Roof Racks?

[montymitch]

Looking for a way to haul the bmx bikes around. I'm not keen on removing the wheels or scuffing up paint. It seems that most of the options for roof mounts are all geared towards bikes with larger wheels, and searches aren't turning up much. How do you guys attach your bikes to your cars?

[Prodigal Son]

I would almost rather have a trailer hitch rack.

At any rate, I have a Yakima rack (q-towers) and fairing. I have Thule big mouth trays on there. If I was doing it from the ground up again, I'd get a system that doesn't clamp using my door frames. A permanent mount in the rain gutter is something I think I'd prefer.

My Jetta had a factory mount that was so much nicer. I'd go to your local rack dealer and discuss your options about a permanent one if you think that might work for you. Otherwise, check Craigslist for a Yakima or Thule specific to your car.

[JFax]

A friend of mine got a Thule for his car. Its great! Though quite expensive

[thatotherguy84]

I had the same Yakima Q tower set up for about 5 years now, love it. Used to have it on my MINI cooper and with new Q clips I put it on my MKIV R32. Only thing bad is its LOUD with a sunroof. I recommend whisp bars if you have a sunroof. I'll be picking one up for my MKVI GTI soon. Make sure you get locks aswell!

[montymitch]

I agree about the trailer hitch, it's just that I have two vehicles that I want to be able to use it with. One has a hitch and the other doesn't, but they both have factory roof racks installed. There are too many options and I know that if I go to Rack n Road or whatever they don't have my best interests in mind.

[torontoflatlander]

Roof racks - I love mine, I can put anything up there (Running a VW MKVI right now)

You'll want to get into a Yakima Highroller or Frontloader. These two don't require popping off the wheel at all. For bars I'm running Whispbars but Yakima has come out with a new roof rack system which gives you the Whispbar noise reduction without the crazy pricing.

The systems ARE NOT on their website yet. They should be released in about a month or so.

If you're after the aluminum bars though, Whispbar is still the shit.

[jonathan]

having installed a lot of roof racks while working at REI, I much prefer Thule's system to Yakima's. if you can get a rack with an arm that grabs the frame or the front tire, that should work fine.

I installed a hitch on my car and put a Thule T2 on it (sweet employee discount!) anything similar to that T2 is preferable to a roof system. I have seen too many smashed bikes from cars running into garages and trees with roof rack systems to ever put one on my car. if you are diligent about it, you can probably get a good deal on a used hitch rack too. keep stalking Craigslist.

[JohnW]

I've got the Thule big mouth trays, I love them:


The only downsides are the price (160 each retail last I checked) and that I can only get one click on the straps on a 2.3 tire. Anything larger needs the tire aired down. I have not checked to see if they have longer straps though...

[Stoked]

Had a roof rack years ago that got stolen even with locks on it.  Been using a hitch rack for awhile and love the convenience of being able to remove the rack when not in use.  Tray style with front and rear wheel clamps

[nwcstn]

Not sure if it has been said but a bike on your roof will make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. I got almost 5 miles a gallon less with a bike on my roof.

[skateparkrider]

Currently have a roof rack.  Wish I would have just went with a hitch rack.  Less expensive and better on gas milage.  You can get some decent hitch racks where your wheels sit in trays as opposed to hanging your bike on some bars. 

Just my 2 cents. 

[montymitch]

Well, maybe I just need to look at getting a hitch installed on my minivan. Having used both, the hitch mount racks are infinitely easier to use. Thanks for the input guys, I think I made up my mind.