Yakima bike rack question

[biker.caliente]

We bought an SUV with those aero factory crossbars. Been thinking about putting up a couple bike trays but those Yakima Forklift are pricey. Like $150 a pop. We still have the old Yakima Steelhead trays left behind after selling the sedan and are thinking about using them. They look to be still in good shape.

Thing is, the Steelhead will only work with Yakima round bars with its snap-around but not with the oval-shaped aero crossbars. At least not directly. However, it seems if I get rid of the original snap-around and slide a pair of the Yakima Horizontal Mightymounts underneath the tray, I could at least get the tray onto the crossbars. For the jaw of the Steelhead, I will get cut a piece of 1.125" pipe as the placeholder. It may look a bit odd but it's up there on the roof and I don't suppose too many people would notice anyway. Personally, I like more about the $$ and care less about the esthetics. The Mightymounts are <$40 for a set of four. Much cheaper than ~$400 for two new Forklift bike trays. Plus, we don't have to worry about what to do with the Steelheads.

Has anyone done something like this? What is your result and is there anything special we should watch out for? Also, is it secure enough, in your opinion? I called up Yakima but they don't know if this a workable configuration and they don't recommend it.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[cp43]

Does your new car have side rails as part of the roof rack? Do you still have the Yakima bars from the old car?

If both of the above are true, the thing to do would be to get some Yakima RailGrabs. They'll allow you to mount your current round bars to the rails of your factory roof rack.

It's a bit more expensive than what you describe, but it will work, and it's Yakima supported.

http://yakima.com/shop/racksystems/factory-tracks-or-rails/railgrab

If you don't have side rails, or don't have the old bars, I don't have any ideas. :(

Good luck,

Chris

[MattTuck]

If you decide to go the railgrabber route, PM me. I have a set of them, and could let them go for a song.

[atl001]

I can't picture exactly how you envision this setup, but it sounds like the stability of the rack would be severely compromised. The bike is tall in comparison to the width of the rack, and I imagine there are substantial twisting forces experienced by the rack (which is trying to keep the bike upright) when going around a turn. The method of securing the rack to the bar has to withstand substantial torque. With the steelhead clamping the bar, and the bike fixed to the head through the fork, this is accomplished. It's hard for me to imagine how the tray (which is not nearly as rigid as the head) could be affixed to the bar to withstand similar levels of torque. Also, it sounds like in your setup the torque would be transmitted through the head (which is no longer fixed to the bar) to the tray (which is), and I question whether the joint between the head and the tray could withstand it, as it was not designed for it.