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Thread: Bike Rack - 2013 Mirage (hitch-mounted approach, minus the hitch)

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    Bike Rack - 2013 Mirage (hitch-mounted approach, minus the hitch)

    Mitsubishi NZ don't have a towbar listed for the new Mirage, maybe because NZ only gets the CVT model and they aren't keen on people towing stuff with a CVT ? Fair enough, but we do need a bike rack.

    So, here's some pix of a bike rack that we had made up. It's made of thinwall square section mild steel tube and plate, weighs something like 20kg all up, and is painted to match with some paint that the local paintshop mixed up from the car's paint codes.

    The two chassis rails at the rear are already drilled and equipped with four captive nuts each side, perfect mounting points.

    The rack was designed to take three bikes, but there is plenty of room to fit four and the assembly should be strong enough. I will do a load test at some stage, hang 80kg off the rack to simulate a 2G bump (the bikes are about 10kg each) and see how it looks.

    We did consider having it made as a towbar, but figured that it was best to restrict it to a bike rack only, thus avoiding the temptation to tow a trailer in a moment of need.

    Regards to all
    Flange

















    Attached Images Attached Images      
    Last edited by Daox; 06-11-2013 at 12:36 PM. Reason: added full size pics

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Flange For This Useful Post:

    MetroMPG (06-11-2013)

  3. #2
    Administrator Daox's Avatar
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    Looks good! I like that its color matched too. How much did it cost to have made?
    Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block

    Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 47.2 mpg (US) ... 20.1 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.7 mpg (Imp)


  4. #3
    Flange - excellent project! Thanks for posting. (I hope you don't mind I fleshed out your thread title to make it more visible to people searching for this approach.)

    The exisiting bolt holes made it fairly straightforward - lucky you.

    We did consider having it made as a towbar, but figured that it was best to restrict it to a bike rack only, thus avoiding the temptation to tow a trailer in a moment of need.
    That's a temptation I wouldn't have been able to resist! I have a lightweight (160 lbs / 73 kg) trailer that I sometimes use for light duty work. The car with the hitch is also not rated for towing... however, it's well past the warranty, so there's no disincentive for in me doing that.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  5. #4
    Forgot to ask one question: does the rack also tilt away from the car so you can open the hatch?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Hey there Team
    Thanks for the title edit MetroMPG, I keep forgetting that the forum doesn't just cover Jocelyn's model Mirage.

    I don't have a firm price yet sorry Daox, the job was done by one of my motorbike cronies and he hasn't tendered an account yet but I do know it used about a hundred bucks worth of steel, twenty bucks worth of bolts and the clevis pin, and eighty bucks worth of paint, hardener and clearcoat from the paintshop so I am anticipating an all up cost of about $350-400. Oh, and we had to hijack one of the grandkids' swimming noodles to use as padding on the bars, that's about two bucks.

    We didn't make provision for the rack to tilt down MetroMPG. We designed it so that the upright part sits into a deep socket and is retained only by a single spring-retained clevis pin so it takes literally five seconds to fit or remove the upright - drop it into the socket, insert the clevis pin, bring the retaining spring around and clip it.

    The content of your trailer looks like an essential toy when one lives in a place called "Thousand Islands". Is that one of those pedal powered boats ?

    Regards to all
    Flange

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    That's a temptation I wouldn't have been able to resist! I have a lightweight (160 lbs / 73 kg) trailer that I sometimes use for light duty work. The car with the hitch is also not rated for towing... however, it's well past the warranty, so there's no disincentive for in me doing that.

    I knew a car guy, and asked him about a Civic's towing ability - he said it had plenty of power, the issue was only the structure of the frame in the rear, and with more weight the braking/handling.

    I think a "rack-and-roll" trailer from Yakima would be easily towable with light loads like bikes or canoes/kayaks. I've wondered if the trailer in the slipstream would be more efficient than a roof rack load, but on my car, they are about the same.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 45.0 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.1 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member jamiec's Avatar
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    Very nice setup for the bike rack.

  9. #8
    Mitsubishi Technician live4redline's Avatar
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    Love it!

  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Flange View Post
    The content of your trailer looks like an essential toy when one lives in a place called "Thousand Islands". Is that one of those pedal powered boats ?
    It is! I have a flotilla of small boats that I move around on that little trailer.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
    It is! I have a flotilla of small boats that I move around on that little trailer.
    Now I've heard that you Canadians are pretty similar to we Kiwis, so it follows then that you must have modified at least one of those pedal boats? Just a small motor. Not enough to get it up on the plane. But then maybe with a bit more compression...



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