Best Type of Car Bike Rack?

[Ashley3]

You know you have your priorities right when you first consider what type of bike rack would be best and then try to match the right car to it.
The options so far are a roof rack (fork rack or tire on?) or a rear mount on a hitch bracket. Anybody have an opinion?

 

[Jaguar27]

Well, I drive a Jaguar (XJR), my road bike fits in the trunk (58cm size) with the front wheel removed, and if I need the trunk to carry something else or need to carry two bikes I use a trunk mounted rack, it takes 3 minutes to strap it on, I've never lost a bike and never damaged the Car, so it really works for me...

If you're shopping for a Car there are several nice ones that have folding rear seats...my wife's car, a new VW Beetle, will also carry a bike with the rear seats folded down...however, it's not possible to use a trunk mounted rack on a beetle because of the glass hatch window, it's not a good idea to hook a rack to glass...

And yes, you do deffinately have your priorites right....don't forget to take your bike with you when you go shopping for a Car....

You know you have your priorities right when you first consider what type of bike rack would be best and then try to match the right car to it.
The options so far are a roof rack (fork rack or tire on?) or a rear mount on a hitch bracket. Anybody have an opinion?

 

[akamrkent]

If you've got an aluminum bike or a carbon fiber with nice graphics (such as a Colnago), you may want to think twice about getting any rack that the bike frame has to rest on (ie: trunk mounted rack). An aluminum frame could dent and I'd hate to see scratches on my paint job. Same goes for the 'tires on' type of roof rack. Typically with this type of system, the rack somehow clamps on to the downtube of the bicycle which, again, creates the possiblility of scratches or a dented frame. I've had the same basic rack system on 3 different cars. I started out with a Thule crossbar system and fork mounted bike trays. As I've gone to different vehicles, I've simply changed out the towers to accomodate the cars. The system has been on a VW, 2 BMW's and now is on a Toyota SUV. I've also got a hitch mounted rack for my SUV, but the trays on that system are also fork mounted. I've invested a lot of money in my bikes and take every precaution to protect them.

 

[jessmcph]

I own a roof mounted rack (yakima) I bought it off ebay used for half the price in the stores . I chose it for a couple of reasons: 1) I like the way it looks...its like a hat for my car. 2) (more important) if i get into a fender bender, the most common kind of accident, I don't run the risk of losing my bike. Its not covered on most insurance plans. 3) I too can fitmy bike in my trunk if i lay down my seats but i've found that it is easy when moving the bike in and out to scratch one or both vehicles. On the downside of the roof racks, it has scratched my paint on the tube (mine loads with the tire in place). the rack has also scratched my car but i think i just needed to use a better buffer between the car and the rack. Also I don't like traveling for distances with my bike on the rack, I'm scaed that debris will fly and hit the bike damaging it. It hasn't happened yet.


hope that helps

 

[donhix1]

I own a roof mounted rack (yakima) I bought it off ebay used for half the price in the stores . I chose it for a couple of reasons: 1) I like the way it looks...its like a hat for my car. 2) (more important) if i get into a fender bender, the most common kind of accident, I don't run the risk of losing my bike. Its not covered on most insurance plans. 3) I too can fitmy bike in my trunk if i lay down my seats but i've found that it is easy when moving the bike in and out to scratch one or both vehicles. On the downside of the roof racks, it has scratched my paint on the tube (mine loads with the tire in place). the rack has also scratched my car but i think i just needed to use a better buffer between the car and the rack. Also I don't like traveling for distances with my bike on the rack, I'm scaed that debris will fly and hit the bike damaging it. It hasn't happened yet.


hope that helps

I bought a Yakima because all my friends had Yakimas so I could use my Yakima mounts on there racks so we can carry everyone's bike on one car.

 

[jmaes]

If you have a light, expensive bike, I say either put it in the car or on the roof. I use a Yakima Viper. It's a fork mounted rack, so the front wheel goes in my trunk. It's easy to install, looks great, and has been no problems to use.

 

[Robi Pochapin]

Yakima is owned by Watermark, a Saudi controlled company. This may affect your notion of "best".

 

[KGnagey]

Yakima is owned by Watermark, a Saudi controlled company. This may affect your notion of "best".

Where did you find this info? I thought Yakima was a US company operated in Washington St. I was told "Yakima" meant "Valley of the Bears". Perhaps things have changed. Todays world is a global economy. I'm sure most mass produced items have some foreign connection.

 

[concord]

I have two Jeeps, a Cherokee and a Wrangler and they both have Thule bike racks. The Cherokee is a roof mount (two bikes) and I sure like the way the tray holds the bike. The Wrangler has a spare tire mount type and it also holds two bikes. Happy with both Jeeps and the racks. I have two road bikes, one aluminum and one steel. No problem with either bike on the racks. I also have a mountain bike for when the weather is too nasty to ride on the road.

 

[graf zeppelin]

I prefer roof mounted for the reasons already mentioned here. My old Trek I had on a trunk mounted rack and it did damage the paint job a little on the underside of the frame - plus I had to secure the front wheel from swinging all around (was an old rack - maybe newer ones solve this). Then there's the concern of a fender bender. Not to imply one should worry about things that havent happened of course, but why risk it if you've invested a chunk of change in a nice bike? I like that you can lock the roof rack easy, not that I leave the bike on the roof and go wandering frequently enough for this to be a factor. Finally, just my opinion, but I like how roof racks look, either with the bike up there or not. Oh, the other preference you asked about is truly just that (fork mount or wheel on) - I went fork mount. Clamps to a spot on the bike that always has a clamp on it anyway, so I preferred that setup.

All that said, there's no best. Itd be just what works best for you.

 

[peet9471]

Spare tire mounted rack on a Jeep Wrangler. Keeps my bike high enough to avoid most accidents, unless it's a semi. Then, who cares about the bike. Oh, and a bungi cord stops wheel spin.