TheSamba.com :: View topic - Recon Bike Racks

Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:49 am

Hi All,

I’m searching for a new bike rack and came across Recon Bike racks out of Bellingham, WA. It similar to the Northshore racks in that it carries bikes vertically but has the advantage of accommodating all types of bikes (Northshore Racks - similar configuration - only recommends carrying mountain bikes with their due to clearance needs for their hook).

Has anyone seen or used a Recon rack and do you have any opinions about it?

Vendor website...
http://recon-racks.com/

Rack review...
https://m.pinkbike.com/news/recon-gen-2-r5-shuttle-rack-review-2017.html

Skip to 3:30 to actually see the rack...

My requirements are:
- carry the bikes vertically
- carry bikes with tires mounted on the bike (we put bikes on and off too frequently to remove the front wheel)
- carry bikes on the back of the van
- accommodate road bikes and mountain bikes

Thanks for any and all ideas.

Thu Apr 26, 2018 12:20 pm

I have used them quite a bit. They work well.
Compared to the Northshore, they are better built and will fit all mountain bikes. The Northshore interferes with many newer frames with huge lower headtubes or weird downtube bends.

I dont see why it wouldnt work with a road bike if you made the wheel hoop tighter.

Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:40 pm

Thanks! Recon suggests that road bike wheels fit in the hoops as-is, no need for shimming. In fact, he’s expanded the hoops to fit fat tires and still accommodate narrow tires.

I called Recon this morning and chatted with Cody (it sounds like he’s a one man show in Ferndale, WA). He was super-friendly and spent some time trying to problem-solve how to mount a 2-3 bike version to a RMW or Gary Lee spare-tire swing-out. We didnt solve it but this seems like one of the best possibilities out there.