I have an older Thule roof rack which I have been putting on and off and it's really a pain. Personally I think it looks cool to have it on like Irish but with the amount I drive to work it's such a waste of gas fairing or not.

Anyways I'm getting rid of it for that reason plus it scratches up the roof sometimes and want a rear one that is cheap....thing is alot wont fit because they rest on the trunk and I have an se so the spoiler is in the way. I havn't tried out any of the saris/yakima rear ones at the bike shop as of yet but want some opinions.

Also thinking to do the hitch thing but I think it's a waste of money and the weight+look im not particularly fond of.

Thanks for any help/advice

 

If i had the money I would have gone with the hitch but I bought my yakima trunk for $15. I had to raise the sucker really high to avoid hitting the spoiler. Because of that, I had to really tighten the sucker down. On the strap pieces, I wrapped some innertube around them so that the metal clips wouldn't scratch the metal. But yeah, I am looking into a hitch style rack now.

btw, the saris look really solid, freaking tank like.

 

wow 15! cheapest yakima i saw was like 70....solaris was 130 (the tank like one)

 

i use the 30 buck one from walmart to carry my bike to and from campus everyday. Doesn't even come close to scratchin my spoiler. it's not the most 'stylish' rack ever, but it does the job. The ex spent over a hundred bucks on a saris. I don't see the point of that though, if a 30 buck one can do the same thing, ya know. hth

 

yeah i had the trunk rack but didnt like that fact that all that weigh is pulling on the lid.. also the chance of the pedal hitting the car are too big... i had one for around $20 buck too no problems fitting and still being used today on a jeep its call outback... now i use the roof rack from thule looks sicks only take 10 min to put on and off

 

Say it ain't so!

Actually, mine has been off for a few months....autocross season and I haven't done any biking recently.

The way i do it:

I have 2 bike rails on the bars. When I take it off, I just loosen all 4 feet and pull the whole rack off as 1 piece (it's like a big square) and lean it against a wall in the basement.....

 

thats what ive been doing but i just think its a hassle and really hard unless you have two people to help carry it from both sides.

I bought the yakima king john 3 for 125 at a place called ProLine in Wallingford, CT (they do mostly internet stuff and have the best prices around) and it fits nice and sturdy so I'm happy

 

This may be a little off topic but does anyone with a thule or any other roof rack have fitment issues with the doors? Because when i put my thule roof rack on, the brackets that go in the door channel pushes the doors out a little as well as rub on the top of the doors.

 

Well, I bought mine used from craigslist. BTW, what do you guys ride?

 

not me....I've had this rack on several previous cars too, and never had fit problems. you sure you are using the correct fit kit?

Chrome, I ride a bike I built - Gene Spicer custom AL frame with a mix of Shimano, Sun-Ringle, and Bontrager components/parts...here's a pic from last year...a few things have changed, but pretty much still the same overall

 

i recently built an ironhorse porter pro, i mostly do dirtjumping though...

 

looks like a Trials setup - you do any of that?

 

no trials riding for me,only dirtjumping, little bit of street, and recently some XC

 

Has anyone tried the King Joe-2?? (http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=35). The local shop here has them on closeout for $75.00. Had a roof top Yak rack before on my truck and loved it.

Nice bikes by the way. I ride a hardtail myself, for now.

 

Hardtails, for teh win!

 

I checked a lot of racks.. have you checked www.nashbar.com or www.performancebike.com. These are the 2 web sites where I buy all my bike stuff. Good lck finding one. I just take the front tire off the fork and put in the trunk.. for now. It is an HKS road bike.....

 

from someone who has sold many brands of racks over the years (working at a ski shop) I can tell any of you that THULE is superior in quality to YAKIMA. Both are good, but THULEs will last damn near forever and are generally "tougher"...

just a little extra thought there....

 

Thats what I do too if I have to go somewhere else prior or after the ride. Its surprising how you can even fit a bike in the trunk without folding down the front seats.

 

w/o the front tire my bike, which is a road bike, it fits perfectly in the trunk, you can also put it in the rear seat but you can damage your seat.... I have rear cover everytime I put it in the rear..... I will take a pic of the bike in the trunk in the morinig... long ride planned in the morning, if the boss doesn't call me to go to the office.....

 

Thule fitment issues: Acually yes myne do scratch up and it makes me mad so another reason

king joe 2: same as my #3, for 75 bucks its a steal so TAKE IT!!!!

i ride a specialized rockhopper, pretty old, but great bike all deore components....its a hardtail and i do mostly on road biking and try to get out every weekend about 50-70miles a day

 

I am able to fit mine with a small 10inch box in there also. Im just surprised because I think the geometry of a road bike is a little taller that a mountain bike... well depending on what kind of mountain bike you have or if you have a race bike or time trial bike w/ 650 wheels. I wonder if I get a 50lbs ellsworth downhill bike with 5 inches of front travel to fit hahah.

 

that's a very sexy looking bike.

 

I just fold down the rear seats and throw it in the trunk...

 

i have the same problem too. i usually have my roofrack on during the whole snowboarding season. it makes my doors hard to close and the doors feel like they're falling off when i open them.

 

Your lucky Irish, i had to get some weather seal to put on my doors to prevent water from leaking in !! Mingo, does yours leak any water??

I have been riding a specialized rockhopper comp, but i just bought a new stumpjumper disc today....its way better than my old rockhopper!!

 

I recommend This rack or this one or this one plus a hitch. I put a hidden hitch on my Maxima and use this rack to take my bike and my wife's to the park to ride.

 

no mine doesn't leak water into the cabin, but it does leak water past the first seal, but the second seal keeps the water out.

 

Have you got any pics of the Hidden Hitch setup? I really I'm not too hip on the idea of a truck mounted bike launcher/trunk scratcher. I've had a roof mounted rack, but hated the wind drag. Folding down my rear seat isn't an option anymore with the subwoofer enclosure back there.

 

will a rear hitch clear a stillen rear lip?

 

I'll take a picture later and post it.

 

If I had to choose I'de go with a roof or hitch mounted system, the trunk mounted systems scare me into thinking that they dent from weight.

 

Here are the pics:

 

The Hidden Hitch setup doesn't look too bad. What size receiver is that? I think I like this idea better than the trunk rack.

 

It is a standard 1 1/4" receiver.