought it/fitted it.
 

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
Bloody hell. I've been pulled over twice with a rack on, both times I attracted the attention by speeding, both times nothing was said about obscuring - one remarked on lack of official numberplate, but let me off because towbar had only been installed previous day, so no bike plates yet (on your way, have a nice holiday), second was a bit obsessed about the number plate swinging with the wind as I drove and that it should be bolted top and bottom - breathylised me and sent me on my way.

Both events on long weekends with double demerits - clearly I show too much confidence in my driving on long weekends ...... (10 over). Must have had quite a few police follow me over the years as well.
 

Travis22

Likes Dirt
I got done 15+ years ago for obscured lights from a bike on the back. Was 3 points and cannot remember exactly but a pretty hefty fine too! ($200-300?)

Motorbike officer filtering through traffic and came in behind me and pulled me over. No breath test no looking over the car just got out his camera and took a photo of the bike on the back and issued me with the fine.

Travis.
 

ualf

Likes Dirt
I have had the 4 bike version for a number of years now and I can agree that it is heavy.

I wouldn't even try to lower or lift it when loaded with 4 bikes.

Having said that, as Kenny would say, this thing will outlast religion.

As far as storing it goes, I have a bigger problem with storing bikes, the rack takes up a bit less space than a single bike.

I have installed a set of lights on the back of it that I purchased from one of the auto stores and would recommend that course of action to anyone for any rack.
 

gcouyant

Farkin Advertiser
Lights are dead easy. When we ship to some parts of Europe where the tail lamp policing laws are like our licence plate visibility policing, we configure a pair of licence plate holders - one either side of the main beam and then bolt any of the popular (and legal) light boards over there. The very reason for the development of the 4x4x2 carrier reviewed here is to eliminate stress and hassle when travelling with bikes and if that means bolting a light board on then do it. Plenty of light board products out there - that's a crowded market. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[video=youtube_share;YX9hrOeEk4k]https://youtu.be/YX9hrOeEk4k[/video]
 

wojo

Cannon Fodder
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Hi All,

I found these carriers a few months ago and it just ticked all the boxes for me (after a few modifications - but I'm really particular and customise everything).

Firstly, build quality, carrying, usability and customer service are first class. I had mine delivered next day which was ahead of expectations and George was really great in making sure everything was sorted before and after. He was also willing to help and provide input on my proposed mods.

The design and construction of this is top notch. It's really simple, excellently executed and has addressed the problem of rear bike carrying exceptionally well. Once the hoops are aligned its on and off super easy, set and forget as I dont carry different bikes often. As you can see I have the 4x4x2 and the fold down is simple, smooth and solid.

It was an added bonus that the design, engineering and manufacturing is a great example of Aussie excellence and international success. These guys should really get more recognition and business. I would put this up there as the best bike rack on the market internationally. As I said I am picky on my gear and have scoured the net for the perfect solution for me and this is just superb.

I had a unique requirement for my bike carrier though as I dont have a garage so I was expressly looking for something modular that I could dismantle and store in the boot. This fit the bill or more accurately given the design I knew I could make it work with a bit of tinkering (I note that some find this a bit clunky because it's fixed cross beam so this may help).

My first step was to cut the cross member in half which wasn't too hard obviously but I wanted to ensure I retained the security of two contact/retention points and that I didn't lose the rigidity that the complete pole provides.

To do this I drilled a 10mm hole through the inner beam and outer sleeve to fit the 10mm retention pins I had. A bit of paint to seal the bare metal and it was another easy fix.

George also recommened to weld an insert inside the beam on one side as well. The insert will extends out and fit flush inside the other half when mounted providing additional integrity for any loss of stiffness caused by cutting the beam in half. I haven't done this yet but I will soon. For any significant off-roading I'll just get another complete cross beam to restore the factory stiffess.

Given the chat here about lights and plate visibility I also got a motorcycle light/plate setup off ebay for $20. This mounted to the back of the main strut pretty easily and the cables run inside the and out the bottom to the trailer plug. Now I have a visible plate that's illuminated at night and visible lights out the back. No compliance issues with the Police here, don't need that hassle. Just a note Victorian regulations state the lights need to be visible from 50m (brakes) and 20m (indicators), they don't say they need to be at the corners of the vehicle.

Regarding security I have wrapped a kryptonite cable lock wrapped around the main strut. This is long enough to secure my bikes and lock it to where you would normally secure the trailer chain. You can also just lock the rack if you want. Not fool proof obviously but it helps opportunistic theft and allows me to go to the shops without stressing.

Thoughts for improvements? Well apart from the mods I made I think potentially having one upright would work well enough. If that one upright could hinge left and right that would be cool too as you lie it down when no bikes are mounted and allow rear door access without folding the rack down or taking the upright off. Not a deal breaker but I'd be interested to see how this would work in practice. To be clear I'm talking about a 1% potential improvement here.

Knowing everything I know I would absolutely buy this again and totally recommend for all. Comparing price they'e actually really affordable too. Two thule roof mounted pro racks would cost about the same. Compared to a thule tray rack this is cheaper and much sturdier, better departure angles (no scraping) and this will undoubtedly last you longer.

Sorry about the ramble but the above submissions helped me and I figured my tweaks and findings may in turn help others.
 
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gcouyant

Farkin Advertiser
I found these carriers a few months ago and it just ticked all the boxes for me (after a few modifications - but I'm really particular and customise everything).

Good on you for the mods Wojo. Glad it's working out. Hopefully the following suggestions assist as well.

The two offset vertical support posts actually play a very important role in stabilising the bicycles right at the strongest part of the tup tube *and* allow the bicycles to be positioned exactly side by side so that the entire load is as narrow as possible. These are key benefits when the going gets tight threading through traffic and along narrow trails.

This feature is implemented specifically to solve the problem of retaining the bicycle along the weakest part of the top tube further forward. The high cyclic loads when travelling over rough roads and corrugations can separate the weave in carbon frames.



This example is typical of two bicycles, side by side with no left/right offset, each retained right at the strong sweet spot on the top tube.

The bikes below with steep top tubes *must* have offset posts in order to retain the bikes and keep it narrow. The offset is then able to satisfy the requirements of high-end users who demand a load that is narrower than their vehicle and/or trailer.



With rigid vertical posts, the bicycles are stabilised without large clearances between them resulting in a nice compact load. Really gentle pressure on the frame support cradle too. Never pull down hard to load the top tube and compress the suspension. The carrier is designed for very light bike contact in order to protect the most delicate of carbon frames.

When it comes to packing away into the back of the car, slip the posts out of their sleeves make it all the lighter as well. As you’ve noticed, at 400mm long, the main beam is tiny and light weight without nearly a metre of floppy tube bolted to it. Removing tubes is gold.

Hope that helps.
 

goobags

Likes Dirt
I can’t get my bikes exactly side by side without lowering both droppers. The seat or seatpost hits the handlebars. Not an issue for my own bikes but would be an issue for others including when I take my mates bikes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

gcouyant

Farkin Advertiser
I can’t get my bikes exactly side by side without lowering both droppers. The seat or seatpost hits the handlebars. Not an issue for my own bikes but would be an issue for others including when I take my mates bikes.
Good point Goobags - clearance that only really occurs because the 4x4x2 bicycle carrier encourages the operator to actually place bikes side by side.

Traditional platform carrier wheel support cradles are fixed vertically but with this bicycle carrier, each wheel support cradle has two vertical positions so you can set the height of each cradle at each end of each bike independently. In other words, at each end both high, both low, forward high – rear low, forward low – rear high.

This animation shows swapping high-low at one side of the carrier.




In the example below, you’ll notice that each bike has front wheel high and rear wheel low so that the handlebars are positioned just above the adjacent saddle.



Another option may be to position the handlebar just under the adjacent saddle. Like this customer below with the front low and adjacent bike rear high so that the handlebar slips just under the saddle



Vertical adjustment assists to have both bikes to be placed side by side without interference and each bike retained at the strongest point on the top tube. With the rigid vertical posts and really gentle frame support contact you can then maintain very tight clearances between bicycle components. I’ll happily smash it up to Kalumburu off the Gibb or across the Simpson desert with 5mm clearance between a saddle and handlebar.

With this adjustability it’s rare that you have to adjust saddle height but if it’s inevitable, there’s always choice to maintain a narrow load or spread out.

The above may not be intuitive given the different types of wheel support cradles so please do feel welcome to email a couple of photographs Goobags and I’ll have a look and advise accordingly. Happy to help.
 
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