Bike racks for cars

Heat_Wave

Hi all

Fairly new to cycling and was wanting to buy an attachment to attach my bike to my car (mini cooper).

Is it better to get a rack for the back of the car or rooftop?

Can someone point me in the right direction as to where the best place is to go for this? Ideally I would like someone to fit it for me too.

Thank you,
HW

triggermortis

I have s Saris bones 2 rack which is adjustable for different cars and sits on the back of the car. It is a removable type of rack that fits with adjustable straps.
Their website has a selection part where you put your car type in and it lets you know which one suits your car.
I've had no problems with my rack and would recommend it to anyone

markusz

ive a Hollywood 3 bike rack for the car and it fits a Golf and Passat Estate/Saloon. great bike rack for 90 quid-ish.
if you want to go with a roof rack you are talking 100 euro for a Thule 951 and i don't know how much for the roofbars. Halfords are your best bet for roof racks. most cycle shops will do the rear racks.
i have both but just use a Thule 532 (cheaper version of 591) on the roof at the moment. if you are travelling long distances, it is cheaper for the rack on the back. if you intend leaving a rack on the car then the roof system is better for handiness and it leaves the boot door free for use.
just remember you still need to secure your bike to the car in some way as both system are not secure.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

I second the Hollywood 3, check to see if it fits your model of car on their website. My next buy will be a thule, but fitted on a rear hitch. Expensive but pretty fantastic piece of kit for the holidays

Jawgap

I'd suggest roof rack and bars - herself car uses a strappy on one and there's been some minor (but irritating damage) to the paintwork - maybe it's avoidable with a more expensive instead of the cheapo Halfords one she has.

Red Kev

Back mounted is better as roof mounted ones increase the fuel consumption considerably. It's usually easier to lift the bikes onto a rear rack as opposed to the roof ones.

If you have a tow hitch and you've one or two bikes I can recommend this one from Halfords, it's a Thule sold under a different brand name. I got it last summer, put it on the Renault Clio with two bikes weighing 28kg and have done about 2,000 km with no issues.

http://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bike-racks/rear-mounted-bike-racks/exodus-2-bike-towbar-mounted-cycle-carrier

doozerie

I have a towbar mounted (Atera Strada) rack and I've been very impressed by its convenience (it slides away from the car if you want to open the boot, for one thing) and its robustness. I had a Hollywood rack attached to the rear "door" before that, it was good too but it wasn't as robust and I'd inevitably forgot is was there and I'd turn on the rear windscreen wiper - it was a sad sight to see the wiper try to push the rack out of the way before resigning itself with a whimper to being stuck in the middle of the windscreen.

Before opting for a towbar option I considered alternatives like roof-mounted. By the time I added in the cost of the bike mount and the roof bars the price was much closer to the towbar option that I expected. I was hesitant about the roof rack because I reckoned the risk of forgetting about it and driving under/through a low barrier was high enough to be a concern, plus I gather that the bikes can get coated with a lot of crap (bugs, etc.) when exposed on the roof (they get a bit of that on the back of the car too, mind you). Plus, the towbar has proved useful since then too, not least when moving house and being able to hook up a trailer proved very handy.

There are pros and cons of all of the options, it's a matter of which cons you are willing to live with really. I bought my rack from the Roofbox Company in the UK (http://www.roofbox.co.uk/), and I'd buy from them again. If a towbar mounted rack holds any appeal, and you are based in Dublin, it may be worth a trip in to Malcolms in Rathmines (http://www.malcolms.ie/carriers.php), their Witter racks look interesting.

roverrules

Heat_Wave wrote: »

Hi all

Fairly new to cycling and was wanting to buy an attachment to attach my bike to my car (mini cooper).

Is it better to get a rack for the back of the car or rooftop?

Can someone point me in the right direction as to where the best place is to go for this? Ideally I would like someone to fit it for me too.

Thank you,
HW

If you decide on a rooftop one put a big sticker or something on the dash to remind you of the extra height.

OldBean

I picked up the Saris Bones 3 last year after advice from here and have found it great so far. Easy to put together, supports 3 bikes but you can get 1 or 2 bike options too. You can see them in the rear view mirror so you're not as likely to forget about them going into a garage or carpark. If the bikes are off, you still have access to the boot which is great - Other models require the rack to be taken off to open it.

It takes less than 10 minutes to put on the rack along with the bikes.

They can feel a bit weighty in bad weather, but I'm sure top mounted bikes are going to turn into sails in the same conditions.

DoraDelite

I have the Saris Bones 1 on a Mini cooper. Does the trick for me but the downside is that it's only for one bike (if you're planning on carrying more than one).

ThisRegard

OldBean wrote: »

They can feel a bit weighty in bad weather, but I'm sure top mounted bikes are going to turn into sails in the same conditions.

Not really, I've had 2 bikes on my roof in pretty bad weather travelling from one side of the county to another without issue. Can only see it being an issue if you have disk wheels on both wheels on both bikes.