strand rider

I want to put a bike rack on my convertible, and none are made for this car. I don't know if this is lack of demand, of lack of a suitable supporting structure.

I am hoping that the collective mind here will help me design a solution for a bike rack attachment.

My preliminary plan is to secure the rack with nylon straps going into the trunk, probably securing to the trunk hinge.

But I have no idea how strong is the hinge attachment , or if there is a better load point. I would also probably need to add some kind of stringer along the trunk lid edge, to distribute the load. But still don't know if this would just move the stress break slightly away from the edge. Perhaps I will need to add a second skin underneath the trunk lid for strength, and secure to that , but I would still have unknown strength on the trunk edge.

Then I will need to find some tie points for side load stability. Any ideas? I would use suction cups or some kind of chafing gear to protect the paint. I plan on flat nylon straps through the panel gaps for attachments and no drilling or non reversible mods.

Trying to avoid a trailer hitch rack, as any rear end collision goes right into the frame.

Any suggestion will be appreciated. I will be taking this rig into canyon roads to go off road biking, so it's got to be secure, safe, and removable.

I have no idea about the strength of the body material, and really don't want to find out the hard way. Same concerns about the trunk hinge, or any other tie off points.

zeevette

Gayest post ever; not that there's anything wrong with that.

Chilliwack vettes

Most car hitches have removable tongues so that the hitch sits flush with the frame or at least won't stick out past the body. I'm also guessing that the hitch would probably be too low to get impacted anyways. Your car would probably not be in very good shape if you were hit hard enough to cause frame damage hitch or no hitch.
The trunk hinge might be strong enough for one bike but I think for peace of mind, ease and no damage, a hitch would be the way to go.

chaase

Go with a hitch mount. You need to mount things to the frame. The hitch should be even with the bumper and it will be so low it will not get hit anyway. The plastic body panels will not do well with things mounted to them.

WKMCD

Put the wheels in the trunk. Take out the passenger seat and put the frame in it's place.

If you have two bikes, remove the driver's seat also.

Hope this helps.

abflyboy

MSUGTO

I'm able to fit my road bike in my FRC, i know it's not a convertible but it's the same trunk opening. I do it by removing the wheels and seat post, loosening the stem at the handle bar and rotating the handle bar. It actually slides in the trunk pretty easily.

YELLO C5

I use a Saris Thelma rack with a hitch mount. Don't make it a habit of backing into things with the rack and you'll be fine. If someone is going to rear-end you, you're going to get damage with or without a bike rack. Since I usually only carry one bike, I removed one of the bike mounts. That way it doesn't block the license plate when it's up and not in use. Yes, the bike would probably fit in the hatch but if you're road tripping, you'll need the space.

Worse problem I have with the mount is that I sometimes forget to pull far enough in the garage or to put it up before closing the garage door. It came down on my carbon fiber bike a couple times. Fortunately, the only casualty was my eTrex GPS screen.

roadbike56

strand rider,
You need to post this question on bikeforums.net Go to the Road Bike forum and ask there. You'll need to become a member, but it's free. Alternately, you can search on threads started by roccobike who asked the identical question on bikeforums.net. They had some great answers complete with pics of bikes being hauled around by corvettes. Most, but not all, are pics of C5s.
I'm still looking to buy a C5 and roadsters and coupes are in my search. If I buy a vert, I'm going to try a Rhode Gear rack I picked up that was designed for glass hatchbacks. These racks have dowels attached to the two main straps that were designed to fit inside the glass hatchback instead of hooks (that would have broken the glass). The rack stablizes with two straps that would go to the bottom of the rear bumper and two side straps that need to fit into the trunk lid (I hope). These racks are hard to find but I believe a similar rack with dowels may be available from Walmart. Alternately, I'll try a Saris Bones. I agree with you that I'd like to avoid installing a hitch. But first, I have to buy a Vette. That's a lot harder than finding a rack to work with. Hope this helps.

dmarkshark

I think the nylon strap would be questionable because of the bumper , which is in flex mode, so it would be a strong connect on the top , but not the bottom. I would think something that would hook to the trunk lid only would maybe work, like the ones that go on the tops of cars. Not sure if there is anything like that out there. You could probably get one in the trunk in parts, but thats it. I would think the hitch mount would be the best if more than one. Bottom line, if you don't want to mess up the car, you will need to take the bike apart in pieces and make it fit.

Quicksilver Vert 01

Your way sounds like the most sensible way to transport a bike in a C5 without the risk of causing body or paint damage

YELLO C5

Just incase anyone think it's crazy to put a bike on a C5...
http://9gag.com/gag/259453
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/6574958/

lucky131969

Just because someone is doing it with a much more expensive sports car, does not mean I think it's any less ridiculus.....

YELLO C5

If you like driving your Vette or Lambo and like biking I see no reason why you can't do both! Heck, I've thought about towing a small camper so save hotel costs on road trips.

lucky131969

To each their own...

pleadingbark

Get sea-suckers. They are essentially giant suction cups. Their facebook page has someone attaching their bike to a C6 convertible's trunk width wise.

MSUGTO

It is a bit more work but I didn't want to put a hitch on the car or anything that touches the paint. Not to mention once it's in there there's still plenty of room for your gear, somehow!

strand rider

Cool , right into the top of the top ten , and I don't even know that much about the cars.

Was it gay because I wanted to carry a bike, or that I was unsure about the carrying capacity of the body material?

I always enjoy a little humor, but reject putting these cars on a pedestal.

My concern was attaching a bunch of crap to the trunk and having damage due to ignorance.

strand rider

Thanks to all for the replies. I found the advice about avoiding the flex areas of the body useful, as I was unsure about the entire deal, never having owned a plastic bodied car. I was still kind of thinking along boat materials and stuff.

I also found the sea sucker stuff nice. I traveled to my local retailer to check it out, and the only attachments were width wise across the trunk.
Not brave enough to go with that, although there is a still picture of a c6 that shows that approach.

I still fear frame damage do to rear collisions so am fighting the best solution, the rack on a hitch. (I saw a lot of simple rear end stuff that damaged the frame due to a hitch when I was second man at a body shop, frame repair is real tough to return to straight, most american frames are done to 1/4 of an inch in concept. )

Right now I am considering a cheapie light rack from Allen and adapting it to lay the bike across the trunk lid, attached with seasuckers. I did get a reply from a guy that sells luggage racks for Corvettes, nice product it seems. This was attached via the normal hooks and straps so I gained a little more confidence in the material strength.

I plan on taking the car on road trips, and packing the bike into the trunk would require a lot of work packing all the other stuff . I might still do that, but will continue working on a bike rack .

If you live in the Redwoods and see a black convertible with a bike frame flat across the trunk someday, that's me.

Yea, I know, too gay.

WKMCD

Not at all unless this...