Hendel Clase Posted August 19, 2021 Share 11 minutes ago, bstuart32 said: I have had the exact same problem, I stay on a small holding and purchased a Thuli towbar trailer to be able to transport my MTB and Road bike and to the various tracks like a Boss. The MTB not so much but when getting to a ride with your new Bianchi road bike that now looks like you have used it as a gravel bike is a little disheartening. To solve this issue I found a Dust Protective bike cover on Takealot for R350, slipped it over the gearbox and wheels and ...wallah Protective Slip-on Anti Dust Bicycle Cover _ Buy Online in South Africa _ takealot.com.html 3.05 kB · 6 downloads I like this, thanks Stu. Whilst searching Google for it, I also found this complete cover at Decathlon: Not sure how good it will be though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Bru Posted August 19, 2021 Share I clean my MTB before races to make sure the drive train is clean and things are working nicely, but then stop worrying about it seen as even if it's clean when I get to the venue, it's not gonna be clean for long once the race starts. Road bike is maybe different, but as long as my chain is clean and lubed, and my stanchions are clean, I honestly don't care if my bike is dusty. A portable water sprayer might be a solution though if you're really pedantic? Drive to the venue, stop, spray down your bike, have a clean bike while you stand at the start line, but 30 seconds after the gun your bike is gonna be dirty again. This on the other hand, was a different story and warranted some hose pipe action before riding: Dirt Tracker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterbean Posted August 19, 2021 Share Yeah i got roof racks because trailer, and bike always arrives clean. It can also leave dirty without worry, which was a pain when packing it in the car. Plus, with towing, no chance of stones bouncing off the trailer and hitting bikes, so all round happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capediver Posted August 19, 2021 Share One more thing make sure the wheel/tyre is not close in the line of fire of your exhaust......irrepairable damage can ensue!???? Hendel Clase 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceNotTheBoss Posted August 19, 2021 Share 35 minutes ago, Hendel Clase said: I like this, thanks Stu. Whilst searching Google for it, I also found this complete cover at Decathlon: Not sure how good it will be though... Hendel i see that the link I attached doesn't open, however the one, if you haven't had a look yet, that i referred to is more like spandex. Your kids probably won't be able to inherit it but for the price I've been quite happy with it. Good luck... Hendel Clase 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirt Tracker Posted August 19, 2021 Share I had this issue as well when heading our place down at Infanta. This involves 60km on dirt roads and honestly if you put the bike on a rear towball rack you cannot tell what colour the bike is. Honestly that fine dust is so thick that I've had to strip my MTB down. My gravel bike I just threw in the river and pulled it out and still had to do a full chain clean, get the toothbrush out to got through it all. The dust is weird though, it's like fine dust but when it gets wet it's like clay sludge. I did a lot of looking about and someone else posted a topic about it here Edited August 19, 2021 by Dirt Tracker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirt Tracker Posted August 19, 2021 Share There is this but to be honest the dust thrown up by wheels on some roads will get in everywhere. If there is a gap the dust gets in. Even the seats of my bakkie need a good cleaning after a week away driving up ad down those district roads. Best thing I found was getting the bike on the roof. Works like a charm and never looked back. On the back or on a trailer and the bikes will always get covered. Edited August 19, 2021 by Dirt Tracker ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirt Tracker Posted August 19, 2021 Share Takealot have a lot of covers at a decent price. Some full bikes so that might work. Some at R350 and some at R3500 ???? https://www.takealot.com/all?_sb=1&_r=1&_si=420711a89189a5ee011917f3e14f9281&qsearch=bike cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted August 19, 2021 Share 3 hours ago, Skubarra said: A bit too late as you have already purchased the rack, but if keeping your bike clean & dust free is a big issue for you get yourself a roof rack, makes a massive difference in keeping your bike clean on gravel roads 1000% We have done a 4 000km round trip, with the bike on the roof, most of this on gravel roads. The bike was CLEAN after this trip. A week later the bike was on the platform rack, going to a MTB event outside Worcester .... only a few kilometers of dry dusty gravel road to the start of the venue .... FINE dust all over the bike and drive train. Wiping down the "bike" is a non issue. That fine dust on the chain is GRINDING PASTE !! As for "stones" .... this differs with vehicles .... high vehicles with lower towbars can be problematic !!!!!! Friends got some serious damage on carbon rims from stones kicked up by the rear wheels of the vehicle. This certainly was NOT an issue with our RAV. Skubarra and MajG 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Bru Posted August 19, 2021 Share I've always wondered with the roof top racks... How much of an issue is the height clearance? On an SUV (like a Rav), how often is it a problem at parking lots, drive through's etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted August 19, 2021 Share 1 minute ago, Mountain Bru said: I've always wondered with the roof top racks... How much of an issue is the height clearance? On an SUV (like a Rav), how often is it a problem at parking lots, drive through's etc? With the bike on the RAV the total height was near 3m. Basically you have the height of a small truck .... Fine on most roads. Tricky close to home, where less truck drive, and "prune" the trees ... Forget about basement parking, or any "entry point" with an overhead structure ..... "Interesting" fitting the bike on the RAV when you are 1,76m ..... I used a two step ladder. Thus I continued to use the platform in town and for short gravel sections .... but for long dusty trips the roof option was simply THEE best. Fuel economy .... actually not that bad. I dropped my cruising speed by about 5km/h for the same fuel consumption. Fuel consumption was MUCH worse on a sedan with the bikes on a platform rack !!! Mountain Bru and Hendel Clase 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steady Spin Posted August 19, 2021 Share 2 hours ago, Hendel Clase said: I like this, thanks Stu. Whilst searching Google for it, I also found this complete cover at Decathlon: Not sure how good it will be though... Great air brake that. Air needs to still flow through your bike when behind your car. Hendel Clase 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcg Posted August 19, 2021 Share I've also had headaches with this topic. Behind the Land Cruiser doing longish gravel trips must surely have a serious effect on the drive train, bearings and seals. Riding your MTB on gravel is way different - have you ever checked the plume of dust behind your vehicle when doing only 50km/h? My quick fix has always been to load into interior or onto roof rack. The covers I investigated, but was told by one manufacturer that it's not designed to be on while driving. Too feeble the material I guess - and consider doing 120km/h on the highway would eventually rip them apart. So can anyone recommend a good sturdy full cover that will last at least a year or two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Bru Posted August 19, 2021 Share 1 hour ago, mrcg said: I've also had headaches with this topic. Behind the Land Cruiser doing longish gravel trips must surely have a serious effect on the drive train, bearings and seals. Riding your MTB on gravel is way different - have you ever checked the plume of dust behind your vehicle when doing only 50km/h? My quick fix has always been to load into interior or onto roof rack. The covers I investigated, but was told by one manufacturer that it's not designed to be on while driving. Too feeble the material I guess - and consider doing 120km/h on the highway would eventually rip them apart. So can anyone recommend a good sturdy full cover that will last at least a year or two? Screw a piece of wood to the bottom of a platform rack to keep the dust off your bike? This doesn't really bother me though. Seals should be IP rated to be basically underwater, so dust ingress into bearings shouldn't be a problem, especially if they're sealed bearings that are usually protected by an outer cover, a layer of grease and then the bearing's seal. Riding with a dirty drive train isn't a good idea, but this is easily solved with a chain cleaner and maybe spraying some water on the derailleurs to rinse the dust off if it's really bad. If nothings, turning, nothing is wearing, and I highly doubt dust is getting past any seals just from driving. Also, don't lube your chain just before you chuck you bike on the rack. If you use a dry wax the night before, it should be dry and less sticky in the morning so less dust will stick to it. For refence on the bearings and seals though, GCN did a video once where they were testing the "pressure washer pushes water into your bearings" theory..... If a pressure washer at point blank range being used in the stupidest way possible can only barely push water into a BB bearing, I don't think you need to worry too much about dust behind your car. Edited August 19, 2021 by Mountain Bru Rolf Hansen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chadvdw67 Posted August 20, 2021 Share 11 hours ago, Mountain Bru said: I've always wondered with the roof top racks... How much of an issue is the height clearance? On an SUV (like a Rav), how often is it a problem at parking lots, drive through's etc? I have roof racks over the bed of my bakkie, so the total height is probably lower than most cars, I cant go through drive throughs, the handle bars clip the "minimum height" signs, but I have not had any other issues, but it is something you need to be constantly aware of, just incase... like when coming home, our wall has an arch over the driveway, need to take the bike off before pulling in, touchwood I have never forgot to take the bike off first ???? ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham W Posted August 20, 2021 Share More importantly the Thule x press manual dose not recommend travel on dirt roads. Suggest that you source another rack that is suitable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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