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IB13: SeaSucker Shows off Convertible/Sports Car Rack, Put a Bike on Your Lambo

Written by Zach Overholt
34 Comments
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SeaSucker has made their name in the bike industry by offering bike racks that attach to your car with only marine grade vacuum cups. While the idea might sound preposterous, they really work and have been expanding their offerings from the smallest rack available, now to the rack with the smallest foot print. This orange creation (somewhat reminiscent of their octopus mascot) is the prototype for their new convertible/sports car rack. If you have about 1×1.5′ square of roof or trunk space available, you have room to carry a bike.

sea sucker20130917_0098

Depending on the car, this may be the only choice in applications where the glass or the trunk material won’t allow strap on racks. Like the rest of their racks, each vacuum cup uses a pump to purge the air, and has an indicator if it starts to lose suction. Pricing and availability TBD.

SeaSucker.com
Zach Overholt
5,722 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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34 Comments
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1Pro
1Pro
11 years ago

this has to be a joke. i mean i know those kinds of cups are very effective but with modern thin sheetmetal, high speed driving, lawyers and the lack of mechanical security… fly by suction?

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Alex
Alex
11 years ago

My strongest argument for not letting my wife buy a Beetle convertible was there was no way to carry her bike. I hope she never finds this page…

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JoeNomad
JoeNomad
11 years ago

@Alex, they make a trailer hitch for your beetle convertible as well as most new cars. This makes another alternative to installing a hitch though.

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HubsGuy
HubsGuy
11 years ago

Works, I have the Mini Bomber 2 bike. won’t go back to a conventional bike rack.

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RUSTYDOGG
RUSTYDOGG
11 years ago

Oh gawd no. So I am going to hang 10k$ of bike on that going down the highway at 70+. Hell no. Just call me paranoid.

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FL-MTB'er
FL-MTB'er
11 years ago

1Pro & RUSTYDOGG -> Quit commenting on things you’ve never actually used!!! I have 3 different models (Bike – Boat – Paddle Board) and all work FANTASTIC. I never had a single issue. Try one, then maybe comment, so people who are truly interested get good feedback, not Internets garbage 😉 …. and RUSTYDOGG, chew on this…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_41Ujjv6WUw

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Ron
Ron
11 years ago

Yeah, they work great. My bro and good friend have them. Used for mountain bikes not weight weenie road bikes. Hold strong at 70+.

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Charles
Charles
11 years ago

Just don’t use one on a roof with flexy/easily dented material.

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Watchtower
Watchtower
11 years ago

One of my mountain bike riding buddies has the Falcon Seasucker rack, so far it has worked like a charm.

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Collin
Collin
11 years ago

I’m not sure if this is the same company but there was a very similar one (suction cups and all) that a guy created for his Lotus Elise and eventually started selling it to others. He said he’d take off ramps at full speed which is one of those, if it holds up for a Elise (one of the best handling cars PERIOD) than it will be fine for your subaru/civic/mini van/beetle.

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Saris Mercanti
Saris Mercanti
11 years ago

If you follow the BikeRumor Instragram, you’ll notice we’ve posted a few pictures of sports cars with bikes SeaSucker’d on back.

@Collin, Does your buddy have an Ibis Mojo and live in the Bay Area?

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john
john
11 years ago

but my Lambo has matte paint… will the suction cup stick to that?

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1Pro
1Pro
11 years ago

FL-MTB’er, yeah, it is fantastic. till its not. then what? you silly boy.

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Collin
Collin
11 years ago

, I’m not sure, I’ve never meet the person, just saw it online.

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The_D
The_D
11 years ago

Seems like this would work esp. well sideways, right on the rear glass of a small sedan. Just remove both wheels, chuck in trunk, and use a spare r. hub to keep the back end of the frame happy. That way, I could get the car in the office garage without having to put a trailer hitch on my tiny car.

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Fabricio
Fabricio
11 years ago

I have mine after try many bike racks, it fit my car as I want, keep my bike as a rear rack and also I bought a Yakima secure strap, so my bike is locked to my car.

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harro
harro
11 years ago

it works on my mp4-12c

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gr
gr
11 years ago

cool! with a little extra thought this thing could double as a workstand!

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Joey Brown
Joey Brown
11 years ago

@gr – you are spot on. SeaSucker racks work as advertised. I use the Talon and just today was transporting my Madone on the Interstate with speeds over 70 mph. They truly are the most versatile racks on the market.

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rpdupre
rpdupre
11 years ago

I would say they would be smart to offer a free insurance policy if it works so well, but it would just get abused by people that didn’t use it properly and they’d probably have no method to prove the rack actually failed…

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DBoz
DBoz
11 years ago

I had the Mini Bomber, the pumps frequently need servicing (water gets in and they get sticky and will not fully suction to the roof), not to mention if the crank arm swings backwards the pedal is guaranteed to smash the roof of your car (their rear wheel holder is not even close to being tall enough to give proper clearance). The roof on my car “oil canned” so I had to set it off to one side for support. I never feared the bike blowing off, but there were so many other issues like setting it up on your roof in the summer is alot different than trying to do it in 30 degree weather. I returned mine and opted for a Thule instead. Less than impressed and I wanted it to work, loved removing the rack completely when not in use.

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Christobevii3
Christobevii3
11 years ago

I wouldn’t trust these at all. I’ve had two racks with constant problems in the last 6 months. One had the metal gromet pop out of the cup throwing a brand new bianchi off the side of the car and scratching the hell out of the car. The company has sat on the rack that they wanted to “inspect” for two months after offering a refund. I can’t get them to respond to phone calls or emails anymore, they still have the rack, and the car damage is still there.

You’d be better of using duct tape, at least you know what the expect.

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Jack
Jack
11 years ago

I want to drive around with two bikes on the front of my car, just like the pic.

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Ajax
Ajax
11 years ago

These things are dangerous and absolutely need to be outlawed to protect other drivers and passengers on the road. I knew someone that had one of these and it failed. Do a search on Google and type in Seasucker bike rack fail.

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Psi Squared
Psi Squared
11 years ago

Traditional roof racks need to be outlawed, too, because I saw pictures of a bike that fell off a trad roof rack on a highway. I read it on the interwebz, too, like Ajax, and if there’s one thing that’s true it’s that you will always find the unvarnished, complete truth in the internet tubes.

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rico
rico
11 years ago

My favorite bike rack is the back seat of my sedan for bike and trunk for wheels. But I have a dedicated biking car so I guess that is lucky. If I had to use a rack this looks good.

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ascar larkinyar
ascar larkinyar
11 years ago

does this rack come with a dent puller and a leash so your bike doesn’t hit other cars when it falls off

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Henry
Henry
11 years ago

I own 2 of the Seasucker (Talon) racks and have been super happy with them. I like not having to keep an ugly roof rack on top of my Volvo C30 and appreciate the better gas mileage without the ever-present crossbars. When in use it also seems quieter than traditional roof racks I’ve had in the past as there’s less parts and frontal area to whistle in the wind. When I fly with my bike on vacation I can put my Seasucker roof rack in the bike box and use it on any rental car I wind up with. It’s easier for my (small) girlfriend to put her mtn bike on the roof of the car because she can mount the bike onto the Seasucker rack while it sits on the floor and then set the whole bike/rack onto the car at once – and it’s easier for her to take the bike off because the whole rack sits several inches lower than any traditional roof rack. I’ve even used it as an additional mount when bumming a ride to a race with a buddy that had already filled his 2 bike trays on his Yakima roof rack.

I was skeptical of Seasucker until I got to play with a few of them in person and saw that it wasn’t simply a suction cup and that it’s, in fact, even better than I hoped it would be. Yes, I’m sure there’s plenty of horror stories about Seasucker/Yakima/Thule racks to be heard – but I’m not losing any sleep over it. Think about this – just by installing a traditional roof rack with Q-Clips, towers and cross bars on your car you’re probably damaging the paint or roof to some degree. I’ve seldom removed a traditional roof rack after a few years of use and not been sad as to what the paint under the tower footprints looks like. And my (less expensive) Seasucker racks have moved from car to car without having to buy new Q-Clips, or mount a custom rear hitch, etc. And I don’t have to own complete roof racks for every car in my garage.

Could a bike on a Seasucker rack come off on the highway? It could. Could that happen with a traditional rack? It could. 5 years ago I was skeptical about carbon mountain bike frames, too.

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PROEDGEBIKER.COM
PROEDGEBIKER.COM
11 years ago

Well said @Henry, these racks are truly great and versatile. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one. Something that I do know is that everyone that talks bad about SeaSucker 9x/10 has not ever seen one in action or. Person.

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yesPlease
yesPlease
11 years ago

The 5 hr energy cycling team has 8 cups holding a custom rack and 4 backs going 95+ mph in races. They haven’t fallen off and the custom rack is pretty heavy. As long as you watch the suction (they have indicators) you will be fine.

I personally think they are rad. When you pump them up it reminds me of the old Reebok pump shoes. When you pump up your rack, things are about to get rowdy….

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Idgetit
Idgetit
11 years ago

I think these are a great idea. I saw them at the 5hour energy team car. If it works for them then it works for me. The difference is it seems they are not intended to be left alone on the car for extended time, unlike traditional roof racks. I leave my roof rack on the car all year long due to the spots that it created under the pads….whoops. As for bikes flying off, I am an experienced cyclist who puts a bike on a rack multiple times a week for the past 15 years. I say this all to say, its user error typically when one of these or any racks fail. I once was that guy driving down the hwy and my bike on a yakama rack fell off and hit the side of our car. The wheel strap kept it in. I am not an idiot, just not perfect. I had thought it clamped down but instead I must have not had the fork correct on the mounts and the tabs got in the way. Always double check your rack, suction cups/vacuum cups, thru axle, skewer, or whatever. Again I really like these and would love to invest in one set for my next car. Only issue is they dont have the team version for sale, I carry too many bikes.

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Engineer
Engineer
11 years ago

I have had a bike come off of a traditional rack, so it can happen to any bike rack. I have seen this company at sea otter for years now. Ya sure the first time I ever saw it I though “eh might not works looks sketchy” but if that were the case this company would be long gone.

Btw Ajax, googled and not really much comes up.

DBoz was the only one that listed real reasons why this roduct doesn’t work, he did not mention it falling off on the freeway!

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IZZYCYCLES
IZZYCYCLES
11 years ago

Without a doubt the best bike rack money can buy. YES they need to be serviced once in a while for best performance( takes 5min per cup) but if you follow instructions and use in the correct way, these are MUCH stronger and more stable than and rear hitch, trunk or roof rack I’ve used. I will never look back to another bike rack in my life. ( proud owner of a tallon on my 2012 CRZ) Ive put everything from a bmx race bike to a tandem and even a trike on the roof of my car.

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mellowme17
mellowme17
11 years ago

very versatile rack i have used mine for several years now from everything from my road bike to my big hit. best looking option i had for my vw bug.

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