Roof rack vs hitch rack

[Radius PNW]

Originally Posted by jm714

I know its minor, but when I get to my destination [...] I hate listening to the warning lights that my car thinks I'm about to back up into something.

You *may* be able to override the back-up alert tone...

Some vehicles may have a 'Tow' or 'Haul' mode in the transfer case that sets the vehicle to expect an obstruction in the trailer receiver.

Just a PSA to check your owner's manual in case your vehicle might...

[jkbrwn]

I need to buy a bike roof rack. I am fed up of my bike cannibalizing space inside my little Mazda CX-30.

Does anyone have a rack they like? 20% off on Yakima/Thule at REI on Friday so want to pick something up. I understand the cons of a roof rack, but I already have cross bars on there with a vertical stacker for shuttling kayaks so investing in a hitch setup just doesn't make financial sense for me.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

I need to buy a bike roof rack. I am fed up of my bike cannibalizing space inside my little Mazda CX-30.

Does anyone have a rack they like? 20% off on Yakima/Thule at REI on Friday so want to pick something up. I understand the cons of a roof rack, but I already have cross bars on there with a vertical stacker for shuttling kayaks so investing in a hitch setup just doesn't make financial sense for me.

Depends on what you're carrying. Fat tire bikes take different racks than road bikes.

Personally, I like the Rocky Mounts (fork mount) for road, and the Thule for fat tire. I was a Yakima guy for a while, then mostly moved to Thule...

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

I need to buy a bike roof rack. I am fed up of my bike cannibalizing space inside my little Mazda CX-30.

Does anyone have a rack they like? 20% off on Yakima/Thule at REI on Friday so want to pick something up. I understand the cons of a roof rack, but I already have cross bars on there with a vertical stacker for shuttling kayaks so investing in a hitch setup just doesn't make financial sense for me.

I like the Yakima Frontloader.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Depends on what you're carrying. Fat tire bikes take different racks than road bikes.

Personally, I like the Rocky Mounts (fork mount) for road, and the Thule for fat tire. I was a Yakima guy for a while, then mostly moved to Thule...

I was able to carry a Salsa Mukluk on a Thule T2 just fine.. at least for short-ish trips to the trail.. no issues getting it secure IMHO.. and obviously was able to carry road or MTBs as well on the same rack.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by prototoast

I like the Yakima Frontloader.

Same. It does work great… Until I about fell backwards a few times trying to remove the bike from my X3 I know…didn’t ask for a hitch rack.

[p nut]

Do you have to lift the bike fairly high to get it off of the cradle on that Yakima Frontloader?

I’d probably opt for a 1Up, personally.

https://1up-usa.com/product/roof-rack