[Closed] Rotating bars to fit on bike rack?

I'd say the only danger there is that you tighten your bars off centre rather than any damage to the bolts unless your an ox hanging off a 12foot hex key.

Unless you are over-torquing the bolts, then don't worry about it.

If it's a big concern, buy a torque wrench. That's gotta be simpler than a new rack.

Depending on the rack design, you may be able to slide the arm along and down one of the uprights, if you can do this and clamp the seat tube halfway up it might push the bike out away from the van compared to clamping the top tube with the arm at an angle.  Or modify the arm and make it longer.

Bigger problem is rounding bolts with a crap Allen key or not doing them up properly before setting off. I took mine off every time I flew which was a lot. Some years.

Does it make a difference which bike goes on first?

Thanks all! For the comments and suggestions. I guess I am worrying needlessly.

I actually have other reasons for changing the rack. i.e. the connections are quite worn and loose, the bikes obscure the lights when loaded so if I keep it I would need to fit a socket for a lighting  board. The bike rails are short compared to modern ones so the wheels are almost hanging off the ends and the rails dont have any chocks to prevent the wheels rolling.

There is a dedicated rack available for this van(Citroen Relay) that places the bikes above the lights, however the rail spacing(2 bikes max) would mean that the original question would still apply. The alternative is to get a different rack(not specific to the van) that has spacing for four bikes.

If you were doing it a couple of times a week I would be worried as they will be steel screws into an aluminium thread. Make sure there is some sort of grease/anti-seize on the bolts and buy yourself a little torque key.