Bike Racks for cars

My car can't go faster than 140 with a bike on top. Sans bike, it can do a little more. Haven't noticed too much difference mileage wise.

We have a 1-1/4 Saris Cycle on Pro on my wifes Ford Focus ZX3..the rack kicks ass….We also got an adapter for the 2 inch receiver on my Ford f150 and use the rack on there as well….way beefier than the thule and cheaper!!

http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=21296[HTML_REMOVED]c=12

http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=21297[HTML_REMOVED]c=12

I have the yakima king cobras. I think they are great racks, work with any bike, and have been solid for 5 years now.

Downsides are, the g/f has problems putting her bike on the roof (esp the bigger bike) and with 2 or 3 bikes on the roof my civic definitely has to work a lot harder on the highway.

on my next vehicle I would consider a solid hitch rack based on fuel economy alone.

I have the yakima king cobras. I think they are great racks, work with any bike, and have been solid for 5 years now.

Seriously keep an eye on the area where the two bolts connect the tray to the front wheel holder. It's been the same point of failure for my two and my friend's two - and both of us are 4-5 years in when it happened.

how much does your milage go down with a roof rack (no bikes)

I find I lose about 5-10% depending on how much highway speed driving I do. 10% if I'm on the highway more often; at city speeds its not that big of a deal. Throw a bike or 2 on the roof though, and I'd estimate that number goes to about 15%. I'm looking into a fairing to see if that will help, or at least help with the noise.

I have an egg shaped Yaris, where aerodynamics are key to fuel economy though. But like others have mentioned, I use the roof rack for skis and boards in the winter, so the hitch mount option for the bikes is a bit redundant. After losing 2 boards due to a stupidly designed (and stupider of me to buy it!) window mount rack that broke on the way to Whistler, the only place for the boards are on the roof.

We have a 1-1/4 Saris Cycle on Pro on my wifes Ford Focus ZX3..the rack kicks ass….We also got an adapter for the 2 inch receiver on my Ford f150 and use the rack on there as well….way beefier than the thule and cheaper!!

http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=21296[HTML_REMOVED]c=12

http://photos.nsmb.com/showimage.php?i=21297[HTML_REMOVED]c=12

how much does having 100lbs of bikes on the back lower your car?

If you're going for anything else other than the NS rack, check out rackoutfitters.com and ship to Point Roberts. Worked out to be half the price for me.

how much does having 100lbs of bikes on the back lower your car?

IT lowers it very little….you dont even notice it

ive got to post some pics of the problem ive run into.

might be easier to buy a new truck than deal with this pain :lol:

If you're going for anything else other than the NS rack, check out rackoutfitters.com and ship to Point Roberts. Worked out to be half the price for me.

Why does everybody think it's convenient to get to Point Roberts, maybe if you live in Surrey or White Rock, but for a lot of us in Greater Vancouver, it is a long way to go.

I ended up getting my rack from Rack Attack which is near False Creek, they had everything in stock which was very convenient as most bike stores didn't seem to carry roof mounted racks in stock and I'd have had to wait two weeks for them to be ordered in other wise.

As to bikes lowering your carry, you don't notice it but two forty pound bikes on a roof rack will cause some sag in the rack depending on the model, we had to shorten some of the bolts on our rack to prevent them touching the roof of the car with the bikes on the rack but since we've down that its been great.

hmmm im in the same boat right now…. roof or hitch….
As a canadian who's moved to the UK, danielb is right, i havent seen a single underground parking garage yet, so its unlikely to get caught on something.

Im more worried about the fuel economy has anyone done an accurate count on how much it goes down with a bike on the roof?

Does Northshore rack have a UK distributor yet?

This is my audi/4 bike NS rack. Like mentioned, with no bikes on the rack, I can open the rear hatch without problem or moving the rack at all (even in the fully extended position).

With bikes on the car, I have to pull the lower pin and drop the rack down like the picture.

This isn't a big deal until you wanna put the rack back up. Depending on how many bikes/how heavy, it can be an issue as you have to hold the rack while re-inserting the pin to lock it back in the up-right position.

Not an issue as long as you have a friend to help out. And as you should if your shuttling a vast group of friends :)

I've had the rack for a few months now and am extremely happy with the purchase!

Any comments on the classic vs. the NSR 4-bike? Looks like the NSR 4-bike folds up a bit nicer when not in use, would be less stress on the hitch, and easier to tilt back when loaded. Though I don't like how the wheels come right up against the glass. You wouldn't be able to open that w/out tilting the rack.

Classic:

NSR 4-bike: