While electric bicycles are reshaping the personal mobility scene all over the world, we can’t ignore the fact that a large chunk of e-bike riders – specifically e-MTB and road cyclists – use their e-bikes more for sport, rather than actual mobility. As such, you’ll often see e-bikes strapped to the back of a car, or on the various roof racks available for all sorts of vehicles.
Naturally, this opens up a whole new need for e-bike riders, especially those who turned to e-bikes to maintain an active lifestyle, perhaps due to advancements in age or injuries. Needless to say, adding a motor to an e-bike, and not to mention a battery that sometimes accounts for nearly a quarter of the bike’s weight, makes for quite a heavy bike. So heavy, in fact, that even an able-bodied individual may struggle to mount it to a roof rack.
Luckily, manufacturers of bike racks have taken notice of the growing e-bike trend, and are bolstering their racks to carry heavier bikes. However, there continues to be the concern of actually lifting an e-bike up to the level of the roof. With some e-bikes, particularly fat-tire all-terrain models, tipping the scales at as much as 30 kilograms, it can be straight up dangerous for folks to hoist these bikes overhead and balance them with one hand while securing the straps and locks on the rack.
This is where Pender enters the picture, and it seeks to make loading your e-bike onto a roof rack an easy, albeit slightly time-consuming process. The German company makes straining your back while loading your e-bike a thing of the past with its interesting contraption. Designed to mount onto the crossbars of pretty much any roof rack system, the Pender roof rack incorporates a telescoping arm that reaches down to ground level. The end of the arm has a hook which is meant to latch onto a bar that’s mounted horizontally on the headtube and seatpost with ratchet straps.
From there, the hydraulic lift works its magic and lifts the bike up for you with the push of a finger. Once the bike is at the level of the roof, all you have to do is strap the bike’s wheels onto the wheel trays. Pender ensures that your bike doesn’t come crashing back down to earth with a safety lock that engages once the bike has reached the level of the roof. Conversely, the same lock can be manually released, allowing the system to slowly lower the bike down to ground level.
The Pender e-bike rack can accept bikes with a wheelbase as long as 130 centimeters, and as short as 90 centimeters, covering the bases for nearly all types of adult e-bikes. The maximum load is rated at 30 kilograms, pretty much covering all types of e-bikes including lightweight cargo bikes. The rack itself weighs in at 11.8 kilograms, so you may need a hand when it comes to installing it onto your vehicle. That being said, Pender has opened pre-orders for its innovative solution, with a rather hefty price tag of 748 Euros, or about $820 USD.
