We have collated answers to Loaded Bikes FAQs here.
If you need any further assistance, you can email us at sales@loadedbikes.co.uk
GENERAL
- Q. Do you do van conversions?
- A. Loaded Bikes don’t provide this service directly, but our sister company Loaded Vans does and the great news is you can buy all the Loaded Bikes products through them too so you can order everything you need from one place. If our location is too far away for you, we are developing links with a network of van conversion companies, details of which can be found here
- Q. Can I buy your products from anyone else?
- A. Yes! Leighton Vans, based in Sheffield are authorised sellers of our products. You can find details of everything they sell here, but we also sell directly to other Van Converters, like The Ply Guys if they’re incorporating our products in to their van builds for you.
FORK MOUNT:
- Q. What L-Track rail systems are your fork mount compatible with?
- A. Our fork mount is compatible with the flush and surface-mounted rails we sell, as well as Mercedes OEM rails and Unwin rails.
- What Fork Mount Adaptors do I need for my bike?
- You can read all about how to identify what fork mount adaptors or spacers you need for your bike here.
- Q. How do I use your Fork Mount?
- A. You can find instructions on how to use our fork mount either by scanning the QR code on the box it was packaged in, or by going to our Product Instruction Manuals page here. If you find it easier to follow video instructions, then head over to our YouTube channel and watch our “How To” video here.
- Q. Can I use your fork mount in an Estate car?
- A. This will depend on the height of the boot space. We would recommend that you check the effective height of the bike with the axle of the forks positioned at least 65mm from the floor of boot to ensure your boot space is tall enough.
BIKE RACK:
- Q. Will I have to drill new holes in my van to fit the van bike rack?
- A. All versions of the bike rack have been designed to work with the existing lashing points to the front of the loading area of the van
- Q. Will the van bike rack accommodate a Superbike?
- A. The internal width of the wheel chocks on the bike rack are 150mm at their widest point, meaning they can accommodate a wide variety of bicycle and motorbike wheel/tyre sizes.
- Q. Can I use the van bike rack for road bicycles?
- A. Yes, although the van bike rack is better suited to fatter tyred bicycles it will also accommodate bicycles with smaller width tyres. A little tip to aid with this; if you pop a section of pipe lagging over the tyre where it sites in the wheel chock, it will make it fatter and fit in better..
Q. I have a LWB VW Transporter Kombi, will the bike rack fit behind the rear passenger seats?
- A. Our van bike racks for VW Transporters (T5-T6.1) are designed to fit to the existing forward lashing points in the floor, which are located immediately behind the front seats, with a bulkhead in place but can also be used without. There are a second set of lashing points just after the sliding door, however as these are located further inboard the fixing holes on the bike rack would not be located in the right place.
RAILS:
- Q. Are the end caps for the flush or surface mounted rails sold separately?
- A. No, they are included as part of each rail assembly sold in 1ft to 8ft lengths
- Q. How are the rails fitted?
- A. We would always recommend that whichever rail option you choose, these are fixed to the substructure of the van as this is more secure. Our recommendation would be to affix the rails with rivnuts or nut and bolt through the floor. We sell all the fixings and a drill jig kit to assist with fitting the bolts. Further guidance on installation of the rails can be found here
SHIPPING:
- Q. Do you ship internationally?
- A. Yes, we do ship internationally, but because we don’t have any fixed rates for this service with our courier, we need to process all international orders and shipping requests manually. If you want to place an order from outside the UK, please email sales@loadedbikes.co.uk to let us know. We’ll provide you with a quote for all shipping options so you can make an informed decision before you commit to any orders.
- Q. Do you have a minimum Order size for shipping overseas?
- A. Yes, unfortunately, we do. It’s £150 for EU and £50 for the rest of the world. Yeah, we know, Brexit sucks.
- Q. The Shipping fee on my order is higher than I was expecting. Why is this?
- A. Our shipping fees are set by our courier service and are based on the weight and size of the parcels within your order. Any items longer than 1.6m, regardless of any other dimensions or weight, are deemed to be freight and so attract a higher shipping fee. Depending on what you order, we may need to package your order into multiple parcels. You will only pay a single shipping fee.
- Q. I don’t want to pay any shipping fees, can I collect my order from you?
- A. Yes, if it’s more convenient for you to collect your order from us rather than ordering online, just drop an email to sales@loadedbikes.co.uk letting us know what you’d like to order so we can raise your invoice manually and let you know as soon as it’s ready to collect.
WHAT WE DID IN OUR VAN:
Everyone’s van set up is unique to their usage requirements and you need to consider which of your uses is most important to you and what aspects you might need to compromise on.
In your example, is the seating the most important part of the set up, or the storage? Will you sleep in the van, and if so, will you use the seats to form the bed, or will you use another bed solution for this?
Our demo vehicle is a short wheel base VW Transporter T6 which we use principally as a day van for track days and mountain biking, but also for long weekends and camping trips, so we had to think carefully about the fit out in order to accommodate these different uses.
Before we fitted anything, and whilst the van was stripped out, we played around positioning our bikes, with and without our removable plywood bed (we don’t make this, but Loaded Vans do), to make sure there were no conflicts between where we intended to place the bike rack, rails, wheel arch boxes (bespoke made by us) lighting, USB ports, etc.
We’ve had plenty of time to test out installing lots of different bikes in several different locations and configurations within our van now and with the flush rail mounted across the width of the rear threshold we can accommodate up to 5 adult mountain bikes when using our fork mount.
Our fork mount has an integrated offset allowing you to rotate the brackets at 180 degrees from each other, with further rotational adjustment at 22.5° increments to fine tune handle bar position enabling you to closely fit the bikes in whatever configuration you’re using. We have lots of pictures in our gallery on our web site and Instagram feed to give an idea of the different ways in which bikes could be mounted.
We secure the front wheels against the side panel surface mounted rails using our wheel straps, but they can also be placed between the bikes.
When we go camping, we load the bikes through the side door and have a flush rail fitted across the threshold of this opening too, as well as a surface rail mounted to the opposite side panel, which runs the full length of the panel. This enables us to top and tail the bikes and make best use of the space.
