Wheel Riders Wheel Mounts
By James Sharp

Part of being a mountain biker is road-tripping. Whether it’s across town, across the state or across the country, sooner or later every mountain biker will load up his car and head on down the road. This means trying to fit all your gear and your bike in a limited space. The most common solution is a roof rack that requires the removal of the front wheel. While a good idea for a rack on many levels, what do you do with the wheel? I’ve done everything from stowing it in the vehicle, using wheel forks on the rack and even, in one dire case, strapping the wheel to the bike with bungee cords! Wheel riders feels that they have better solutions. Read on, one might fit your need.

Cobra
Wolverine
Terrapin

Cobra
The Cobra mount holds the front wheel behind the bike, via the seat post. The curvy bit of metal wraps around the seat post and then is held in place with tension provided by the nylon strap. Once in place, the Cobra holds the wheel high enough to not interfere with cables or any type of brake.

We found the Cobra to be very secure and the wheel, once loaded stayed put. We used this with both disc and regular wheels, and didn’t have a problem with either type. It does take some practice to load the Cobra quickly, but after a couple of times, it is as easy as any other front wheel carrier. The only issue that we had with the Cobra was that the fork tines were on the thin side, like every other front wheel carrier we have tried. This means that if you are using a product like 1UpUSA’s QuickNut you won’t be able to get the skewer tight enough. Unlike other wheel forks, however, the bike isn’t loaded yet while you are making all of the adjustments. This makes it easier to be sure that you have everything secure before loading your bike onto the roof.

The only other potential problem is if you have a suspension seat post or if your saddle is close to the frame and you don’t have room to fit the Cobra on the seat post. In those cases, this isn’t the mount for you. Not to worry though, Wheel Riders has two more solutions for you.

Wolverine
Like the Cobra, the Wolverine holds the wheel in-line with the bicycle, reducing overall drag on the vehicle. Unlike the Cobra, the Wolverine holds the wheel up front. The Wolverine fits over the handlebars and under the stem with the wheel fork angled down from the handlebars. This is a pretty slick set up, really. Once in place, the front wheel rides directly above where it normally would be on the bike. The drag on the car is the same as if the wheel was never removed.

Once the Wolverine is loaded with the wheel in place, the bike is a little easier to load than the Cobra because the weight is distributed normally, with the front wheel’s weight out in front. The stabilizer strap does a great job of keeping the Wolverine motionless and there is a smaller strap to keep the front wheel from spinning as the travels down the highway.

Like the Cobra, the tines on the Wolverine are a little thin, again necessitating a bit of adjustment with the quick release skewer. I asked Wheel Riders about this, and it turns out that the problem lies in the manufacturer's ability to form thicker metal. It seems that it can’t be done. That said, as I mentioned above, it isn’t a problem unique to Wheel Riders, rather, it is common in every wheel carrier we have used to date.

The only other potential problem with the Wolverine becomes obvious if you have anything--lights, computer, heart rate monitor, etc.--attached to your handlebars. These items will get in the way of the Wolverine mount. If so, then the Wolverine is not for you.

Terrapin
So you use a suspension post, and you have your handlebars cluttered, how can you carry your front wheel? Never fear, Wheel Riders has you covered, too. The Terrapin is a wheel bag that straps to the frame. Again, the idea is to get the wheel on the bike so that it doesn’t introduce any more drag on the car and to keep the dirty wheel out of the vehicle, saving that space for more important camping or road-tripping equipment.

The Terrapin attaches via a series of straps. The bag can be mounted on road, hartail, and even full-squish frames. As with the other systems, once installed the wheel isn’t going anywhere.

We did run into some problems with the Terrapin right out of the gate, however. It won’t accept big tires. It won’t fit anything over 2.1-inches wide, or any 29-inch tires. It’s a really good solution for road bikers, since they typically have at least a computer on the handlebars and there generally isn’t enough seat post to fit the Cobra. The Terrapin fit every road wheel we tried in it.

Summary: If you have a wheel to carry, chances are that Wheel Riders has the solution. Each one--Cobra, Terrapin and Wolverine--has its plusses and minuses, and each fits a little different application. Our favorite was the Cobra. This isn’t for any reason other than the fact that we almost always have something mounted to our handlebars, be it a light bracket, computer, heart rate monitor, or a combination thereof. The Cobra is at home on top of a car or in the bed of a truck. If you have enough seat post, this is as good a wheel carrier as any. They are all easy to use and well made. The Cobra, Wolverine and Terrapin retail for $29.99, $29.99 and $39.99, respectively.

James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking.

For more information, contact:
Wheel Riders Products
12687 W. Cedar Dr., Suite 305
Lakewood, CO 80228
Phone: (800) 370-6267
www.wheelridersproducts.com