bike racks take 9

[gt6267a]

have we had a good rack discussion recently? i am looking for some thoughts:

i had a nice yakima roof rack on my old car. i left it up there full time and it was crazy easy to grab a bike, throw it up top, and move along. it locked nicely if i was going to work, go in to a store, whatev.

i recently changed vehicles and am considering my options. with the yakima setup it's pretty easy to purchase some new q-clips (rubber feet) and put it up top like before, but this is not exciting me because 1) the car is scratch free and i'm going to try and keep it that way 2) gas milage with the rack is degraded which is not desirable for all the time i will be w/o bike 3) noise level w / o bike is not happening anymore.

i could just take the rack on and off for each ride BUT i find taking the roof rack on and off to be difficult (read a high scratch potential) and time consuming for one person.

the option that is jumping off the brochures at me is a hitch mount. cash from selling the yakima rack / trays shoudl cover a new rack and maybe a hitch or i might have to chip in a few bucks.

how difficult is it to take on/off a hitch mount? what about a trunk mount?

thoughts on the hitch mount Vs trunk mount?

[thejen12]

Are you just talking about carrying one bike? Is there absolutely no way you can fit it inside the vehicle? That would be my number one choice for carrying one bike.

Jenn

[gt6267a]

i know myself and bikes inside cars. looking at my old vehicle the cloth interior had a nice collection of grease marks that finally came out with a fairly large effort. the new vehicle has a leather interior and cutting / greasing it up is not what i want to do.

for internal transportation, i could look at stuffing a bike in the trunk but that does not handle moving two bikes. i would like that capability.

[idig]

Roof racks, trunk racks, hitch racks, I've used them all. Each has their pros and cons. The only real con for the hitch rack is that not every vehicle can take a hitch. If yours can, this is the way to go. My Yakima hitch rack can be installed or removed in less than a minute. Get the little lock that prevents the hitch bolt from being removed or someone else can remove your rack in less than a minute too.

As an aside, a trunk rack should be your last resort. Even the really good ones are a pain to install. Removal takes less time, but is still a pain. You will be tempted to leave it on, witch isn't great for your rack, car, or gas mileage. You also have the scratch concerns that you have with the roof rack.

[idig]

One other thing, get the 4-bike hitch. You'll probably never need to carry that many (and it's a tight fit if you do), but the extra room means you can have more space when you carry 2.

[CNY rider]

I just went through this whole thought process.

I ended up with a hitch for my Subaru Outback, and a Hollywood hitch rack after Ginger-pal posted a picture of hers.

I will let you know the results in a few weeks. Both items are in boxes in my living room waiting to be installed!

[harlond]

I had a roof rack before I got my current Hollywood 2-bike hitch rack. I love the hitch rack, goes on and off the car in 1 minute or less, fits easily in the trunk when I'm not using, very secure, can take it into any garage and thru any drive-thru without fear. I'll never go back to roof racks.

[Wiley J]

Don't do a trunk mount if you like your car or your bike. Both will get scratched or worse. I have a hitch mount that secures the bike by the wheels. I can take it on and off by myself. The bikes do not touch each other or the car. I would recommend it, but 1upusa does not sell it anymore. Thule and Saris both have racks of the same style that look good to me.

[PaulE]

My friend has one that holds 4 bikes, I don't know what kind. He went on vacation and took his nice bike and kids bikes all in the hitch rack. The kids bikes flopped around and scratched up his road bike pretty good. He is not the careful type and I suspect that he didn't secure the front forks on any of the bikes so they all just flopped around. I don't know about hitch racks but maybe what you gain in quick install time for the rack you lose in extra time making sure one bike won't damage another? And then depending on the hitch rack can you easily open the rear hatch or trunk for access to other luggage with the rack installed and bikes on it?

The Yakima roof racks are pretty car friendly. As long as your car is clean and the rubber footpads of the rack are clean you really shouldn't scratch up the paint when you install and remove it. If you leave it on permanently, sand and grit will get between the rubber footpads of the rack and the paint and that will cause scratching. Plus now the Yakima racks give you precise measurement of where the racks go and the steelhead and newer trays go on in a snap.

[eddief]

I have a Rav4 with a 1.25 hitch. Thought about a hitch rack, but realized I would not be able to open the rear door with bikes up there.

Car came with factory installed roof luggage rack. Rocky Mounts make their Noose bike trays that can attach to factory rack cross bars. About $90 each. Hope I don't jab the roof with a naked fork dropout.

The Nooses are low profile. Minor draw back is they attach with nuts and bolts to the front cross bar which would make them a pita to take off and on very often. The rear attach is done with big wing nuts, so would be easy to remove. Not sure why they did not use wings on the front attachment too.

I was at REI yesterday and they had new Yakima hitch racks on display. Thule seemed the best hitches before, but looks like Yak is catching up.

[Bart001]

The Saris Bones rack is quite easy to mount onto and off of the trunk, but it eventually will mark up the finish -- it'll scratch the clearcoat.

[harlond]

My friend has one that holds 4 bikes, I don't know what kind. He went on vacation and took his nice bike and kids bikes all in the hitch rack. The kids bikes flopped around and scratched up his road bike pretty good. He is not the careful type and I suspect that he didn't secure the front forks on any of the bikes so they all just flopped around. I don't know about hitch racks but maybe what you gain in quick install time for the rack you lose in extra time making sure one bike won't damage another? And then depending on the hitch rack can you easily open the rear hatch or trunk for access to other luggage with the rack installed and bikes on it?With my rack, the connection method is identical to the Thule fork mount roof rack I used to have, the bikes are very secure and have never flopped around at all. I can get in the trunk easily.

[Wiley J]

My friend has one that holds 4 bikes, I don't know what kind. He went on vacation and took his nice bike and kids bikes all in the hitch rack. The kids bikes flopped around and scratched up his road bike pretty good. He is not the careful type and I suspect that he didn't secure the front forks on any of the bikes so they all just flopped around. I don't know about hitch racks but maybe what you gain in quick install time for the rack you lose in extra time making sure one bike won't damage another? And then depending on the hitch rack can you easily open the rear hatch or trunk for access to other luggage with the rack installed and bikes on it?

The Yakima roof racks are pretty car friendly. As long as your car is clean and the rubber footpads of the rack are clean you really shouldn't scratch up the paint when you install and remove it. If you leave it on permanently, sand and grit will get between the rubber footpads of the rack and the paint and that will cause scratching. Plus now the Yakima racks give you precise measurement of where the racks go and the steelhead and newer trays go on in a snap.

Don't get the kind that the bikes hang by the top tube. The bikes flop around.
The kind you want has an arm that holds the bike up. The wheels sit in a tray. The bikes cannot touch each other with this style of rack.

[alancw3]

went through this exercise several months ago and ended up with a thule 916 T2 hitch mount rack thanks to recommendations from other forum members. while the thule is expensive at a list price of $369, i have to say that it is the best rack i have ever owned. the reason i wanted this particular model is that it secures the bike by the front tire, i.e. no front tire removal and no connection to the frame of bike. and with one bolt i can remove the rack from my car in a minute. if a hitch works on your car i highly recommend this rack. i have the 2" model although they also offer a 1.25" model i am not sure it would be as strong. the 2" is rock solid. i got mine on ebay brand new shipped to me for $303.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=38062&highlight=thule+916

[Too Tall]

Saris Thelma is about as easy as it gets. I am very keen about the Hollywood as well. T.Kellog will tell you that bikes go IN the car however ;)

[gt6267a]

eddief - the car is an audi a4. after reading the responses it seems the hitch is what i will pursue. does anyone have a hitch on an a4? any recommendations on how to proceed with acquiring one?