Inno Roof Bike Rack for 1 Bike - Fork Mount

Video Transcript for Inno 1 Bike Roof Bike Rack Review

What's up everybody, it's AJ with etrailer.com. Today we're gonna be checking out the Inno Rooftop Bike Rack. Now this is gonna be for when you have to remove the wheel from your bike. So, fork-mounted bike rack is what this is, so it's going over your quick release, and thru-axle bikes. Let's check it out. Now, I said this is a roof-mounted bike rack, so you're gonna need a roof rack to attach it to.

So if you have a vehicle like this, maybe the hitch options are very limited. There's only one Class I hitch available for this and that can't carry a whole lot. So maybe you don't even want to hitch on the back, you just wanna use your roof. Well, this is gonna be great for that. Just make sure you get that roof rack to attach it to.

It goes with these bands, simply go around the roof rack and that's how it attaches. It's on there really tight. It's not going anywhere. I can shake the whole car back and forth. So I have to worry about it moving back and forth.

And then just to show you the bike, too, with the wheel removed, it holds it by the forks up here, and I can shake the back just a little bit, but I'm also shaking the whole car. So that's not a whole lot of movement with that bike. So if that was something you we're thinking about, like how does it go on the roof, worried about driving down the road, actually stays up there pretty nicely. One of the nice things they have is, since every bike is a little bit different, Inno went ahead and included a bunch of different adapters here for the different bikes that can be used with it. So right now we have the nine millimeter adapter installed and we're using that with our quick release today on this mountain bike.

Some other options that it comes with are gonna be the 12 millimeter, the 15 millimeter, 15 millimeter boost-through axle, and then the 20 millimeter. So just make sure you pick the right adapter for your bike. Looking at the backside of the bike rack here, this cradle is actually gonna slide back and forth along here. That's gonna allow it to accommodate different wheel bases. It can accommodate wheel bases up to 51 inches. Now the cradle itself can accept tires up to 2.8 inches. Right now we have a 2.1 inch mountain bike tire in there, so you can kind of see how that cradle goes right around there, and even's got the space there in the middle for our smaller road tire. The whole bike rack has a weight capacity of 50 pounds. So that's actually kind of impressive for a rooftop bike rack. Another one that comes to mind is the RockyMounts SwitchHitter, and that one has a weight capacity of about 35 pounds, so that's considerably less. So like I said, that makes this one stand out a whole bunch more because of its weight capacity. Another nice feature that this one has is it's got a lock built in here at the top. So you would do that, open up just to show you what I'm talking about. So not only does it lock your bike to the rack, but with this closed and locked, it covers up all the mechanisms on the inside. So then it's locking your bike rack to the bars, too, so people can't mess with this now, once it's all locked up. It's a nice feature and bringing up the SwitchHitter again, that one includes a cable lock, but it doesn't have the lock cores to lock it up. So it's nice that this one, out of the box, you can lock not only the bike, but the rack to your roof rack. Something else that stands out to me is this guard here. It goes around the quick release skewer. So I can't even pop this open with that on there, 'cause you can't open enough to actually do this, to remove the bike. So it's just another theft deterrent that's built into that I really like, I mean, I'm sure somebody could mess with this enough to get it that way, but just that slight inconvenience would be like, "All right, I'm moving on to somebody that doesn't have something like this with all the security features." Now we're ready to load up our bike. But before we do that, we're gonna actually use that thru-axle bike this time, so just wanted to show you both types of bikes on this bike rack. So we're gonna have to switch out the adapter. So we removed the nine millimeter one that was in there. Now we've got the 15 millimeter thru-axle adapter. It just pushes into place, just like that. It's snapped in there and now you're ready to add a bike. Just some things to keep in mind when you are doing a rooftop bike, you're already reaching up and out over here to put the bike in there. So might as well make sure that this is open, ready to go. We have this part moved up as well. This is the guards for the quick release, if you remember earlier. So now this is out of the way and we come in the backside, we have undone the strap. So this is ready to add that bike on top there. Never want to lift the bike up and find out none of that stuff's been done, 'cause then you just have to set the bike down and then do it. Now we're ready to load up our bike. So I'm gonna get it set into place, put our back tire in the cradle and then line up our fork here for the skewer. And this is where it gets a little difficult just because you only got two hands. So line this up and run the skewer, is a little hard. So I'm gonna have Cameron Aiden help me out, and he's got the skewer, he's gonna run that through there as I hold the bike in place. It's a little bit easier with a quick release because you can rest the forks on there and use your hands to actually run that through there. But this one kind of takes two people to one, hold the bike in place, and then one puts that skewer in there, just like that, then come back with a tool and tighten it down. You got a hex head that's gonna bring that skewer in and hold the bike steady. With it tightened down like that, he said, it's no longer loose or moving so I can let go of it and strap down the back tire. And pull down on that strap. You can hear it ratchet. Push on a couple more just to make sure it's nice and tight, too. I think we're good right there. So now the bike is installed. We'll just come back up front and put down our guard there and then add the cover. So it can hold a thru-axle bike, but it's not the easiest thing to install on there by yourself. You saw what I did put it up there. You have to balance it, I'm using both hands, so then I can't put that skewer there. So Cameron Aiden went ahead and did that for me to help me out. I don't think that's the best way to do it, now the quick release was way easier, but there's another bike rack by Thule called the TopRide that's the same roof-mounted bike rack, except you install adapter on your forks of your bike down here before we even lift it up there. So then this tube goes in the middle. So when you go to set in place that lock latches in and you bring it back and it's all locked up. That's far easier than trying to line everything up and then try and find that hand to get the skewer, to put that through. Overall, I do like this style of bike rack. This fork mount is an easier way to get that bike up there and set into place compared to the wheel-mounted ones. That's gonna add that extra height to the top of your vehicle and be kind of a challenge when you go to set it in place. I like this style, this Inno, the fork mount. I could put my hand here. I didn't have to worry about the tire be in the way, I'd get my hands in the spokes while I'm trying to lift this up and sit it on the roof. So I think it beats out the wheel mounts that way. The fork mount quick release on this Inno works really well if you have a quick-release bike, you can just set that into place. Get it tightened down and get this secured before you even come back here to the strap. Now, if you have a thru-axle bike, I wouldn't go with the Inno one on this one. I was not impressed with the skewer to put through there while you're holding the bike. When you realize you got like this, you don't have a third hand, you can't do that. You needed help with somebody putting that skewer through there and tighten it down for you just to stabilize the front. So then you can use your hands to get the rest of it done. I would go with the Thule TopRide on that one like we talked about, just got that adapter you install here on the floor, then you just sled it and click it into place, far easier to do it that way than it was with the Inno. But again, if you're going with a quick release route, not a problem, really easy. I like this bike rack. Well, I think that does it. Thanks for hanging out, and I hope this helps..