I am after views, experience or advice on carrying bikes on a hatchback. I have a Daihatsu Charade with 3 of everything - 3 doors counting the hatch and 3 cylinders. Very economical but not very good for carrying bikes. I don't want to fit conventional roof bars such as Rola or Rhino as they have to be rivetted to the roof. I also do not want to fit a tow bar due to the extra weight. I have bought on line a cheap hatchback mounted rack http://tinyurl.com/ymfcqo which I am not happy with. It does not seem to suit the shape of the car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported adequately and the toptube could be damaged IMHO. I have read online stories of this style of rack jumping off on bumpy roads. I want to be able to carry one or possibly two mountain bikes. Carrying the bike(s) inside the car with the rear seat folded down is usually not possible due to the presence of other passengers.
I am after views, experience or advice on carrying bikes on a hatchback. I have a Daihatsu Charade with 3 of everything - 3 doors counting the hatch and 3 cylinders. Very economical but not very good for carrying bikes. I don't want to fit conventional roof bars such as Rola or Rhino as they have to be rivetted to the roof. I also do not want to fit a tow bar due to the extra weight. I have bought on line a cheap hatchback mounted rack tinyurl.comymfcqoOpen ↗ which I am not happy with. It does not seem to suit the shape of the car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported adequately and the toptube could be damaged IMHO. I have read online stories of this style of rack jumping off on bumpy roads. I want to be able to carry one or possibly two mountain bikes. Carrying the bike(s) inside the car with the rear seat folded down is usually not possible due to the presence of other passengers.
Frank
Frank, I had the same issues with my hatchback. I took the car to a specialist towbar maker, he made up a special lightweight towbar that while I could not tow with it, it was designed to take the vertical stresses of a bike rack. Cost less than $100 to get installed. Then add a conventional, removable towbar bike rack of your choice.
I am after views, experience or advice on carrying bikes on a hatchback. I have a Daihatsu Charade with 3 of everything - 3 doors counting the hatch and 3 cylinders. Very economical but not very good for carrying bikes. I don't want to fit conventional roof bars such as Rola or Rhino as they have to be rivetted to the roof.
Does the Charade not have roof gutters then? My wife has an older ('92) Applause which *does* have them, but I suppose the design has changed quite a bit since then. Regardless, I'm sure that you can buy reasonable quality roof bars that don't need to have holes driled in the car to fit whether your car has roof gutters or not.
Somebody here was talking about the cheap way of carrying bikes using standard roof bars a while ago (by attaching an old quick release hub to the front bar, clamping the bikes forks into it, and using an occy strap to hold the bike's rear wheel to the second roof bar). It sounded like a good idea.
I have bought on line a cheap hatchback mounted rack http://tinyurl.com/ymfcqo which I am not happy with. It does not seem to suit the shape of the car. I do not have confidence in the straps. > Frank
G'day Frank,
Back in my uni days, when I drove a tres chic beige Mazda 323 hatch (*groans*), I used a similar strap-on rear bike rack. When I had it attached to the car the first time, I did everything I could to try and test it to failure (I wasn't 100% sure!!), but it stayed on no matter what I did. I used it for about 5 years or so, and it was absolutely fine.....
The straps were adjustable as well, so as to change the way the rubber pads rested against the back of the car - I assume that was to adjust to different car shapes...... Maybe you could play around with the straps a bit??
Anyway - just my 2 cents. Don't be worried about the strap system per se.....
car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
I had a lot of success with strap-on racks. Never had a problem .. you do have to be careful with them when you put them on, and do them up tight, but I've had 3 MTBs over very rough dirt roads on the back of a hatchback with no problems.
car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
I had a lot of success with strap-on racks. Never had a problem .. you do have to be careful with them when you put them on, and do them up tight, but I've had 3 MTBs over very rough dirt roads on the back of a hatchback with no problems.
I suspect they work very well or very badly. The rack my brother used saw a lot of action in Northern territory, without a hiccup. Just didn't work well for my car.
car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
Anyone tried the Thule Clip On High? It's a bit pricey at almost AUD300 but I like the look of the rails that secure the wheels and keep the bikes apart. My experiences with towbar- and boot-mounted racks where the bikes lean against each other usually end up with scratched frames and forks. However, I believe a few of the newer racks like the Saris Bones have extra straps that you put around the seat tube to keep the bikes separated.
Does the Charade not have roof gutters then? My wife has an older ('92) Applause which *does* have them, but I suppose the design has changed quite a bit since then. Regardless, I'm sure that you can buy reasonable quality roof bars that don't need to have holes driled in the car to fit whether your car has roof gutters or not.
94 model, No gutters. Thule make roof bars to suit http://tinyurl.com/ynzlsp RRP of $359 and that does not include bike mounts.
I have made my own bike mounts in the past for older cars with gutters. Whilst the Saris rack can't be in use when the tailgate is in use, I like the idea of resting most of the weight on the bumper.
car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
Anyone tried the Thule Clip On High? It's a bit pricey at almost AUD300 but I like the look of the rails that secure the wheels and keep the bikes apart. My experiences with towbar- and boot-mounted racks where the bikes lean against each other usually end up with scratched frames and forks. However, I believe a few of the newer racks like the Saris Bones have extra straps that you put around the seat tube to keep the bikes separated.
frankv wrote: > car. I do not have confidence in the straps. The bike is not supported
I borrowed my brother's strap on rack for use on Corolla Seca (he used it without any trouble on a Jackaroo). I was a bit suss on the straps. Going around a large roundabout I saw one side come off and the whole rack swing around to the side of the car. Luckily no damage done but i was forever cured of strap on racks.
Anyone tried the Thule Clip On High? It's a bit pricey at almost AUD300 but I like the look of the rails that secure the wheels and keep the bikes apart. My experiences with towbar- and boot-mounted racks where the bikes lean against each other usually end up with scratched frames and forks. However, I believe a few of the newer racks like the Saris Bones have extra straps that you put around the seat tube to keep the bikes separated.
I saw those Hollywood Racks at the recent bike show. The price is right, and I like the bike separator straps.
Yikes! As I clicked on the link for "Hollywood Racks", I suddenly thought I was going to get a pic of Paris Hilton's front end. Not kosher, on the work 'puter.
I saw those Hollywood Racks at the recent bike show. The price is right, and I like the bike separator straps.
Yikes! As I clicked on the link for "Hollywood Racks", I suddenly thought I was going to get a pic of Paris Hilton's front end. Not kosher, on the work 'puter.
