Bike Rack Suggestions

[Zorba]

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:

1. A roof mounted front fork rack, plus the fork to hold the front tire on the roof, such as this one
2. A roof mounted upright bike rack like this one
3. 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?

 

[Vetterin]

Well, I have the Raptor 2 bike system (your #2) on my 06 Legacy wagon and love it. You don't have to remove the front wheel from your bike and it's very sturdy. I can cruise at 75 mph and the bikes don't even shake. It probably cuts my mpg by 3-4 but for ease of use it's worth it to me.
I'm not sure if there would be enough room to put a kayak up there too though.

 

[Gibson486]

well, it's not like a trunk rack will not have an effect on mileage....it won't be as great, but it will still have an effect.

roof racks are more versatile, but if you have no muscle, putting bikes on there suck.

 

[NutBucket]

I wouldn't go trunk mounted. It will end up bending the edge of the trunk lid...more often than not.

Why not just remove the kayak mounts when you want to haul bikes? And, I doubt roof mounted bikes kill mileage any worse than a kayak.

 

[Anubis]

trunk racks are great for scratching the shit out of your trunk.

1 or 2 will be fine, Ive used both, i don't really have a preference

 

[kornphlake]

I prefer #1, over #2 because I like keeping the bike as low as possible, plus the fork mount is clamping to a part of the bicycle that is designed to be clamped and is common to all bicycles.

I don't like trunk racks, they're a pain to install and remove and I never feel like they secure a bike very well.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have a Yakima roof rack with a Thule bike tray and Thule surfboard mounts. I didn't care for the Yakima bike trays, thought the Thule was better IMO (at least it was a few years ago when I bought this kit). I didn't buy the Thule rack because it didn't fit my car quite right even with the correct fit kit.

This is similar to the bike tray I have:

It doesn't hold the front wheel but I just put that in the back seat or the trunk of my car. It's no big deal. I've carried 2 bikes this way hundreds of times with zero issues.

I prefer the roof rack because it doesn't mar the finish of my car and it doesn't leave my expensive road bikes dangling off the rear bumper of my car for some idiot on a cell phone to plow into.

The downsides to a roof rack are aerodynamics which affects fuel efficiency, especially on the freeway. Roof racks are also more difficult to load if you have big heavy bikes to lift up there and if you pull into low parking structures or a garage you have to make sure you remember they're up there and that they'll clear.

My bikes both weigh under 20lbs though and I don't park in the garage so the only drawback for me is fuel economy with the rack on.

If you want to carry kayaks as well then I'd say a roof rack is the only way to go.

 

[JulesMaximus]

As for mileage, with 1 bike and the rack my freeway fuel economy drops 4-5 mpg easily.

 

[KMc]

I didn't care for the Yakima bike trays

http://www.rockymounts.com

 

[Zorba]

I wouldn't go trunk mounted. It will end up bending the edge of the trunk lid...more often than not.

Why not just remove the kayak mounts when you want to haul bikes? And, I doubt roof mounted bikes kill mileage any worse than a kayak.

I'd like to haul both the kayaks and the bikes from time to time, especially if I am going to float a river or go on a trip to the national parks. I think I might be able to squeeze 2 kayaks with 2 bikes on the roof, but I am not sure yet. I do know that it would be a very tight fit.

 

[Zorba]

As for mileage, with 1 bike and the rack my freeway fuel economy drops 4-5 mpg easily.

What kind of car do you drive?

 

[NutBucket]

You can always get longer crossbars.

 

[Zorba]

You can always get longer crossbars.

Well there is the WAF...

Wife things bars that are too long are ugly, I personally like them that way.

 

[Dirigible]

I've had a roof rack on multiple cars. On my '96 Integra a roof rack + bike dropped mileage by 5mpg. On my current essentially brick-shaped Volvo wagon, the mileage drop is undetectable by my crude methods (1mpg or less).

I like the racks that clamp to the forks . I find it easier to attach the bikes. The front wheels go in the trunk/cargo area. I have gotten an upright bike rack (looks like I have the predecessor to this one: http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/top/frontloader ) because my mountain bike has a 20mm through axle and I'm too lazy to use the 20mm-QR adapter thingy. It works well, but you have to lift the bike up a little higher and it takes a little more time to attach everything.


I would not get a trunk rack. I would consider a hitch-mount rack if starting from scratch, but since you've already got the basics of the roof rack in place, might as well get some bike trays.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What kind of car do you drive?

Nissan Maxima

 

[CraigRT]

Hitch racks are the best if you ask me... Not above the car, so easy to get the bikes in place, and dirt doesn't drop onto your roof.. They are also not as in the air flow quite as much so MPG should be better. You also don't even have to remove a tire to get the bike on the car.. You just put the bike in the hoops, and the clamp ratchets down. I have had many bike racks and will never use anything but the hitch/hoop rack style. Bar none the best. That being said, if you went with a hitch rack, you could still use your roof rack for kayaks no issues at all.

I bought a hitch off a local classifieds and installed myself for $40, and I got the rack discounted through a local shop I deal with.

The rack is a Swagmann XTC-2. http://www.backcountryracks.com/swxtc2bihira.html

 

[JulesMaximus]

Hitch racks are the best if you ask me... Not above the car, so easy to get the bikes in place, and dirt doesn't drop onto your roof.. They are also not as in the air flow quite as much so MPG should be better. You also don't even have to remove a tire to get the bike on the car.. You just put the bike in the hoops, and the clamp ratchets down. I have had many bike racks and will never use anything but the hitch/hoop rack style. Bar none the best. That being said, if you went with a hitch rack, you could still use your roof rack for kayaks no issues at all.

I bought a hitch off a local classifieds and installed myself for $40, and I got the rack discounted through a local shop I deal with.

The rack is a Swagmann XTC-2. http://www.backcountryracks.com/swxtc2bihira.html

Jesus, look at how much wider the bike is than the car though! Clip something and you can kiss your bike, the rack, and probably part of your car goodbye.

 

[KMc]

 

[gaidensensei]

I got a question.. I'm looking into buying a roof/hitch rack, first time purchasing and have never put one together.

If I go the roof rack route, I've been reading that I can use the stock roof rack on a 2004 4runner and add a yakima or thule kit.

So do I need some kind of mount system or from what I was reading, "Yakima mighty mounts" if I plan to buy a Yakima rack?
Been looking at ebay at some, but I don't know if that's all the parts I need.

Yakima Vipers

Yakima Raptors

SOS for help, thanks in advance.

 

[soydios]

I've never had a problem with trunk racks. Easy mount/dismount of both the rack onto the car and the bike onto the rack. Just a few straps and you're done. It doesn't scratch the trunk unless you do it wrong.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I got a question.. I'm looking into buying a roof/hitch rack, first time purchasing and have never put one together.

If I go the roof rack route, I've been reading that I can use the stock roof rack on a 2004 4runner and add a yakima or thule kit.

So do I need some kind of mount system or from what I was reading, "Yakima mighty mounts" if I plan to buy a Yakima rack?
Been looking at ebay at some, but I don't know if that's all the parts I need.

Yakima Vipers

Yakima Raptors

SOS for help, thanks in advance.

If your vehicle has cross bars you could probably just add a bike tray which should just clamp right onto them.

 

[Meghan54]

Jesus, look at how much wider the bike is than the car though! Clip something and you can kiss your bike, the rack, and probably part of your car goodbye.

What? Your car doesn't have side mirrors? Cannot simply look out them and determine where the bikes are in relation to anything else?

I've used hitch mounted racks for years and have yet to clip any damned thing with my bikes.


But for simplicity, a good trunk mounted rack is great. But you want one that'll hold a lot of weight without bending, rubber feet, individual clamps for each bike.

The best trunk mounted rack I've come across is the Saris Bones rack. Used them, sold a ton of them, and never had one complaint of scratched paint or the other problems imagined in this thread about trunk racks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What? Your car doesn't have side mirrors? Cannot simply look out them and determine where the bikes are in relation to anything else?

I've used hitch mounted racks for years and have yet to clip any damned thing with my bikes.

But for simplicity, a good trunk mounted rack is great. But you want one that'll hold a lot of weight without bending, rubber feet, individual clamps for each bike.

The best trunk mounted rack I've come across is the Saris Bones rack. Used them, sold a ton of them, and never had one complaint of scratched paint or the other problems imagined in this thread about trunk racks.

I'm not a fan of trunk racks...sorry to hurt your feelings. In my experience they damage the paint on the trunk lid (not right away but they will after a while), they don't hold bikes very securely and the bikes end up damaging your bumper. Hitch mounted racks are probably better but I really don't want my bikes out there where some idiot can crash into my several thousand dollar road bikes.

Don't hate me because I don't agree with you.

 

[CraigRT]

Jesus, look at how much wider the bike is than the car though! Clip something and you can kiss your bike, the rack, and probably part of your car goodbye.

It's really not wider than my car... If it's going to clip one of the rear wheels, it's going to be taking off one of the mirrors on the car first... I whole heartedly recommend this design over any other.. I've used or had them all at this point.