Bike racks

S

scottej

Member
I have read the threads here on bike racks, but there does not seem to be a consensus if it is better to have a roof rack or a trailer hitch rear mount. A roof rack gets the bikes away from rear hatch and gives you unlimited access to the rear cargo area. If you go with the roof rack is it better to have the OEM crossbars or leave them off? If you go with the trailer hitch rack, it seems easier to mount the bikes, but a pain to get to the rear hatch. Is there a good swing out rack, so you can get the bikes out of the way to get to the hatch?

I had a minivan until now and just throw the bikes inside. I have no experience with racks and do not know what works and doesn't.
 
I went with the hitch route for a few reasons. Biggest one is the ease of use. It more difficult to lift cars onto the roof. I also didn't want to have to worry about clearance issues when going through drive thrus or parking garages. I can't think of the name at the moment, but the one I bought swings away from the hatch area and provides easy access.





Rooted Samsung GS2 on
 
Can you swing the rack out of the way with the bikes mounted? I saw a Yakima DoubleDown rack that only swings down when the bikes are off. I thought I have seen racks that swing to the side with the bikes mounted and give you access to the hatch.
 
I have thought about this often. I don't have a hitch, so that pretty much nixes that. And I don't think I could get my bike up on the roof due to weight. In the cargo area they go! Personally I think the hitch mount is by far the best, and many of them fold down so they wouldn't block the rear hatch.
 
Welcome to the scene and congratulations on becoming one of the few who gets to drive the 2012 limited edition! Don't forget to post some pics.. As for your question, the tail hitch is popular among many members here. Getting ready access to the trunk is a trade off I guess.
 
scottej said:
Can you swing the rack out of the way with the bikes mounted? I saw a Yakima DoubleDown rack that only swings down when the bikes are off. I thought I have seen racks that swing to the side with the bikes mounted and give you access to the hatch.
Click to expand...

Mine holds four bikes and can swing down and out with the bikes on. Most brands have two types; if you're worried about the weight, make sure to get the hitch that comes with a strut/piston to ease the use.






Rooted Samsung GS2 on
 
I have an oem hitch and a Thule platform bike rack. There is a latch on the bike rack that can release the rack away from the back of the car. Works well when accessing the trunk area.
I am also short hence didn't want the hassle of getting my bikes up there. So far it worked well
.
 
Hitch racks all the way for bikes. I have a lightweight aluminum yakima hitch rack that works perfectly to transport 2-3 bikes, road or mountain. It is also very easy to take on and off, and happens to look good on the back of my '50. They also make 'swing away' models that moves out of the way, even with bikes mounted, but those are made out of steel and are much heavier.
 
i bought a hitch rack but havent installed yet. it's the softride dura 4 - it's a parallelogram design which keeps your equipment upright while it swings out. the thing is built strong and i got it because it came with a free ski attachment ($180). all together, the softride dura 4 cost around 280 shipped with 4 bike rack and ski/snowboard attachment from autoanything. along with the curt manufacturing hitch ($99 shipped from amazon), the setup cost me around 380. this is comparable to buying the OEM cross bars + decent roof rack attachments.
 
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