In need of a roof mount bike rack

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I have a Yakima and love it. but, it would be a pain to put a bike ontop of a SUV if it is big. i had a subaru so it was not bad at all. i am now in search of a new rack as well. I have a yakima rack that I would sell but it is for gutter mounts. most newer cars do not have gutters any more. Jack.

Edited by JaWaLav 2004-03-10 4:10 AM

and don't forget, with a roof rack you can't do a drive-thru, whether for a quick bite to eat or for some fast cash. Lots of horror stories about people pulling into their garage forgetting about the bike and wrecking both the car and the bike.

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I have a Saris Bones bike rack that fits both my BMW 318 and my Dodge Durango. http://www.graberproducts.com/category/category_control.asp?nextFor...

It is adjustable (obviously) and easy to get on and off. The model I have holds two bikes, but they also make one that holds three. I bought it because it costs only $110 and I could use it for either car. My understanding of the Yakima racks is that you still have to buy the Yakima cross-bars to mount the rack, and your costs could go to $400 or so! For my money, the Saris was the way to go. Also, drive throughs and garages are not a problem, so long as you pull far enough into the garage first...

Hope this helps.

I have a roof rack on an SUV - I have to say that I wish I had gotten a rear bike rack. I have immense difficulty getting the bike up or down by myself. I stand on the tire with one foot and on the running board with the other. It is hard because you change your center of gravity when you hold the bike and it's easy to lose your balance.

So, unless your SUV is short, or you are really tall, or you will always have someone with you, check out the rear racks too. If you have an REI near you (or similar), they have the bike racks set up. You can practice in the store.

Cathy

I'll second the rear-rack for the SUV. My parents have Durango and Subaru. The Subaru has either a
Thule or Yakima roof rack, the Durango has a rear-rack.

The rear-rack attaches to the where the trailer-hitch ball goes ( assuming you have one that comes on
and off ). It is *so* easy to load bikes on that, vs. trying to get them up to the roof. It keeps them out
of the wind as well, so no scraping bugs off later on, as well as reducing wind resistance on the SUV.

One note, make sure you get one with solid components. Any moving/adjustable parts need to able to be
locked in place. The first one my parents got was on a bit of swing arm thing, but was cheaper, so it
tried to rely on friction from a few bolts to keep the swing arm steady. It lasted one trip before it sheared.
So do some investigation, and get a quality one.

Something like the following ( $100-$250, depending on number of bikes ):

http://www.rei.com/online/store/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=400000080...

-Chris

Edited by coredump 2004-03-10 10:47 AM