707SE

iTrader: (2)

Before I bought my max I was considering buying an SUV. I went with the max but I'm now debating/trying to figure out what to do when I want to take my moutain bike out.

I've never put a bike rack on a car. Do any of you guys have a bike rack on your roof? If so, what kind/brand etc?

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

I've had a Thule roof rack on the Maxima for years, and on three cars before it. I find it is great for bikes, skis, kayaks, and the occasional half-dozen 2-by-4's...

Yakima and Thule make the best racks. For a full setup with 2 bike rails, locks, fairing, etc expect to spend about $400 total - and you can fit it to future cars by buying a new $30 "fit kit."

As long as you make sure to thoroughly clean the areas where the rack sits on the roof, and tighten everything down snugly, you sholdn't have any problems with damage to the car or roof. I never have.

I usually have mine on all winter (for skiing) and most of the rest of the year. Sometimes i'll take if off for a few weeks during autocross season, but it only takes 5-10 minutes to take on and off.

See my cardomain page for pics (link in my sig)



Other options are the standard trunk-mount rack (not suggested) and hitch=mount racks (you need to have a hitch receiver installed).

josh

Luxor99

I have a full Yakima set up, minus the kayak attachment, and it works great. I've had it for almost 10 years and it was on my old 3rd gen and now on my 4th gen.

+1 to what Irish said. Also, found it funny that others also use it to transport occasional 2 x 4's.... and it's even good to carry a Christmas tree....

burnurass

iTrader: (21)

I have the Thule Setup right now....

Nameth

Looks good

bigEL

I've had hitch, trunk, and roof mounted racks from Graber, Saris, PerformanceBike and a couple other generic ones and they all sucked. I pretty much gave up biking because it always took so long to secure my bikes down and even then, the rails or clamps somehow always worked loose. A couple times, I've had to pull over on the highway because I had bikes half dangling off my car and/or flailing around. Recumbents and tandems were impossible to carry securely, even after spending $hundreds on special adapters. Plus I never felt at ease leaving $1000+ equipment alone outside my car for a split second. The guy at the bike store where I bought most of my racks showed me just how easy it was to defeat all the locking mechanisms within seconds, even on the Yakima and Thules. I won't reveal how it's done, but most of the time you don't even need any special tools or any tools at all for that matter. He said the best way to secure a bike was to thread a braided cable through the frame and use a beefy Kryptonite lock plus a second padlock to lock it to the tow hooks on the car. Not only did that look ridiculous, but it also added so much time and hassle to loading/unloading my bikes and more keys to carry around and lose. I couldn't just go for a carefree ride. Plus the added wind resistance killed my gas mileage by 10+mpg. I guess what I'm saying is that you can give the racks a try, but if I had to do it over again, I'd just get a wagon. You said you were considering an SUV anyway. How did you carry your bikes before getting your Max?

ChromeSE5

iTrader: (3)

I have a trunk one by yamika and its ok. Not the best but it works. I drove my max from San Diego to union City and it held up fine. I also attached the rack to a highlander and it was stable as well. Just ahve to make sure its really tight and have some protection from the peices that touch your car. I only recommend it if you don't want to spend a lot of money. The bike can bounce a little if not tightened correctly. The thing I do now is throw my bike in the back seat with the front wheel off and cover the back seat, chain, and chain ring as to not get grease all over the place. By the way, the bikes I have weigh 29 lbs for the mountain and 17 lbs for my road. It can also get a little tricky putting my mtn bike on with the trunk rack because of the width of the two prongs.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

When using the bike rails (fork mount) for the Thule, I've made 500-mile road trips (even bouncing around on dirt roads) and the bikes were 100% secure and didn't move at all. If you're going roof rack, you have to get a fork-mount. The ones where they just stand up there with both wheels on really are far less secure.

As to hassle...my bikes have quick release front wheels, and it takes about 30 seconds to pull the wheel off, throw it in the trunk, put the bike on the roof, and secure/lock the hasp. I've never thought it was inconvenient

The locks are not going to prevent someone who wants to steal your bikes in a dark alley, but are a "deterrent" when you go into 7-11 to pick up a soda. You really shouldn't leave the bikes on the car overnight, or while in the mall, or whatever anyhow (unless you have a sucky bike, that is).

I notice, though, that you didnt use Thule or Yakima. At my ski shop, I've sold hundreds and hundreds of racks by all of the major brands. Thules have the least complaints, followed by Yakima. Saris, Barrecrafters, and other brands are a big step down in terms of quality and reliability, IMO.


as to wind resistance.....

I've driven to South Carolina with 2 bikes on the roof (from DC area), and my mileage was still around 21-22mpg (without the bikes I would get about 24-25 on a trip like that, all highway). most people just put their bikes up to go to the local trails or whatever though..so mileage is probably not much of a concern.//

as to wagon.....most of the guys I ride with have wagons or SUVs - and still put their bikes on the roof or hitch racks. nobody wants to put their super-muddy MTB inside of the car and make a mess of the inside of the car.

707SE

iTrader: (2)

I'm not too concerned with theft deterrent. Matter of fact, my only concern is making sure they are securely attached to the car and won't fall off while moving. I don't plan to leave them unattended for more than 3-5 minutes.

So when buying a setup like Yakima, do I need to specify the car type or are they universal fits?

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

I would go to a bike or ski shop that sells them, rather than online. that way you'll be sure to get the parts you need.

Assuming you go Yakima, you need:

- Q-towers (the feet, set of 4)
- Q-clips (the "fit kit" that holds the feet to your door jamb/roof) -THIS PART IS SPECIFIC TO EACH CAR - not universal.
- 48-50" bars (this is the correct length for the Maxima, but you can get longer ones if you really want)
- Whatever bike rails you want (I suggest a fork-mount setup, not a full-standup)
- Locks for the towers and rails (you can buy sets of 2,4,6,8 so that the same key fits all of the rack acccessories). i'd get the set of 8 in case you buy any other accessories in teh future (ski rack, etc).
- fairing - not required, but helps reduce wind noise and looks better with it on.

for Thule, the pieces are the same, but they have different names.

Whatever shop you go to should be able to look it up and tell you what components you need. Also Thule and Yakima's websites can do that...