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following. I bought the seasuckers as well, but just for shorter trips. I will try them out this weekend.
Originally Posted by usccharles
let us know how it goes! I’m sure it will work perfectly
So I put 435 miles on at speeds up to 82mph. No problem at all. I did stop at the 1.5 hour point and 2.5 hour point to check the suction cup indicators and several needed to be pumped to improve vacuum. They didn't totally lose vacuum and the rack was still very solid, just losing suction per the indicator. The manual says this is normal and to check it every four hours on long drives. The last 4.5 hours of driving, there was no change at all. I attribute this to the fact that I initially primed the suction cups at 70 degrees ambient temps but at 90 degrees while driving in the sun (and the suction cups are black), the cavity obviously warmed up and decreased vacuum.
I have a sun roof and the three forward suction cups attached to the sunroof. I was a bit worried about this but the sun roof is pretty robust. I was more worried that I would accidentally open the sun roof forgetting about the mount right above my head. Imagine if I did that? I had considered putting tape over the sunroof opener button but didn't.
Super easy to put on and take off too.
Lots of people giving me thumbs up and taking pictures of my car and bike rack on Interstate 95.
Some pics below:
Plus two points for color coordinating the bike and car colors!
Don't you just love big butts? (below)
Check out my mpg! I was surprised that it was that good considering all the additional wind resistance from the bike and I had about 15 miles in city traffic. 471 miles on a tank of gas......
Ha ha....neither have I. But I have been driving it like a Camry to take it easy on the bike rack.
Today I did 440 miles with no issues with the rack at all. I had to add a tiny bit of suction too two of the five suction cups at about the 4.5 hour mark. This rack is the easiest to take off the car. Literally 10 secs for both pieces.
So I completed about 1250 miles on my trip with this rack and I am very happy with the quality of the build, ease of putting it on and taking it off. This thing is just solid. It also fits just about any car which is really nice and comes with a replacement suction cup and suction cup protectors while in storage.
I had one issue when I mounted my rack on the third morning. Over the previous two days, the suction cups and roof had built up some pollen and I didn't clean it off. I put the rack on and then went to check out of the hotel. 5 minutes past and when I came out to get in my car, I checked the indicators again and one of the suction cups lost vacuum as a result of the pollen. I'm glad I checked but I could have just put the bike on and left without my short delay and then maybe something bad would have happened (although there are 5 suction cups total)
I cleaned the roof and suction cups, reapplied the rack and everything worked out fine. Lessons learned is to check cleanliness of the mounting surface and suction cups before applying. This precaution is also in the manual but I just didn't think they were that dirty at the time of application.
Below is a pic of what the suction cup indicators look like with full suction and loss of suction. Partial loss of suction is when the orange indicator is only starting to show. This wasn't the day I lost suction due to pollen. This is just staged to show what the indicators looked like.
Here is a pic looking up through the sunroof driving down Canal St in New Orleans. Totally cool.
Great update. I’ve had a rack full of windsurfing gear depart the car roof on the highway once upon a time. I’ll do anything to keep everything inside these days. But, I may go for the Porsche cross bars in the future (for a kiteboard).
Good luck in your race!
(We are 7 weeks away from IM70.3 Coeur d’Alene... Training is going well... Apart from the continually tired part.)
Thank you for the great detail in your descriptions. I look forward to trying out the Seasucker. Planned mileage for inaugural run very similar to yours.
Big Sur scenic rest stop along CA-1 Mounting the LeMond on the Seasucker Talon 1 before heading home from Pasadena CA-1 Sunset at Bixby Bridge, Big Sur, CA Front mount of the Seasucker Talon 1 Rear wheel mount with big Velcro strap of the Talon 1
Just adding my $0.02 of experience and input on the Seasucker Talon 1 ; I just brought my bike with me down and back up the California coast on my 993 C4S for Luftgekühlt 6 weekend. It performed fantastically and without any issues or concerns. My classic Carbonframes Calfee LeMond road bike road securely and safely with this setup. I averaged 75mph and had some peaks over 85mph, but in strong coast windy areas I kept it around 70mph. Prior to adding the rack to my roof and rear glass I always use something like Mother's Instant Polish to clean and finish the surface nicely prior to placing clean suction cups down. Perfect adhesion each time, and totally clean w/out any marks or residue when removed. I've not had the suction pressure change much in the recommended 2 to 4-hr max run time between pressure checkups. I left mine on after returning home and was still at pressure a day later. Truly a testament to a well engineered product!
05-02-2018, 07:21 PM
And the front mounts were still attached.
