MTB REVIEW: NORTH SHORE RACKS

There always comes a time when you have to transport your beloved steed(mountain bike) to or from the trail head. If your experience with bike transport is the same as mine then your bike will have seen more damage being transported than being ridden. The Holy Wow Gang tries to ride to and from trail heads as much as possible but bike transport is just a fact of the ride.

The classic way to pack your bike around here is to hook the bike over the tail gate of the pick up truck and be done with it. This method works, along with a variety of racks that are available at you favorite bike shop. Most of these methods require some form of padding to avoid damage to the vehicle and bike and no matter how hard you try the poor bike ends up with a bruise or a cut

that will never heal. Then along comes North Shore Racks NSR-2, NSR-4, NSR-6. On our last ride a member of the Gang showed up with an NSR-6 and it attracted a great deal of attention.

Bikes flocked to this rack for ease of loading and no chance of wounding. North Shore Racks has really done their homework on this one. The rack uses an 1.25 inch receiver for the NSR-2 (2 bike rack) which will work on any car, and a 2 inch receiver style hitch for the NSR-4 or NSR-6(4 and 6 bikes) which is very common on most trucks and SUVs these days. This may be the only draw back, if you don't already have a trailer hitch installed. This rack is so good that I would get a trailer hitch just so I could use a North Shore Rack.

Bikes are loaded with the front wheel pointing to the sky with the fork crown hooked on the

patented double horseshoe cradle located on the top arm of the rack. Once resting in the saddle the back wheel is secured to an innovative bottom bar that facilitates a very secure hold for the rear tire. Elegance is the best way to describe it.

North Shore Racks has included many nice features in this rack. The rack tilts away from the vehicle to give you room to open your trunk or tailgate. It also has a folding feature in the NSR-2

and NSR-4 so that it can be made more compact when not in use. Pricing ranges from $400(NSR-2)-$700(NSR-6) a little expensive but well worth it when it comes to ease of use and

besides it is nice to your bike.