North Shore Racks Debuts 2023 Lineup of Racks
PRESS RELEASE: North Shore Racks
Introducing our 2023 lineup of North Shore Racks. To their core, our latest generation stays true to what has made North Shore Racks beloved by mountain bikers worldwide: quick to load, light weight, burly in construction and sleek in design. The 2023 racks are now optimized to carry a wider array of mountain bikes. E-bikes? Yes. Downhill bikes? Yes. You and the whole crew’s bikes? Yes.
Bringing back the classic black, the 2023 lineup uses a new 3 stage finishing process for a more durable and lasting powder coat while keeping up with the highest environmental standards in North America.
Available in 2, 4 and 6 bike models, the proven patented crown cradle system is the most stable design with bikes supported through their center of gravity. Wheel diameter? Tire thickness? Direct mount handlebars? North Shore Racks has you covered.
North Shore Racks is rider owned and operated since 2004 and manufactured locally in North Vancouver, with North American sourced materials. No cheap plastic components, no need to purchase add-ons for different wheel sizes. Perfect for everyday family use or the epic road trip. We manufacture our racks with pride to handle all your adventures to come.
The complete 2023 lineup is available now at http://www.northshoreracks.com
Photo Credit: Kelsey Toevs
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im about as buy america/north america as you will find. after looking at all of the rack options out there i got a Velocirack. I can put everything from my 29" bike to my kids 20" bike. Its doest touch the frame or fork, holds well on rough shuttles, and carries 7 bikes.
as much as i want one of those cool aluminum oneup racks it is hard to beat the velocirack.
Forks obviously take a beating when riding and braking but side loads are more damaging.
The shuttling is way longer than the riding distance.
NS Racks still the best option
Also a rusty NSR still retains its structural integrity.
I've seen tons of wear from people that transport bikes with an NSR (see this thread for more examples), and no issues from Velocirax, Recon, Khyber, Alta.
I understand you want to defend your purchase, but...
You mentioned way too many steps, and says it can fall.
What are you referring to?
I’ve owned both, and find the Alta rack much easier to load, and quicker. The ability to adjust the basket placement, and the fact that it doesn’t touch my bike is great.
Way prefer the elastic straps to the ridged cord, only wish it folded in half, but in reality I could cut and weld on plates to do just that if I wanted, might still.
Or use a slightly smaller square tube, that could slide into the the other, to make for adjustable height.
for a simple load and unload with the same bikes every time, the only extra step is having a second strap for the front wheel. Doesn't sound too bad, but the cost of screwing it up is much higher. If you forget the single rope on a north shore the bike will swing around until you notice, maybe scratching the bike next to it. If you forget the top strap on the Alta it will dump your front wheel out of the basked, and you will drag the bike behind the car by the rear tire (ask me how I know). If you forget both straps on the Alta, the bike is gone.
For more complicated scenarios with the Alta you are sliding baskets around, re-threading straps, moving those little wheel size adapter bars, and even if you just want to fold it down to access the tailgate there id a latch and a pin instead of just a pin.
I see the appeal of the alta - I bought one after all. It is easier to load because the basket is a bigger target. If you get all the steps right, the bikes are more secure. It has cool add-on gadgets. But my experience is that I appreciated the simplicity and reliability of the NSR more.
I got into an email exchange with someone in customer service there trying to clarify whether it could carry DH bikes and they said, yeah maybe with the special DH hanger, but it also depends what kind of handlebars they run and how many stem spacers. I think if I was only ever moving my own bikes, and I confirmed they would fit, I would give the lolo a try, but the idea of showing up for shuttles and telling someone they are out of luck because they have the wrong handlebars turned me off, so it's just not for me.
I found the NSR required much more faffing around to get bikes loaded happily, always trying to skip a spot so I had more additional room.
I find the locking pin, the one that stays attached to the rack a great way of securing the bikes without having to hold the rack to get the additional pin in place. In reality you could use one or the other, and not both.
I had a buddy forget to strap in his front tire, on a 30+ minute shuttle on rough FSR and bike didn’t move at all, sorry to hear you lost a bike!
I often think that the vehicle the rack is being used on makes a huge difference as well. I have fairly high truck, and use the offset Alta rack, so it sits quite high, loading the NSR is a pain, while the Alta (bigger target as you pointed out) makes it easier to load.
I have the 4 bike Alta rack, so I haven’t had to slide anything around, but I do appreciate that its an option. Seems prettty simple, just a knob and a jam nut.
Racks seem like such a personal use item for some reason, we all have different priorities that make each racks strengths and weaknesses so polarizing. In the end, like everything in life, there is no “best” just what works best for me, which is prolly different than what works best for you.
Appreciate your thoughtful input
You can even get the 6 rack, remove the 2 extra when you don’t need em….
P.s. Good call on the black colour coming back!
Powder coating in matte black is cheap, most powder places do black on the daily, so the down time is minimal.
Had my NSR rack blasted, and powdered for $125. Lasted for years like that.
Had it done in Calgary, Falcon coatings I believe
I bought my NSR-4 used from pinkbike 10 years ago and have used it hundreds of times and have only had two minor incidents that were both due to user error, not the rack.
NSR racks are solidly made for a great price and the staff are stoked and helpful.
I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
Thanks!
-straddle the bars over two cradles, with the bike facing backwards (away from the vehicle)
-strap the rear wheal down with the NSR tie down
-cinch the bike to the rack with a bungee cord over the head tube
-I've driven hundreds of kms with bikes mounted this way and have had zero issues
But do they still use bits of rope or have they upgraded to Canadian Tire Bungies?
The only innovative thing about the Velocirax are the drop assist dampers. I find they hang down down too low for some of the areas. I need to get into, and I preferred a rack where the basket spacing was adjustable.
Cool that it works for you