Urban Assault(city riding) and which bike rack for your car.

February 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

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I’m going to talk about options when you can’t ride the trails. I am also going to talk about racks for your car. In the meantime, shout out to subscriber Nate for sharing MTBSend with a friend. Thank you for your support!

Urban Assault: riding in the city

Sometimes you can’t ride the trails. This time of year it can be especially bad due to snow, ice and mud. Snow can be ridden on if it’s not too deep or it’s been packed down. Ice can be ridden with studs, but even then it can be sketchy. Ideally this time of year you want either dry or frozen trails. This morning I got lucky enough to get out while it was still frozen. Parts were really hard going due to frozen foot prints and tire tracks. Hikers and bikers should stay off muddy trails since it damages the trails. A huge number of mountain bike trails are maintained with volunteer labor, so creating more work for the trail crew isn’t cool. So what do you do when the trails are simply unrideable? You can ride road or gravel to keep the legs spinning, but neither is my favorite thing to do. Urban assault is the way to go for me.

I am not sure where the name came from, but I have been hearing people talk about urban assault for years. Urban assault is simply riding the city on a mountain bike. You can do it on a gravel bike or even a city single speed commuter bike. The really fun way to do it is on a mountain bike. A mountain bike will be a little slower than some other types of bikes, but it’s way more capable with suspension and knobby tires. You can ride places and things you can’t ride on a more city appropriate bike.

The nice thing about city riding is that’s just what you make it. You can just cruise around the city to keep the legs spinning. However, the real fun comes from treating city features like mountain bike features. You can pop off curbs. You can get real adventurous, and do a huck to flat loading dock drop. Tread cautiously here. You can ride down stairs at speed. You can even huck the stairs. You can even work on your technical climbing skills, and try riding up stairs. The limit is really your imagination. City riding will help improve your trail skills too. You are riding at a good clip taking in lots of data. Your mind is processing what can I pop off, is a door from a parked car going to open, is that car going to pull out in front of me, etc. You do the same things in the woods.

I am going to put on my dad hat here. A big thing to remember about urban riding is you will encounter people, probably lots of people. Don’t be a jerk when city riding in the name of having fun. If you are going to ride over, up, off, or around something make sure your landing/runout is clear. Have fun out there, and stay safe. Speaking of staying safe, a good set of lights are a must. I won’t ride in the city without blinking lights front and rear. They help drives see you, keeping you safer.

Raystown Lake PA

Bike I’m Eyeing: Zoceli Vysoko

Here’s why…...this thing checks all my odd but compelling bike boxes. Steel frame, small company doing cool things, high pivot, proper park/enduro bike. The hidden chain looks super cool. It is necessary or just trying to be different. Check out Pinkbike’s write up on it.

Zoceli Vysoko

Picking out the perfect bike rack for your car

Not all bike racks are created equal. There are differences in how they attach to your car, how they hold onto the bike, and even the materials they are made from. There are four different types of racks, and those differences primarily stem from how they attach to the car. I will go over each type, and pros and cons of each.

Trunk/hatchback mount: these are my least favorite type of rack. They all hold onto the car fine. I had a Saris Bones for a bit. The rack itself touched the car in the 3 spots, and it had 6 anchor points around the trunk. What I don’t like is the way they hold onto your bike. They work fine for a hardtail or road type bike, but in order to use them with most full suspension bikes, you need a use a Bike Beam. The bike beam runs from the stem to the seatpost giving you a straight bar for the rack. This works, but it’s not a great solution. Nothing is keeping the bike from swinging. It can slam into the rack or your car. You also can’t adjust how the bike sits on the rack. This can be problematic if a wheel ends up resting in front of the tailpipe. You can melt a wheel or tire with car exhaust. The last reason I am not a big fan of these is their general lack of security. Your rack or the bike and rack can be easily stolen.

Roof mount racks: these are decent option. If you have a car with a roof rack or even roof rails you can get a pretty good setup without putting a lot of money down. You would need to add crossbars and/or a tray style bike mount. I like these because your don’t have the take the wheel off. Anytime you need to take a wheel off you run the risk of leaving it behind. If you have a naked roof, and you need everything go with Thule. They have a great fit finder. You enter your make a model, and you get a list of all the items you need for the roof rack. This isn’t cheap. Expect a range of $500-1000. Roof racks are reasonably secure. More so than a trunk mount rack. They are noisy, and can hurt your gas millage. You can also do a lot of damage to your bike and car if you drive into a garage, parking garage, drive through etc. You need to be very aware of your total clearance height.

Suction cup racks: I am not kidding here. There are a few brands of suction cup racks. I have a Sea Sucker Talon. They do have two and three bike options. I have literally used mine for 1000’s of miles with no issues. That said, they are not a great permanent option. They need a smooth flat surface that about 6” around. Sunroofs, rain gutters, anything on the roof of the car can make finding a place to attach them difficult. You also need to take the front wheel off. They are not secure at all. You can remove them from a car in seconds whether it’s holding a bike or not. They are small, and they can easily live in your car to be sure it’s there when you need it. They are great if you need a solution in a pinch like traveling or using a can with no other viable option.

Hitch mount racks: these are my favorite option. The first question to ask is whether you have a hitch mount on your car. If you don’t, you can likely get one. UHaul is a good option to install a hitch. You can order one, and set an appointment for install from their website. If you are reasonably handy you can install one yourself. I have used e-Trailer.com in the past. You can even look at the install instructions before you buy to make sure you can handle the install. Now that you have your hitch installed you need to pick out the rack. I only use the tray style racks. Both of your wheels sit on the rack, and the front wheel or both wheels are locked into the rack. If it’s the front wheel it will be a shepherds hook to hold it on place. If it’s both wheels it’s arms on either side of the wheel. I have used both, and I like both. I don’t think there is an advantage to using one or the other. These fold up flat when not in use. They can make modern cars backup sensors freak out a bit. Some of the lower quality racks with wobble. All high quality racks that I know of have a built in anti-sway feature. Most of those double an an anti-theft feature as well. You will need to consider the number of bikes you will need to transport. Some racks come fixed at a certain number of bikes while others have one and two bike add-ons. I have used a Kuat Transfer for years with no issues. My son has a Kuat NV Base that he loves. I currently use a One Up rack. They are not available on Amazon. This Inno rack is similar in cost and quality. Hitch racks offer the most security of any of the car racks. That said, I don’t trust them as afar a security. They all have cable locks that can be easily cut. They will stop a crime of opportunity, but that’s about it.

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