Golf Bag Carrier Instructions
for the Heybike Ranger
This page has specific instructions for attaching the Bag Carrier to the Heybike Ranger. But I will include a couple hints for the bike assembly too.
If you are looking for the instructions for assembly of the ebike itself, click here to see the Heybike Ranger ebike assembly paragraph in the FAQ’s . The bike comes mostly assembled, but there are a few things you will need to do before you can ride it.
The trickiest part of the bike assembly is installing the front tire into the forks. Be sure to look at the front tire instructions here. It is a lot easier with 2 people and 4 hands. If you are by yourself, it is much easier if you can support the bike so the height of the forks is just above the axle of the front tire. This picture shows a way to do that. It isn’t stable resting on that center stand, so make sure you brace it against something so it doesn’t tip over while you are installing the front tire.
Installing the Handlebar Assembly – Several customers have asked for help installing the handlebars. The handlebar assembly has all the wires and cables connected, but it needs to be installed into the front frame as described on page 9 of the assembly instructions. However, illustration 2 is not clear about how to align the stem. The hinge is NOT in line with the frame. It is purposefully on the side because that is the direction the handlebars fold for storage or transport. So you are not lining up the hinge…you are lining up the handlebars. These 3 steps describe an easy way to do it.
- As illustrated in panel 5, tighten the stem with the supplied Allen wrench enough to hold the handlebars, but not so tight that you can’t still rotate them, then raise the handlebars into their upright position. You don’t have to lock them, just raise them fully up.
- Stand with one leg on each side of the front tire and use your knees to hold the tire in line with the frame. Then align the handlebars so they are perpendicular with the tire and bike frame.
- Fold the handlebars over and tighten the Allen screw as tight as you can. If the alignment isn’t quite right, you can easily adjust it by loosening the Allen screw just enough to rotate the handlebars, and adjust them while holding the tire between your knees.
Install the Rubber Bumper Bracket under the axle nut
In the basic installation page, we described how you can affix the Rubber Bumper to the back of the Bag Carrier. With the Ranger, we recommend using the supplied bracket as shown here. The bumper bracket attaches under the axle nut. Remove the axle nut with an 18mm or equivalent wrench (traditional right-hand thread). Remove the washer if one is present. Place the bumper bracket at the approximate 4 o’clock angle shown in the picture. Put the nut back on and hand-tighten for now.
Attaching the Carrier Rack Bracket
This section updated June 4, 2023
We are in the midst of transitioning from a rack bracket that covers the entire width of the rack to a shorter bracket. Depending on which one you have received, the following photos and instructions will vary. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
The rest of this page shows how to mount the Bag Carrier Rack Bracket to the Heybike Ranger Rack. There are 2 ways to do it:
- You can drill 1/4 inch holes in the rack and bolt the Rack Bracket to it. We recommend this for the most secure way to attach the Carrier.
- If you prefer not to drill holes into the rack, you can use the “under-plate-clamp method” described below the drilling instructions.
Most customers will leave the main rack bracket affixed to their rack between golf rounds. But if you plan on removing it completely, you might want to protect the paint on your rack. You can do this easily with duct tape or a cloth on the underside of our bracket (and on the clamp piece if you don’t drill holes).
CAUTION: Be sure to lubricate the nut and bolt threads with any kind of oil or anti-seize.
Stainless hardware gets hot from the friction and can “lock up” causing the nut to seize to the bolt. If you don’t have any anti-seize or oil handy, scrape some bar-soap into the full length threads of the bolts. Also, thread the nuts on slowly. Do not use a speed wrench or battery driver.
Drilling Holes Into The Ranger Rack
The position of the mounting bracket on the rack is critical so that the bag carrier matches up with the rubber bumper. The mounting bracket needs to be firmly up against the side of the rack indicated by the red arrows, and the 4 holes circled in green on the right side of the rack need to be DIRECTLY over cross-bar #1
With the mounting bracket in this position, drill 1/4″ holes into the rack through the holes circled in red. The holes in the mounting bracket are a little larger than the supplied 1/4″ bolts which should allow for any variance in the way the rack is welded. The key is to make sure that you drill holes in the very middle of the rack tubing.
You can drill the holes by yourself without a clamp to hold the bracket in place as shown, but that only leaves you with one hand on the drill and one hand to hold the bracket while you drill. It is important not to let the bracket move as you start drilling the holes. It is easier with a clamp or if someone can help you hold the bracket firmly against the left side of the rack while you manage the drill. You will want to keep the holes in the bracket lined up over the cross bar and not let the drill bit “walk” on the round cross bars. If you have a punch, you can dimple the cross bars which helps. By holding the bracket firmly in place, it becomes a “drill guide” that will help you keep the bit centered.
It doesn’t matter which hole you drill first, but after each hole is drilled, insert a bolt to help hold it in place while you drill the next hole, and make sure you keep the bracket mount pushed up against the left side of the rack while you drill the other holes.
Affix the rack bracket to the rack with 4 bolts and nuts. These are stainless steel, so add a little lubricant or anti-seize to the threads to keep them from galling and seizing. Also, turn the bolt fairly slowly into the nut. When you get it as tight as you can with the Phillips screwdriver, then turn the nut with a wrench to tighten it another turn or two. The screwdriver doesn’t provide enough leverage by itself, but it will hold the head of the bolt while you wrench more tightly.
Notice that the bracket mounts with the bend DOWN over the side of the rack. Some people have mistakenly mounted it upside down with the hinge-blades UP.
Using the “Underclamp” Method
If you use this method, the rack bracket needs to be mounted with the holes circled in green directly over cross-bar #1 as shown below, and firm against the left side of the rack so there is NO gap (red arrows).
This allows the Carrier frame to line up with the rubber bumper that is attached to the axle.
In the picture below, we have placed the underplate on top (outlined in a red dotted line) to show where it fits on the underside. The notch in the underplate fits up against the tail light bracket. The underplate clamps the mounting bracket to the cross bars.
It can be a little challenging to get the nuts started on the underside because there isn’t a lot of room for your fingers. But this isn’t something you will need to do more than once since you will leave the rack-bracket on the rack. We have two recommendations to make it easier, illustrated in the next picture.
1) Use a clamp to hold the rack bracket and under-plate in place while you install the bots and nuts.
2) Put a piece of tape under a closed-end wrench to hold the nuts. This will allow you to reach in under the plate and hold the nuts while you turn the bolts with your fingers to get them started, than take over with a Phillips screw driver, then final tightening with the wrench.
Tighten the bolts evenly, one after another, and keep tightening until they are as tight as you can get them with a screw driver, then tighten more with a 7/16″ wrench which provides more tightening leverage than the screw driver. We have included 4 bolts with the clamp piece.
AFFIXING THE SLOT BRACKETS
For the Heybike Ranger, we recommend mounting the Slot Brackets in the 7th and 13th holes UP from the bottom which will yield about a 3.5 to 4 inch clearance from the bottom of the Bag Carrier to the ground. If you want a little more clearance, then use the 6th and 12 holes up from the bottom. (All the other holes are available for height adjustments for other ebikes) Use the shortest nuts and bolts that are included inside the Slot Bracket bag for this. After you tighten them as much as possible with the screw driver, give it about 1/4 turn more with the wrench.
Align and Tighten the Rubber Bumper Bracket
Rotate the rubber bumper bracket so the bumper is directly behind the left side of the Bag Carrier frame, then tighten the nut as tight as you can with the wrench while holding the bumper bracket in that position.
As a matter of good maintenance, you should check all nuts and bolts on your bike from time to time, especially this axle nut…traditional right-hand thread.
