Small SUV: Hitch bike rack or roof rack?

[vav]

Can't make up my mind which way to go. Care to share your opinions / experiences why you'd pick one instead of the other. FWIW 99% of the time I'll be hauling just one bike.
TIA

[William]

Since you're asking either/or....I've used both. I liked the roof rack just because it was "traditional", but the bike is getting blasted by bugs and stuff. Plus the reduction in fuel economy from the added drag. The Hitch mount was better in that the bike is out of the wind/bugs, except if it was raining. Then they collect all kinds of spray and crap kicked up by your vehicle. If you just plan on fair weather riding and transport, go hitch mount imo.







William

PS: I just happen to have a Thule hitch mount not getting used if you're interested.;)

[Ralph]

Neither.....Put it inside. With passengers in front, fold down seats and slide bike in. May have to take front wheel off, maybe not. With passengers in back, take both wheels off and lay behind second row. I use a short bungy cord from chain to seat rail to hold chain in place and makes it easier to reinstall rear wheel. If you are worried about dirt and greese, use old blanket to protect car. I have a couple 4X6 Harbor Freight moving pads for this....black on one side. For two bikes, stack them on top of each other with pads between them.

BTW....my daugher as a Honda CRV.....it's amazingly roomy for a CUV. I can haul two bikes upright in there fork mount. The largest a 56 CM.

I usually drive a Ford Edge....not a huge vehicle. With one bike, I can lay flat. With two and passengers, I can haul two behind rear seat just fine.

I have hauled bikes on outside when I had to, but avoid it all I can.

[vav]

PS: I just happen to have a Thule hitch mount not getting used if you're interested.;)

I'm very interested. I'll PM you.

[vav]

Neither.....Put it inside. With passengers in front, fold down seats and slide bike in. May have to take front wheel off, maybe not. With passengers in back, take both wheels off and lay behind second row. I use a short bungy cord from chain to seat rail to hold chain in place and makes it easier to reinstall rear wheel. If you are worried about dirt and greese, use old blanket to protect car. I have a couple 4X6 Harbor Freight moving pads for this....black on one side. For two bikes, stack them on top of each other with pads between them.

BTW....my daugher as a Honda CRV.....it's amazingly roomy for a CUV. I can haul two bikes upright in there fork mount. The largest a 56 CM.

I usually drive a Ford Edge....not a huge vehicle. With one bike, I can lay flat. With two and passengers, I can haul two behind rear seat just fine.

I have hauled bikes on outside when I had to, but avoid it all I can.

I also have a CRV. You are right. Very spacious. But two kids, their stuff, a dog, etc, etc make using the inside not possible.

[AngryScientist]

depends on if you can easily reach the roof. i always prefer the roof racks, but they can be a real hassle if the SUV is high off the ground and you cant just reach up and put the bike up there.

[vav]

depends on if you can easily reach the roof. i always prefer the roof racks, but they can be a real hassle if the SUV is high off the ground and you cant just reach up and put the bike up there.

Don't think it'd be a huge deal. CRVs are not that tall and I am a hair over 6'

[William]

I also have a CRV. You are right. Very spacious. But two kids, their stuff, a dog, etc, etc make using the inside not possible.

Same deal with my Landcruiser. I have a two for mount roof rack on top, but when the whole family was going on an outing the inside was loaded with people and gear so the bikes went on the roof and on the hitch mount. Since the roof rack was a good eight feet off the ground, I was the only one who could load/unload a bike from the roof, the rest of my family could access the hitch mount no problem. If I was going somewhere by myself, bike goes inside.






William

[AngryScientist]

Don't think it'd be a huge deal. CRVs are not that tall and I am a hair over 6'

than IMO, roof rack all the way. you can just leave the trays on the roof and forget about them. i do. with a hitch rack, you'll constantly be having to take it in and out or swing it every time you need to open the rear hatch.

[William]

than IMO, roof rack all the way. you can just leave the trays on the roof and forget about them. i do. with a hitch rack, you'll constantly be having to take it in and out or swing it every time you need to open the rear hatch.

Non issue in my humble opinion.:) But go with what ever floats your boat. They both get the job done.






William

[dawgie]

Hitch mount, no question in my mind. I've had both and greatly prefer hitch racks. With roof racks, you get more wind noise, wind resistance, lower gas mileage, bugs all over your bikes -- and the ever-present threat of destroying your bike and damaging your vehicle by driving into your garage or a low overpass. It happens all the time, altho I never had that problem.

The only potential downsides for a hitchmount are access to your rear hatch and rear-end collisions. The issue with the rear hatch is easily handled by buying a rack that founds down or out of the way. The issue with rear end collisions -- well, that's why you have insurance and unlikely to occur anyway.

[Germany_chris]

My hitch rack you just push a button and it lay's flat. It's not to convenient with bikes on it but if you have the bikes strapped in correctly you can lay it down with the bikes attached

[crownjewelwl]

hitch...always hitch

i would definitely drive my whips into my garage...no doubt...if i used a roof rack

a colleague of mine just crushed his cross bike at a parking garage...just a matter of time

and get a 1upusa...best bike related purchase i've made in a long time

[benb]

I recently destroyed a bike on my roof rack. It sucked, but the insurance paid for it with no hassle, it's a very common homeowners claim. I'm still not sure I have a system down to prevent it from happening again. My problem was I was using the rack a ton, like 3-4 days a week, so it became very routine to have the bike up there.

I'd still probably rather do the roof rack again though. It was much cheaper for me to go with a roof rack. If you're getting a CUV, etc.. and you know you're an outdoor person you can probably get one that includes a rack + crossbars out of the box so for a roof rack you're just looking at the actual bike carriers. I have a Subaru Outback, my outlay for roof racks was $300, for a hitch it was going to be a lot higher once you dealt with buying/installing a hitch and then the rack, which seemed to be more expensive.

Fuel economy seems to vary a lot. The rack barely hits my fuel economy at all. No effect in boston area traffic, 1-2mpg on a highway trip. It seems like anything SUVish you already have a ton of aero drag, so the bike rack and even the bikes don't really matter. Whereas if you went and got a prius or something it can matter a lot. ISTR my friend who had a civic saying he was losing like 25-30% of his fuel economy from the roof rack.

If I had a lower car.. (e.x. a legacy instead of an outback) I'd actually be able to drive the car right into the garage with a roadbike on top. My MTB would probably still not clear unless the seat was lowered.

When I was single I always kept the bike in the car. It's pretty much a total no-go married with kids though. Can't put the seat down if there is a child seat in the car. If I take both wheels off I can stick a bike in the hatch of the outback without putting any seats down but it takes up the whole trunk. And it is really nice not to have dirty bikes in the car after many many years of getting the car filthy. You're going to wreck the interior unless all your bike riding is sunny sunday road riding. So using a rack seems great after all that.

[Vientomas]

How often will you be using the rack? I don't use mine often. As a result, having a rack on my roof all the time made no sense to me. Adverse noise and fuel economy, plus having to lift a bike over my head to get it on the rack made no sense to me. Not to mention the every present danger of smashing your bike into a low ceiling when mounted on the roof.

I have a Kuat Sherpa hitch rack. It is relatively light and easy to remove and store. I only put it on the car when I am going to use it. It swings down permitting the back hatch to open when bikes are mounted. I doubt I will ever go back to a roof rack again.

[malcolm]

I like a roof rack and I use both the roof and a hitch rack. Almost everyone with a rood rack and a garage will eventually introduce their bikes to the top of the garage entry. I've done it three times myself since the late '80s. I now put the garage opener in the back of my wagon with my gear.

[sitzmark]

Have both - Yak Forklifts for top and Yak HoldUp for hitch. Both have their good and bad points.

HoldUp/Hitch: http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/hitch/holdup2in
Prefer HoldUp because takes 20 seconds to load/unload bikes and my wife is comfortable using it. Always cringe when stopping quickly that the person behind will not. In wet conditions grit gets driven in EVERY nook and cranny of the drive trains. Spend forever cleaning to get it out. I generally remove rack from hitch and store in wall mounted rack-stash when not planning to transport bike(s) for a few days. HoldUp folds up nicely to stay out of way on vehicle, except if I want to open hatch - then has to be folded down. Inconvenience depends on how often you need access to rear cargo area.

Roof Top: http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/roof/forklift
Grit from hitch rack replaced by bug guts - especially if driving at night in warm weather. Can be just as difficult to clean, but guts do not wear drive train components like grit. ALWAYS have to be vigilant with roof rack - cannot have a lapse in awareness of what's overhead, otherwise... not pretty. Mounting bike trays "outrigger" of the rack feet or factory rails if your bars are long enough makes loading/unloading much easier - just not too far outboard or lots of bruised heads happen.

[josephr]

just moved from a honda accord sedan to a small SUV and I work on a side of town known for stuff to go missing, so on after-work rides, I've got my bike laying down in the back. I can stand it up with one seat down in the back if I take the front wheel off.

On weeekends, I put on the hitch rack...I got the Kuat Sherpa (weighs 29 lbs) and taking off/on the hitch rack takes five minutes tops and is easier than folding seats down...

I still have a roof rack and have used it a couple of times when taking 4 bikes/passengers, but other than that, the hitch rack is the best thing since sliced bread.

No more worrying about overhead clearance when pulling thru Starbucks for a doube-shot-skinny-moo-free-machiatto-mocha-latte or Taco Bell for the triple-steak-flat-bread-thing.
No more straining to lift a mtn bike above your head when you've just ridden 50 miles with 10000 feet of climbing and your shoulders feel like pork tenderloin.

Hitch rack -- no brainer. Also, if you didn't get the rubber mat/tray that fits in the rear, go ahead and splurge on that.
Joe

[ORMojo]

with a hitch rack, you'll constantly be having to take it in and out or swing it every time you need to open the rear hatch.

Not necessarily. With a single 1Up rack on my rear hitch, there is no interference whatsoever with the hatch. I pretty much keep the single tray on the car all the time, and add additional trays (about 2 minutes effort) as needed.

Hitch racks all the way - for a single bike it is always ready to go (see above), and for a big family trip, I can load up to four bikes and use the top of the car for the box to carry the luggage & gear. The family and dog get the inside of the car!

[Idris Icabod]

Not necessarily. With a single 1Up rack on my rear hitch, there is no interference whatsoever with the hatch.

I was about to recommend 1UP hitch rack. Got one about a month ago after debating roof or hitch. Like mentioned in this thread, I know that I would eventually drive a roof mounted bike into something and I know way too many smart people who have done it to think that I wouldn't.

I installed this on a Honda Civic, the tow hitch was about $100 from Curt and was easy to install in about an hour. The 1Up rack is a thing of beauty, so well designed and not a scrap of plastic on it, all aluminium. I've left it on all since I got it, bike clamps on in seconds.

Also, 1UP is 100% made in the USA, as was the Curt hitch which was a selling point for me.

[thirdgenbird]

I'm going through the same debate and I'm in the unique situation where I've been offered a free hitch rack or roof trays, cross bars, lock cores, and a basket. (All used)

I am leaning to roof rack, here is why:
1. I don't park in a garage
2. I don't have a hitch but I do have a factory roof rack
3. The towers I need are $40 on local craigslist (and have been for a long time)
4. Most of my driving is very local (empty rack mpg cost is low)
5. I don't want to store a hitch rack (I will leave the roof rack on)
6. I would rather clean bugs than road grime
7. Easier hatch access

For me the cons to a roof rack are:
1. Loaded mpg cost
2. Higher chance of damage (maybe???)
3. My roof is pretty darn high up...

I'm not putting noise in either list yet. My mom has had several cars with roof racks. She said she has really noticed the noise on cars with standard towers. She said the noise was barely noticeable on racks using the factory roof rack.

[Vientomas]

Roof rack of any type + open sunroof = noise.

[thirdgenbird]

Roof rack of any type + open sunroof = noise.

No sunroof here, but very valid point.

[norcalbiker]

I have a 2007 Honda Pilot and I have both roof and hitch rack. I have not use either of them for very long time because I'm able to fit 2 bikes inside by removing the front wheel.

[sitzmark]

I'm going through the same debate and I'm in the unique situation where I've been offered a free hitch rack or roof trays, cross bars, lock cores, and a basket. (All used)
...
I'm not putting noise in either list yet. My mom has had several cars with roof racks. She said she has really noticed the noise on cars with standard towers. She said the noise was barely noticeable on racks using the factory roof rack.

If you're talking about attaching trays directly to factory cross bars, check the bars first. Some are rather flexible and don't provide a completely stable base. In those cases, "rail grabbers" that use the factory rails to attach solid cross bars (Thule, Yak, etc.) are a better choice. Some added wind noise this way, but my experience is that the most annoying wind noise - whistle - comes from the attachments.

Another drawback to applications that limit cross bars to the distance between factory rails is that it limits the amount of usable bar and makes trays and attachments harder to reach on high vehicles.

Personally I'm looking for a vehicle with a hatch opening that allows me to fix fork-mount trays to the cargo floor and roll the bikes in backwards, then lock them down. With a saddle height of 838mm, those vehicles exist -- vans and minivans -- but the handling is even worse than SUV's/CrossV's. Like my bikes but can't endure that much understeer and body roll.

Happy hunting for what works best for you!

[pdmtong]

the roof rack height issue is easily solved - buy a small step stool at the hardware store. the noise, and garage collision issues are not easily solved.
however, for single bike occasional use, it wouldn't be that big a deal to take it on and off. you could even store it in the vehicle.

there is a new category of extremely lightweight hitch racks..thule showed one at sea otter. you might look at that one. I use a thule T2 so the bike is held by the wheels and not the frame...very nice but heavy heavy heavy and a pain to store since I don't leave it on the vehicle.

as for roof racks and the garage...all you need to do is put a large object such as a ladder or garbage can in the spot where you park. you will never drive in since there is a visual reminder right in front of you.

[Mikej]

I have both, and always wish I was using the other....

[Z3c]

Get a Seasucker rack and install/remove it in seconds as needed. They seem too good to be true but they are the real deal IMHO. Plus, if you ever travel with your bike you can pack it and use it on a rental car.. Moves amongst all your cars as well.

[bloody sunday]

I have ALWAYS been a fan of roof racks.

Hitches look terrible, and you have to install a hitch if your car doesn't already have one. The same argument can be said for the roof rack, but IMO roof racks just look cooler.

Also, if your argument against roof racks is that you could break your bike by running it into the garage or low hanging objects should really reconsider everything they do in life if they're incapable of remembering whether or not you have a bike attached to your roof...

[thirdgenbird]

If you're talking about attaching trays directly to factory cross bars, check the bars first. Some are rather flexible and don't provide a completely stable base. In those cases, "rail grabbers" that use the factory rails to attach solid cross bars (Thule, Yak, etc.) are a better choice. Some added wind noise this way, but my experience is that the most annoying wind noise - whistle - comes from the attachments.

Another drawback to applications that limit cross bars to the distance between factory rails is that it limits the amount of usable bar and makes trays and attachments harder to reach on high vehicles.

Personally I'm looking for a vehicle with a hatch opening that allows me to fix fork-mount trays to the cargo floor and roll the bikes in backwards, then lock them down. With a saddle height of 838mm, those vehicles exist -- vans and minivans -- but the handling is even worse than SUV's/CrossV's. Like my bikes but can't endure that much understeer and body roll.

Happy hunting for what works best for you!

I am planning to use yakima cross bars with adaptor that attach them to the factory rails. This will give me limited space to mount accessories, but I think I can manage three bikes facing alternate directions. Either way, two should be plenty for this stage in life.

My daily driver is sorta like a fat bike. I've got a Porsche for spirited driving. I can get one bike inside it. The SUV is clumsy but it will get me, the wife, the greyhound and a few bikes most anywhere I need to go.

[alembical]

Hitch.

We have a roof set up on a Subaru Outback and a hitch set up on our Honda CRV and VW Van. Only downfall with the hitch rack is if you want to remove it, you need a place to store it. We went with the Thule T2. I highly suggest trying the ones you are interested in on your car. I liked the Kuat and had a good deal presented to me for one, but they did not work on our van. I could not open the rear hatch with the rack on. All vehicles I buy from now on will have a 2" hitch... and I never plan on towing.

[onespeed]

Having used both roof and hitch racks, as well as bike inside the vehicle option, for many years, I can say that every system has its trade-offs that have been mentioned at length here. I would +1 the inside the vehicle option anytime you are transporting =<2 bikes, even in my Passat wagon I can easily fit two bikes in the "40" split section side of the rear seat by simply removing the front wheel(s) and seat-post(s) & running a bungie cord through the frame(s) and "OS" handle. No bugs, no grime, no fear of garage impact & parallel parking ease. I keep my roof rack and hitch rack around for longer trips with more people &/or more bikes. Hope this helps.

[rippledabs]

+1 for hitch rack.

I got the cheapest platform Yakima Stickup and works great. No locking features tho.