Just before Sea Otter Shaums March called me up and asked me to come over to his place. "Dave, you've got to see what I just got for our Sea Otter Trip!". Turning into his driveway I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at, but soon the North Shore Racks logo explained everything.

North Shore Racks is a family run, North Vancouver based, company specializing in building mountain bike specific bike racks.  It was started by Malcolm and Alison Hammond, due to the frustration of trying to find a suitable rack to carry mountain bikes. "As the design of mountain bikes evolved it became more and more difficult to find a suitable car rack to carry them." Malcom explained, "Eventually we found ourselves buying bikes to fit car racks. There had to be a better way!" Shortly before Sea otter, Shaums contacted North Shore Racks about the feasibility of building a six-bike rack. As it turned out, they already had one on the drawing board. With Sea Otter quickly approaching, Shaums was able to convince them to build it.



North Shore Racks latest prototype is a six bike rack sized to go behind a full-size van or pick-up truck. Thanks to NSR's unique mounting method they can fit six bikes in the space most companies fit only three or four.



Any two wheeled bicycle should fit on the NSR rack, provided it has a 'normal' wheelbase (no tandems) and it has a 'standard' suspension fork crown. Keep in mind these are designed specifically for mountain bikes, so we've only tested the NSR rack with downhill, XC and dirt-jumping bikes. All our bikes are equipped with suspension forks, if you're running rigid make sure to ask NSR, or try, before you buy.


 

To load the rack, simply lift up the bicycle and place the crown in the cradle. A rope and clip system is used to hold the rear wheel and stabilize each bicycle. Once mounted none of the six bikes touch each other, and all are held securely enough to stay exactly where they are mounted. We've mounted every possible combination of Marin, Norco, Kona, Cannondale, Commencial, Giant and Santa Cruz that you could think of...all without issues. It doesn't seem to matter between Fox, Rockshox, Manitou or Marzocchi, either. Everything fits.

Beyond its ability to carry six bikes, the NSR prototype is also unique in how high up the bikes sit in relation to the vehicle. The lowest portion of the rack is still higher then the hitch, so ground clearance is phenominal. The bikes sit relatively close to the vehicle (when compared to a typical 3-4 bike rack). This means that you have far more clearance for driving through water-bars and ditches, should your regular shuttes include such features. The rack position is adjustable for both height and angle. Through a little trial and error you can find a position that meets your needs for ground clearance and bike mounting ease. For Shaums' 'rock-crawling' shuttle style, we've mounted the rack as high-up as possible. But unless you're lifting one or two tires off the ground while heading up the mountain, you can mount it lower to make it even easier to get bikes on and off. Mounting up the bikes and shaking the rack shows no movement at all. Its simply awesome looking when loaded too. But how is it in real working conditions?

Simply awesome.

Its a little-known fact that Shaums also races off-road trucks. One shuttle run with him driving, however, and you instantly know its true. The people inside the van might be bouncing around, but the bikes and rack don't move at all. We've put over 4000km's on the van since getting the rack, and haven't had any rack issues at all.

Hands down, this is by far the coolest hitch rack system I've seen for trucks. The six rack system should be available soon, but four rack systems for cars and light trucks are currently available.

For more information, contact North Shore Racks 

North Shore Racks Inc.
http://www.northshoreracks.com