- Oct 22, 1999
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I have a '06 and '99 Subaru Legacy (non-GT), both with spoilers. I am wanting to get a new bike rack to haul around my wife's and my mountain bikes. The problem is I can't decide which setup to go with. I have zero experience with roof mounted bike rakes and the only real experience with a truck rack was a very cheap one I got back in '96.
I am looking a three different possibilities:
I already have a Yakima roof rack system for the '06 Legacy that I use for my kayaks and hauling lumber, etc. It only has the 48" cross bars, with about 40" between the posts. I think I would still be able to stack my kayaks with the bike racks up there, but it would be a pretty tight fit.
Some of the questions I had is how bad does the roof mounted bikes mess with your mileage? Is there a good way of locking up a trunk mount bike rack and the bikes, without scratching up the car paint? Anyone use both and have a preference?
I am looking a three different possibilities:
- A roof mounted front fork rack, plus the fork to hold the front tire on the roof, such as this one
- A roof mounted upright bike rack like this one
- A truck lid mounted bike rack like this one
I already have a Yakima roof rack system for the '06 Legacy that I use for my kayaks and hauling lumber, etc. It only has the 48" cross bars, with about 40" between the posts. I think I would still be able to stack my kayaks with the bike racks up there, but it would be a pretty tight fit.
Some of the questions I had is how bad does the roof mounted bikes mess with your mileage? Is there a good way of locking up a trunk mount bike rack and the bikes, without scratching up the car paint? Anyone use both and have a preference?