Best Kind of Bike Rack?

I'm not cyclist myself but my husband and my son are. My daughter and I ride from time to time so we need to be able to carry four bikes around on our mini-SUV. I was wondering what the best kind of rack would be (or combination of racks)? There are roof mount, hitch racks and racks that attach to the back. We have a hitch mount rack, but no hitch on this car (I used to use it on an old car) so I would need to get one installed. Should I do that or is a roof mount a better option? My husband uses a rack mounted to the back of his VW when he rides, but it only holds three bikes, and he is really only comfortable with two on it.

Thanks for any help!
Lisa

I just bought a hitch rack -- had to add the hitch on my SUV too – and it works great. I purchaced the Saris: CycleOn Pro hitch rack. It was expensive ($375) and you would have to also purchase the add-on so it would hold 4 bikes. But it is the best rack I have ever used . It holds the bikes without touching the vehicle or the frame of the bike. I just came back from a 250 mile trip where I drove 80 mph most of the way and didn’t have to worry about the bikes at all.

For multiple bikes the hitch mount is the only way to go. Thule, Outback, loads of brands out there.

The rack in my garage is a Yakima hitch mounted rack. It is old - probably 7 or 8 years old. I used it when my kids were little and we did a lot of car camping. I think it requires a 2 inch receiver. Sounds like it is probably worth putting one on my new car and using the hitch mounted rack.

Thanks,
Lisa

Another vote for the hitch-mount. You can get a hitch for $125-250 depending on what you choose. If you are not going to two a trailer, then a light duty one will be sufficient to attack a bike rack to.

I have used a Thule "4 bike" receiver rack for many years. This is the kind that dangles bikes from the top tubes.

I strongly dis-recommend (?) this kind of rack, no matter what the manufacturer. I also have a traditional hatchback type rack that also dangles the bikes from the top tube - same thing for this one.

Both of these types are very difficult to use with sloping top tubes, almost impossible if the sloping top tube bike is small (kid's size or small adult). In addition, in my eperience, it was difficult if not impossible to load 4 bikes on to that rack without having them get all banged up. Maybe not horrible the first time, but it adds up to beat up looking bikes if you use it a lot.

I can load 2,MAYBE 3 bikes pretty "cleanly" on this 4 bike rack, but even so, a lot of fussing is needed to keep them from flopping around and hitting each other.

If I were to do it over again, I would DEFINITELY get the kind of rack that has trays that the bike sits in - supported by the wheels rather than dangling from the top tube.

I like the Graber Backpacker. It's a hitch mounted rack that does not use the top tube to secure the bike. It's very similar to many roof top racks. It requires removal of the front wheel. It locks to the front fork and the rear wheel.

Here's an ad for one:

http://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0129937

One thing for sure is that I would never own a roof top rack. After working in a couple of shops and seeing numerous cases of badly damaged bikes and cars, no way I'll ever own a roof top rack. People forget the bike is up there and drive into garages, drive throughs at McDonalds and whatever. It happens all the time and the repairs are almost always very expensive. I had a hard time finding my Graber Backpacker, but it's very solid. I have the two bike model, but you can expand it to hold four bikes. It's great for a small car like my Matrix, as, with the front wheel removed from the bike, the bikes don't stick out past the width of the car. I highly recommend this rack. I had to do some google searches to find one in stock, but they are out there.

Years ago . . . when I was in the Army . . . I made many drives between Kansas and North Carolina and Colorado. Most of the time I used a roof rack. I never had any problems. The one time that I used a hitch mounted rack the bikes got really beat up. I suspect that hitch racks have improved dramatically since that time but I still prefer to put my bikes on the roof.

When I load up my bike I always put an orange safety cone at the front of the garage. When the garage door goes up that’s the first thing that I notice and it reminds me to get out and unload the bike. I never eat at McDonalds so I don’t worry about going through a drive-through.

Oh, I know there are many, many people using roof top racks. That being said, I know that I am one of many, many people who will occasionally be a bit absent minded. I'm just saying that any bike shop can tell you multiple stories of people who "just forgot it was up there". It really does happen all the time.