[adventurer]

I'd like a bike rack for my car-I have an '04 Honda Civic. I would like a bike rack that won't be too difficult to operate, i.e. my bike can come on and off easily. Needless to say, it will need to be installed on top of the car.

 

[emoryeb]

saris bones is the best rack i have ever had

 

[Doc]

Have you looked into yakama racks yet?

 

[BigDumbBear]

I have a pretty sweet thule on the roof of my mustang... all my buddies seem to like it best. I don't even have to pop off a wheel and I can put nearly any bike on there in about 5 seconds. It has this style of bike holder http://www.thuleracks.com/product.asp?dept_id=8&sku=594

I suggest the newer style of rails too. They are ovalized to help reduce wind resistance and noise.

I've had everything from my buddies 21 inch mountain bike to my friend's-kid's 12 inch wheeled, dora the explorer bike on there with no issues.

 

[Neuner]

I've owned several brands and they are all relatively the same. Even with a front flair and wind shaped bars, they do create drag and will effect your MPG which may be a factor if you have a decent commute to work. I took mine off for this reason.

I suggest getting the full bike mount trays and not the fork mount. Quicker, easier and you don't have a wheel to worry about.

 

[tajcrews]

Saris Bones bike rack is the best for a trunk rack. It fits like a glove on most vehicles and it is very easy to use once set up. For roof mounted racks, Yakima and Thule are definetely the best. Fork mounted trays are cheaper but full trays are more convienent. If you buy full trays dont get the cheapest ones you can find or you will regret it. They just aren't sturdy compared to the higher cost ones.

 

[camilo]

I'd like a bike rack for my car-I have an '04 Honda Civic. I would like a bike rack that won't be too difficult to operate, i.e. my bike can come on and off easily. Needless to say, it will need to be installed on top of the car.

Why do you say "needless to say, it will need to be installed on top of the car."?

Rooftop mounts are fine, but (a) can be difficult to put a bike onto for some people and (b) have significant risk of damage to bike.

I just put a 1 1/2" hitch receiver on our Subaru and got a Yakima "tray" type bike carrier. It has an adapter to make it work on 1 1/2 or 2 inch receivers.

It is EXCELLENT and will hold any kind of bike, road, mountain, kids, bike with fenders, etc. Yakima makes another model and Saris makes a similar model, but less versitile because they won't work with fenders (which is insignificant for some).

Much, much, much better than the hatchback and hitch mount "dangling" carriers I have used in the past. MUCH, MUCH better.

 

[Jangolina]

Raptor racks have the best solution! Hitch, trunk and spare tire mounted carriers that have LED light bars with brake and turn signals for complete safety during use....check them out at www.raptorracks.com

 

[Industry_Hack]

Raptor racks have the best solution! Hitch, trunk and spare tire mounted carriers that have LED light bars with brake and turn signals for complete safety during use....check them out at www.raptorracks.com

While we certainly welcome your participation on the forums, if every post is going to be a link to your racks, you may want to consider purchasing an ad spot. Regardless of how good your product might be, it's bad for the company's image to spam the forum with a bunch of links.

 

[rola643]

Relevance you honor? ( rhetorical ) That was only a 3 year old post It is spam and eggs o'clcok now.

 

[rinkrat793]

I really like my Thule rack on the top of my car (I have a scion xb, it's a little taller, but same idea)

If you can afford the bike rack to mount it up there, I'd say go for it, but if your looking for something cheap, You can buy a mount for your front forks and it takes about 2 seconds with a drill to install. Then just tie down the back tire.

I paid about $300 for the bars and mounts to the car and $50 for 2 front fork mounts (instead of the $200 bike rack for 1 bike). I love it!

 

[borderstates]

Saris

One thing that I might add about the Saris is that while the front wheel mount makes them very secure, this type of mount does not fit some bike wheels (29" or Townie Cruisers). Also (see Townie), some frames are too long for these mounts.

For the record, I have a Saris hitch mount as one of my bike racks.

 

[Industry_Hack]

I've got Yakima on my xB, but it's the original toaster, not that big one.

 

[cderalow]

We've got a Thule post rack mounted to a class 3 receiver on our odyssey, and I've contemplated the truck style fork mounts on the inside for when we want to keep things inside. Otherwise, I've still got to sort out something for our civic and keeping it out of the trunk

 

[carlharsch]

I had a Yakima hitch mounted unit on my SUV, but now running a sedan without a hitch ... Got a Yakima King Joe trunk mount now. Both good units.

 

[rinkrat793]

Here's what the front fork mounts look like. They work super well. And you can still lock up your bikes with it.

 

[John_V]

Here's what the front fork mounts look like. They work super well. And you can still lock up your bikes with it.

Those are the one's I have inside our Transit. When I travel, I lock the fork mount and also use a cable lock around the frame as an extra deterrent. Depending on where we stay overnight, I sometimes put a tight fitting lock on the chainring around the chain. If they do get the bike after setting off the alarm, cutting the cable lock and the wheel mount lock, they will have to replace the crankset or tear it up trying to get the other lock off of it. If I have the hybrid in the back, I just lock the fork mount.

 

[bonesindustries]

I know this is an old thread, but didn't see a need to start a brand new one.. Just wondering if anyone has ever used the "clamp" on roof rack systems from like Walmart etc.? kinda thinking about getting one for my car. I know there are dangers but believe I'd like it better than the trunk mount.