Has anyone tried the Seasucker roof mounts? I'm interested in their simplicity, but skeptical that they would hold at 70 mph for a couple hours on the highway. Thanks.
you mean the hardware that works on the principle of tension that can fail just the same? (Although not very likely) I dont say I dont trust the mechanical racks, but the case you do make against the suckers is very weak. Believe me if there is a bad seal you will know right away.
If, for example, a seal in the pump fails when it's on then you'll have a catastrophic failure. Generally, with more traditional racks there is more redundancy.
But, like I said, if you want to use one - great. I'm not going to. Nice to have choices.
@johnj80 I agree that it is possible that one seal can fail, but the possibility of all failing simultaneously is pretty low. If you believe the specs, each one can hold 200lbs of force. All of the racks have at least 3 points of contact in the front, giving you about 600lbs. Lose one, down to 400lb. That seems like redundancy to me. Add the one suction to the rear too.
And I agree, it is nice to have choice in the marketplace. For some people, this is the ideal rack. I use mine when my wife won't let me keep the bike in the trunk!!
Actually, I think this rack could save oil!! Really!! Most roof racks create drag and if you only ride a few days a week, then you are losing some MPGs. I think my car lost about 3mpg with my roof rack and that is without a bike attached. The Seasuckers come off the car easily, negating this problem.
This is why I love this rack. Just got another car and guess what? I can still use my rack without any cutting of my bars or fit kits to buy. Up in 3 minutes. Held on all day and went on a 75MPH freeway ride.
Well I did the calculations below. This is the gas savings I would get if I didn't drive around with my old Yakima bike rack.
My car gets about 30mpg on freeway driving. In this scenario, I am mainly freeway driving. More speed, more wind resistance. Anyways, leave my Yakima rack on without a bike, I am getting 27mpg.
My tank is about 14 gallons.
No rack. 30x14=420 miles on one tank.
With rack and no bike 27x14=378 miles on one tank.
420-378=42 mile difference. I am losing over one gallon of gas for every tank, which is about $4.35. Not horrible, but not energy efficient.
Now if I stuck to city traffic, my savings would probably be less. But I am pretty sure I would lose about 1-2mpg.
Just one of the benefits of using a removable rack.
Well I did the calculations below. This is the gas savings I would get if I didn't drive around with my old Yakima bike rack.
My car gets about 30mpg on freeway driving. In this scenario, I am mainly freeway driving. More speed, more wind resistance. Anyways, leave my Yakima rack on without a bike, I am getting 27mpg.
My tank is about 14 gallons.
No rack. 30x14=420 miles on one tank.
With rack and no bike 27x14=378 miles on one tank.
420-378=42 mile difference. I am losing over one gallon of gas for every tank, which is about $4.35. Not horrible, but not energy efficient.
Now if I stuck to city traffic, my savings would probably be less. But I am pretty sure I would lose about 1-2mpg.
Just one of the benefits of using a removable rack.
So, if I did that right, that pays back in 28,000 miles of driving with your bike on the car since I presume you are taking this off your car when not transporting your bike.
Or more precisely, 26K miles for the single version and 36K miles for the dual version.
I love the Idea of the Sea-Sucker, and wanted to use them. My main concern was not the sea sucker, but the window. My car has a large piece of glass and we were concerned with it detaching from the rest of the hatch. I wouldn't want to attach it to the roof, as it could scratch the paint and there has been a recall already of the roof delaminating from the frame with no outside help.
From what ive seen windows are put on pretty solid. Even when I have gotten a windshield or rear windshield replaced, it usually takes two of those guys to try and pop it out. But that might be something you ask around and see how much actual force it takes to remove your window.
If you have had recalls on the roof, I can see why your leery or putting it up there. My Mini has a softer roof than any of my other cars but still handle the bikes like a champ.
I love the idea of these, removable, reusable on any car (more or less) and saves petrol/gas. I have a small car and since I installed Thule bars and 2 Yakima racks two things have happened: I get 100km less on a fill (350km down from 450km); and above 60kph the noise from the racks (without a bike) is horrendous. I worked out the racks will pay for themselves in less than one year.
I've searched a lot for postings of catastrophic failures and I can't find any. Has anyone? The redundancy of multiple suckers is a great feature so I can't see safety being a real issue. Sure, one may fail or lose vacuum from time to time but how long would you actually leave them on your car without checking them? I give my Thule racks a shake now and again to check them out for example.
Off to the shop to get some this week. There is a mini-bomber with my name on it.
Of course the only problem now is how to easily find my car in the huge Malaysian parking lots!
I love the idea of these, removable, reusable on any car (more or less) and saves petrol/gas. I have a small car and since I installed Thule bars and 2 Yakima racks two things have happened: I get 100km less on a fill (350km down from 450km); and above 60kph the noise from the racks (without a bike) is horrendous. I worked out the racks will pay for themselves in less than one year.
I've searched a lot for postings of catastrophic failures and I can't find any. Has anyone? The redundancy of multiple suckers is a great feature so I can't see safety being a real issue. Sure, one may fail or lose vacuum from time to time but how long would you actually leave them on your car without checking them? I give my Thule racks a shake now and again to check them out for example.
Off to the shop to get some this week. There is a mini-bomber with my name on it.
Of course the only problem now is how to easily find my car in the huge Malaysian parking lots!
Yeah I just put a little spay bottle in my cars for that. Works perfect. I have put them on dry and still hold but I have never gone too far this way just a quick ride to the trail. I mostly always dampen them.
You can definately modify them. All it takes is a 1/4 machine screw. I sold my Thule Big Mouth Racks if not I would test it out. Here is my Thule Snowboard racks modified.
I have a sea sucker and love it. only failure i had was having it sucked to my front windshield and turning on the wiper, wiper broke and the cup didn't even move haha. The sea sucker got me back riding again. Got this car didn't want a roof rack or hitch or anything on it:nono:. Found the sea sucker went for it and never looked back. I have tested this thing like crazy. I drive all highway to ride holding a about 75 no prob. I just wet the car dry with micro fiber cloth then apply. Commute to trail take bike off then sea suckers off put them in the trunk. I then ride and come back reapply suckers them put the bike on then back home. The only failure i read about is that someone had the sea sucker cup get messed up but not using the orange PROTECTIVE covers while they left it in the car for about a month while on vacation :madman:. I personally wouldn't leave my sea suckers in the car for days on end it get hot in the car, plus thats what the PROTECTIVE covers are for. I agree they are not cheap but neither are truck rack or hitchs or roof racks. It was the cheapest by far from the choices i had for my car. The best part is no marks and its not car specific. Hope other ppl give the sea suckers a chance its a good product i have had mine for like 6 months and glad to have it:thumbsup:
Has anyone installed this on a new Camaro. I would to be able to drive my car and haul my bike at the same time.
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