Hey guys, thanks for the interest! To address some of your concerns, we will be including strap pads on the ratchet straps to eliminate and wear between the strap and bike, but in our testing and through feedback from team riders we found that the wear without using the pad is extremely minimal to non existent. Also, a cool thing about our racks is that they are on average 25% lighter than other company's tray style racks. If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to email me at adam@tufrack.com.