Rode to the Beach, or the Accidental Century!

 Went for a ride today, plan was to ride 80 miles and and stop by Lake Michigan and snap a photo.
Well the first part went smoothly, Made it to St. Joseph MI, had lunch and took this pic...

Then on the way home made several wrong turns  and ended up doing  a century plus 1 mile.
My All-City Mr. Pink is awesome on long rides, I am so happy with the quality and feel of this machine!

SeaSucker Hornet Review

Today I am reviewing the Seasucker Hornet. I was looking for a rack to use on my Jeep Liberty. My needs for a rack were simple, carry one bike to the trail head with out damaging the bike or the vehicle, and if possible I prefer to keep the front wheel on the bike.

I didn't want to go with a roof mounted system as the Jeep is fairly tall and it would be a chore to mount a bike on the roof after an exhausting ride. I also didn't want any rack that holds the frame by the top tube, which eliminates most Trunk mounted styles and all the lower priced hitch mounts.

I currently do not have a hitch on the Jeep (and that's not a deal breaker to get one just the added cost) There are a lot of good hitch mounted racks out there.
But I wanted something that wasn't bulky like a Yakima or Thule (Both great racks and would buy if I needed to carry multiple bikes all the time) I looked at the Saris Thelma, and I just couldn't do it. The Bike rack I almost bought was the 1up USA Single Bike Rack. It looked clean and not overly bulky, The 1up rack is $299 plus shipping and I would need to get a hitch installed $179 plus tax. So I was saving up $500 for this project when I stumbled across the Seasucker Hornet.

I had eliminated the Seasucker racks from my search early on, It had nothing to do with my faith in there suction technology but all the 2012 designs required you to take the front wheel off. When I came across the Hornet I was immediately curious about it. I Read some reviews and found there website helpful.(SeaSucker Hornet) 
and at $175 it seemed to be a bargain!

Another feature that sold me and I didn't think to add as a requirement is the flexibility to use on several vehicles (Between me and my wife we have had 6 different vehicles since 2009!) This little rack would work perfectly on My Jeep and Her Honda (which has since been traded into a Chevy Spark which the Hornet still works with!)

I have used the Hornet at least  ten times already, no super long trips yet, but I have had it a freeway speeds for 50 miles and taken it on some bumpy road and on real severe train track and it hasn't budged! It easy real easy to keep an eye on your bike while driving by using your rear view mirror.

And putting the rack On and Off is so easy.

You start by opening your hatch and installing the tether strap, which is really only there to be a back up fail safe if both Cups become unconnected. Incidentally each cup is rated for 140lbs, so carrying one 25lb MTB or a sub 20lb roadie is not going overload this system.

Then you attach the suction cups to your glass I have been carrying windex just to make sure the glass is always as clean as possible!

Then you place your bike handle bars on the cradle, it works with both flat or dropped bars.

Then you close the cradles with U shaped locking pins.

And then you simply tie on the strap and you are ready to go!

It works with my Singular Gryphon and my All-City Mr. Pink.










So in conclusion I am very happy with it. And feel this rack fits my needs perfectly, your mileage may vary.....

PROS.... 1) Easy to Use
             2) Affordable
             3) Versatile (different bikes & different cars)
             4) Quick to take on and off 
             5) Front wheel stays on
             6) Whole system stores in small pouch when not in use  

Cons.... 1) Can only carry one bike
            2) No way to lock bike to vehicle ( I wouldn't recommend this rack if you needed to leave the bike on the car over nite.)