There are a lot of different ways to carry your bike. But if you have a pickup truck, one of the easiest has always been to throw it over the tailgate – which gave birth to the tailgate pad. Essentially a large padded blanket purposely fit to your truck’s tailgate, depending on the model some have built in bike holders, while others offer simply a padded surface to protect your bike and the truck. As usual though, Will, the creator of the BomberStrap thought there was a better way.
Instead of one massive pad that covers the entire tailgate, the BomberStrap is an individual bike mount with a padded base that straps around the tailgate. One of the
biggest benefits from the smaller size is that it won’t block the backup camera on your truck if equipped, and when you’re not using it, it can be stashed in a tool box, bag, etc.
The strap attaches to the tailgate fairly easily, and once mounted offers secure mounting on the down tube and the fork of your bike. However, unlike a traditional tailgate pad, the BomberStrap will not fit dual crown downhill forks – so this product is for single crown XC, Trail, Enduro, and FR bikes only.
The BomberStrap will work on a number of trucks including the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, and Nissan Frontier, while the company specifies it will work on other trucks but it requires a thin tailgate profile as outlined here.
Each strap is made from ballistic nylon that is easy to clean, and include a spring loaded cam buckle with an anodized aluminum handle to lock things in place. Offered in four colors, BomberStraps currently sell for $69.99 a piece, or you can buy a two pack for $110.
