Advantages: Versatile, durable, good weight capacity, multiple bike fitment Disadvantages: Black anodising fades
.
Fitting is relatively straightforward. It does come with instructions, but it is obvious how it supposed to fit - I only needed a quick glance over the instructions. I loosely bolted on the bottom stays; loosened off the 4 top stay retaining bolts; then adjusted the top stays for the correct width; bolted the top stays on loosely; adjusted the rack until it was level; tightened everything down (8 bolts total); gave it a good shake and was good to go after ten minutes.
I mount my pannier bags on the lower rail, but it is possible to mount them on the higher rail for better heel clearance - your bag will be bent slightly by the lower rail but it does seem to work OK. My pannier bags have Rixen and Kaul fittings and fits the Expedition rack without any trouble, but cheaper strap on pannier bags should fit too - I have a Halford's Bikehut jobbie ...
Advantages: Great rack for the money Disadvantages: Needs more positioning holes
The Powerline Power Rack is a perfectly adequate entry level power rack and robust enough for domestic use. I bought this product about 2 years ago and it has taken some serious punishment in my garage gym and it's still as structurally sound as the day I got it.
It comes with easy-to-assemble instructions and requires nothing more specialist than an adjustable wrench or a socket set to assemble.
When looking for a decent power rack I kept coming back to this one, mainly because of the price and while it is pretty basic in comparison to some of the all-singing-and-dancing commercial alternatives, it still offers the same safety function of its more expensive counterparts.
The rack a chin-up bar incorporated in the design, as standard, and has the option of adding a Lat pulley attachment at an additional cost. I personally didn ...
Advantages: Great drive Disadvantages: Economy suffers when driven hard.
I had a couple of these as hire cars, covering about 15000 miles over 6 months. They were pre-facelift models (04 and 54 reg). If I was in the market to buy a car in this class. this would be a sure contender.
The SRi badge is probably pushing things a little. I always associated SRi's with BIG engines, and certainly not diesels! However, while the diesel (150ps) does a good job, I have to say the handling is the thing that justifies that Sri badge. The car feels really safe cornering and in general driving situations.
While the Vectra has yet to reach the NCAP safety ratings of 5* acheived by manufacturers such as Renault, I would suggest that improved handling offered by a Vectra over a competetive model would actually reduce your need for this higher rating. I always felt that I could fully trust the brakes on the Sri, which I ...
