Review: Baxley Wheel Chock: Better than God itself…
Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 at 5:00 pm by gothicbeaST
Ok, well maybe saying the Baxley Wheel Chock is better than GOD is an overstatement, but it is damn good product.
When I first looked at this wheel chock, all I could think was how OVER PRICED it was.
The cost is $215 for the crinkle black finished version. If you would like a color then it’s another $10 for your wheel chock. There are zero deals on line, and one of the reasons it is reported to cost upwards of $180 wholesale. Our friends and Baxley Trailer Company are not doing you any favors, but after you use one it’s understandable.
So looking at this silly thing, I said: “it’s just not worth the money, my metal hoop type chock and at $45; it does the job just fine.” But the truth is there is little to compare the two. The Baxley Wheel Chock true feature is how it clamps the front wheel. This clamping action captures the front tire and holds the bike up by the front wheel. While this does not seem that wonderful, the end result is you don’t need much in the way of tie-downs to hold the bike.
Now this all seems to good to be true, but the fact is it works. How do I know, well I got one from someone who wanted to sell there USED one. At $150, I did not see it as much of a deal over the $215 for new, but the fact is, all of these sell quickly on WERA board for $185 used.
So I get my new chock and try it out. It seems nice, but then I use it to transport my bike. Now it’s all cool to just push it in and set it in place. No need to balance the bike, just let go and it’s ok. Then I was able to casually put on a set of canyon dancer bar harnesses. I set them on lightly and only pulled down on them a bit. The goal was to just lightly pull the bike into the wheel chock. Give the bike a wiggle and wow, it does not move much.
Out on the road the bike was more stable than any time beforehand. The wheel chock keeps the bike from moving from side to side. Since you are not using the front fork under pressure, when you turn the bike leans just a bit.
Before hand if you turned the bike leaned and the outside strap got loose. Nothing that dramatic happens when you are in the Baxley wheel chock. It just works and it works well.
IF you are going to nitpick the design there are a few things that could be improved. First a handle to pick up the device would be nice. The wife just does not know where to grab to haul the stand around. The next item would be a bit of offset from the front of the unit to the “D-Ring” that holds the pin for the upper “V” guide. This D-ring rubs up against the front of the vehicle you are towing with. Now the fun part is, when the Pin is in the “Standard” position, it does not rub. But when it is in the Towing position, it rubs. The down side is, you will be using the Towing position just when it rubs into the front of your towing rig.
Overall Rating:
- The good: Holds the bike very steady when towing, and it allows an easy parking of the bike at the track.
- The Bad: It’s expensive at $215 and discounts are hard to come by. It’s a great item, but it could be a bit cheaper at $150 or so.
- The Ugly: Rubs the front of your towing vehicle (Truck Bed) with the Adjustment pin. With all else that is perfect, minor things like this are apparent.
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I am in your court being a cheap guy. I have an enclosed trailer and we have three of the Pingle style pop-chocks. I worry that one of these days a fork seal will let go due to the force required to cinch everything down.
Nice write-up!