Club 80-90 Forums

syncropaddy wrote:

toomanytoys wrote: 7.5mm and 8 revs per mile difference.. doubt it will be noticable.. not 22 rpm...

So how would 2mm be noticeable then?

I never said 2mm would be noticable...

I never mentiond 2mm

It wasnt me...

A difference of 2mm in diameter on a standard tyre equates to 2 revs per mile. Now if the VC detects that then we wouldn't be able to go around a roundabout.

Here are a few rear mounted bike racks with the spare wheel or wheels.


This one is my bike rack. I can fit 3 bikes on it with a rear mount tyre. The rack clamps onto the towbar.



This one belongs to Chiz. It is 2 VW racks welded together to carry 2 wheels and the rack carries 4 bikes.


This one is Chizs again with the 2 bike rack before he extended it.


This is my other bike rack (AKA - Trailer). It has 4 single roof mount racks on top of the box. The box looks nicer now that it has had a coat of varnish and a new number plate.

Those are some helpful pictures Rob.

I need to construct a rear bike carrier/ storage platform out of my old T4 fiamma 4 bike carrier. I like the look of Chiz's one, I would prefer the trailer route that you have taken, as it does not load up the already over heavy rear end. When we do the Sweden trip in August i wanted to use the Fiamma platform to strap the Kyham tent and chairs to, as they sit on the floor of the dub at the mo. Using a trailer cost's more on the ferries though..argh!!

syncrosimon wrote:Those are some helpful pictures Rob.

I need to construct a rear bike carrier/ storage platform out of my old T4 fiamma 4 bike carrier. I like the look of Chiz's one, I would prefer the trailer route that you have taken, as it does not load up the already over heavy rear end. When we do the Sweden trip in August i wanted to use the Fiamma platform to strap the Kyham tent and chairs to, as they sit on the floor of the dub at the mo. Using a trailer cost's more on the ferries though..argh!!

Does the ferry cost any more than constructing a custom rack? I find towing the trailer leaves much more space in the awning and the van. You can take extra stuff as well. Thing to consider as well is the speed restriction when towing a trailer.

Do you have a swan neck or a normal hitch on the Syncro? If it is a normal hitch you could weld up a simple mounting bracket for the fiamma rack. Similar to what Chiz has but with a plate that goes between the towball and the bar. Here is my quick scribble of what I mean (done quickly on the computer so not pretty).


A variation on this would be mounts on either side of the towball plate which the mounting bar slips into so you could leave the mount in permanently and just slip the bike rack mount in when you needed it.

Yes if you have to buy a trailer, or make one from an old Mirror dingy trailer!!

The extra cost on the three ferries is 200 quid. Prob worth it for the storage though.

This is a very mixed up but interesting thread....

SyncroPady wrote:A difference of 2mm in diameter on a standard tyre equates to 2 revs per mile. Now if the VC detects that then we wouldn't be able to go around a roundabout.

Well, as I've alluded to several times above, I have run with much larger differences for months, in fact a whole season; some would say my VC is a bit stiff, I reckon it's about normal (though blame it totally for not getting through the trial gates at MammutPark )

I have put some interesting (to engineers) stuff on the design of the Syncro up on the Wiki, but its in German (so far)

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Sy ... yncro_Tech

I'm sure we can agree to agree or if not agree to disagree Andrew, I haven't been arguing any point here, just saying what I know (to be true) and have seen (in documentation).. I am sure for whatever reason (conservatism) VW did quote 2mm tread height difference, maybe absurd, but they felt that covered their ass(es)

HarryMann wrote:I am sure for whatever reason (conservatism) VW did quote 2mm tread height difference, maybe absurd, but they felt that covered their ass(es)

I'm going for this explanation. Mathematically a 2mm difference is absurd. Drew speaks of 6% which is a much more feasible proposition. Maybe VW didn't bargain on 21st century nerds pulling everything they did apart back in the late 80's.

Maybe that 2mm figure was not just for preserving the VC, but for general roadability and good handling ?

have a factory sticker on my dash (underneath dash tidy) stating that tread depth between the front and rear should not exceed 2mm although as agreed with andrew earlier that it was probably put there by vw to stop people coming back to them with vc failure will post a pic when I take off my dash tidy

slobbo wrote: Does the ferry cost any more than constructing a custom rack? I find towing the trailer leaves much more space in the awning and the van. You can take extra stuff as well. Thing to consider as well is the speed restriction when towing a trailer.

Do you have a swan neck or a normal hitch on the Syncro? If it is a normal hitch you could weld up a simple mounting bracket for the fiamma rack. Similar to what Chiz has but with a plate that goes between the towball and the bar. Here is my quick scribble of what I mean (done quickly on the computer so not pretty).


A variation on this would be mounts on either side of the towball plate which the mounting bar slips into so you could leave the mount in permanently and just slip the bike rack mount in when you needed it.

I think we will go down the trailer route, the extra storage will be very welcome, and I can use the Fiamma bike bits to mount them on the lid of the trailer. Mounting four bikes on the tow bar is a future need, the Maxxrax looks to be a good bit of kit, but my Finish tow bar does not have mounting bolts, so would need to be cut and shut with a plate. Need a good engineer to do that.

This is mine

Essex Nige wrote:This is mine

...and does it over heat ..... ?

A difference of 2mm in diameter on a standard tyre equates to 2 revs per mile. Now if the VC detects that then we wouldn't be able to go around a roundabout.

2mm on tread depth is actually 4mm on diameter

HarryMann wrote:

A difference of 2mm in diameter on a standard tyre equates to 2 revs per mile. Now if the VC detects that then we wouldn't be able to go around a roundabout.

2mm on tread depth is actually 4mm on diameter

Correct but the VC still wouldnt detect that small difference.