Bike racks...where did you buy yours? Thule vs. Yakima?
- Thread starter m32
- Start date
Performancebike.com has some really good deals on their house brand. It works just as good if not better than the more expensive Thule anf Yakima Racks. Check'em out! 
m32 said:
I have had both Thule and Yakima racks in the past, and there is no significant difference between them. I currently use a Thule Spare-Me, because I needed a rack that mounted on the spire tire mount of my Honda CR-V, and that was the best spare tire mount rack I could find. I purchased it a REI. I purchased three other racks at my LBS over the years. It cost a little more than it would have at Performance, but usually when I purchase a rack, it is because I need to transport a bike right then. I ended up giving one of these racks to each of my three daughters.
The Spare-Me is the only rack that I actually looked around before I bought. I bought it from REI because they were the only store in my area that had them. I noticed that the new CR-V does not have an rear, external spare tire mount, so when I replace my current CR-V, I may be looking for another new bike rack, too.
The Spare-Me is the only rack that I actually looked around before I bought. I bought it from REI because they were the only store in my area that had them. I noticed that the new CR-V does not have an rear, external spare tire mount, so when I replace my current CR-V, I may be looking for another new bike rack, too.
Just a few months ago I could say that I owned a Yakima, Thule, and Inno (Euro rectangular bar like Thule) rack. The Yakima is now on a friend's car (Honda), the Thule I dismounted (not carrying bikes on the roof of my Honda right now), and the Inno is on my fiancee's Honda.
The racks are similar in function. The differences will be ease of use (especially if it's cold out, you have a more akward bike, if it's dark, and if you are trying to lock things up).
For a fork mount rack (i.e. virtually all road bikes, all standard front axled mtb's), I like the Inno the best. Simple to use, lock physically keeps lever from opening, works with disks, mtb tires, short roofline. locks included.
For tandems, the Thule mount (which works on rectangular and round bars). I strap the lever as a back up so it won't open. inspires confidence that your precious tandem won't go flying off. Also one-person-loadable.
For most Japanese cars, Inno feet. They don't cover all of the Euro automobiles. Inno bars are superior to Thule due to strength and corrosion resistance. If you can, get the Inno bars to replace your Euro rectangular bars.
For Euro cars, Thule will have a lot of the feet (had to get Thule feet for one of my cars). Use Inno bars if possible.
Special situations seem to favor Yakima:
If you are carrying a lot of spare wheels on the roof, Yakima. Round bars make it much easier to angle the forks properly.
If you are doing a two part roof/trunk setup (bar on the trunk lid, bar on the roof, so bikes sit with back wheel on trunk and fork on roof), Yakima. This setup will allow you to mount a second pair of bars on the roof (if you have a big enough sedan) and you'll be able to carry a LOT of bikes and wheels. Round bars allow you to fit such a rack easily on virtually any sedan with a flat trunklid and still have the tray angled severely upwards so the rear wheel sits on in properly.
Yakima's round bars will hum (think of blowing across the top of a beer bottle) unless you have a fairing or something to disrupt the airflow around the bar. some pipe insulation works to cut the noise but isn't as pretty as the Yakima offered pieces.
The racks are similar in function. The differences will be ease of use (especially if it's cold out, you have a more akward bike, if it's dark, and if you are trying to lock things up).
For a fork mount rack (i.e. virtually all road bikes, all standard front axled mtb's), I like the Inno the best. Simple to use, lock physically keeps lever from opening, works with disks, mtb tires, short roofline. locks included.
For tandems, the Thule mount (which works on rectangular and round bars). I strap the lever as a back up so it won't open. inspires confidence that your precious tandem won't go flying off. Also one-person-loadable.
For most Japanese cars, Inno feet. They don't cover all of the Euro automobiles. Inno bars are superior to Thule due to strength and corrosion resistance. If you can, get the Inno bars to replace your Euro rectangular bars.
For Euro cars, Thule will have a lot of the feet (had to get Thule feet for one of my cars). Use Inno bars if possible.
Special situations seem to favor Yakima:
If you are carrying a lot of spare wheels on the roof, Yakima. Round bars make it much easier to angle the forks properly.
If you are doing a two part roof/trunk setup (bar on the trunk lid, bar on the roof, so bikes sit with back wheel on trunk and fork on roof), Yakima. This setup will allow you to mount a second pair of bars on the roof (if you have a big enough sedan) and you'll be able to carry a LOT of bikes and wheels. Round bars allow you to fit such a rack easily on virtually any sedan with a flat trunklid and still have the tray angled severely upwards so the rear wheel sits on in properly.
Yakima's round bars will hum (think of blowing across the top of a beer bottle) unless you have a fairing or something to disrupt the airflow around the bar. some pipe insulation works to cut the noise but isn't as pretty as the Yakima offered pieces.
m32 said:
I've had both a Thule and Yakima roof rack on my 2001 RX300, and at least for that vehicle the Yakima's a better solution. The first rack I had was a Thule, which uses cross bars with a square cross section. The problem is that the RX300 has a slightly curved roofline. The point in the roofline where you would put the mounting feet is not perfectly parallel with the ground, so the front feet tilt ever so slightly forward while the rear feet tilt slightly back. The square cross sections of the cross bars, therefore, are not perfectly parallel with each other. When you put the mounts on, there's a lot of extra torque on the feet. After about a year, that torque had twisted the feet so much that I could not reliably attach the rack to the vehicle. Trust me, it's not a comforting feeling when you're zipping down the highway at 60 mph and a mounting foot pops loose. (Fortunately, no damage to anything.) Since changing to the Yakima's a few years ago I've had no problems at all. Plus, the Yakima sidewinder is a much better solution for tandems (though it will mount on either Yakima or Thule racks).
Stephen
Between the 2 brands I prefer Thule specially if roof mounted (I have one on the SUV). For a trunk mount car setup I prefer and use a Saris Bones (having used other brands in the past).m32 said:
