If you own more than one type of bicycle, then you may have noticed that a single car-top-mounting system doesn't necessarily work for all of them – or at least, not without a bit of doing. Going between a road bike, mountain bike and fatbike, for instance, can require the use of adapters for different tire widths, axle types or frame designs. Then, there's also the fact that not all systems are compatible with all roof-top racks. That's why Australian cyclists Stefan Wrobel and Sean Stoney invented the Upside Rack.
The Upside can reportedly be attached to almost any type of bike, allowing it to be mounted upside-down on any rack. Here's how it works …
With their bike right-side-up and on the ground, users start by hooking a rubber strap on the rear end of the Upside Rack around the saddle. They then fold the Y-shaped device's anodized aluminum arms forward and clamp them to the handlebars. When the bike and rack are turned upside-down and placed on a roof rack, the tops of the handlebar clamps hook onto the front cross-rail. A hook in the back, meanwhile, is slid forward until it engages the rear rail, and is then tightened down and locked into place.
The whole process is said to take about 20 seconds, and is demonstrated in the video at the bottom of the page.
Users can mount the device on the car's rack facing forwards or backwards, so two or more Upside-equipped bikes can be placed on one vehicle sitting in alternating directions. Additionally, Wrobel tells us that the product has passed a series of crash tests, meaning that it won't go flying off if the car is in a collision.
If you're interested in getting an Upside Rack of your own, it's currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of AU$150 (about US$112) will presently get you one, when and if they reach production. The estimated retail price is approximately AU$220 (around US$165).
Sources: Upside Racks, Kickstarter
