Hi, does anyone have any recommendations for which bike rack I should get for my car? I’m having trouble picking one out because I don’t know anything about them and am afraid to just buy a random one. Typing it into google doesn’t help too much because it comes up with lots of reviews for all of them. I was wondering if anybody has had one in the past/present that they really like? I have a Ford Focus sedan and a Trek Road Bike. It cost me $1200 so I am willing to pay anything up to $300 for a good car bike rack. I would typically drive around 300 miles with it. Thanks! Btw, I care more about damage to the bike than the car, though it should be the other way around because the car was more.
You’re not going to go wrong with a Yakima or Thule rack. However, you will spend a pretty penny for either. If you’re looking to save a dollar, I’ll tell you that I had a Rhode Gear bike rack for my Acura Integra hatchback with which I was perfectly happy until and even after I drove my car into the garage with my bike still mounted.
“Even after” because it was the rack that gave way and was damaged rather than the bike.
My wife and I both have Bones racks by Saris. Mine is a two-bike rack, hers is a three. The Bones rack is lightweight but sturdy plastic. It lives on my hatchback, and if the rack isn’t in use I can open the hatch and easily access the back of my car. When not in use, the arms fold down and become visually unobtrusive (it matches both the color and the styling of my car). Very nice unit. You won’t get twenty years out of it, but it doesn’t cost half the price of a new car, either.
You can usually get a used Yakima rack off of Craigslist for a fraction of retail. However, you probably need rack towers that are specifically designed for your car (unless you have rain gutters).
Also, are you looking for a roof rack or a rear mount rack? Like Kyrie, I’ve also driven into a garage and knocked the bike off, which makes me leery of roof racks.
Do you want to carry one bike or more than one bike. Your focus is a hatchback, right?
You’ve got 3 choices for location, roof, hitch, or trunk.
If you already have a base roof rack with cross bars, getting a tray to hold the bike is not that expensive, approx. $90-$150 new. However, most Focuses that I’ve seen don’t have them, which means that you’ll probably spend another$200+ for feet/rack towers & cross bars to attach the tray to the car.
A hitch setup is similar in cost, if you need to spend $150 or so to purchase & install the hitch (again, assuming you don’t have on on that car.)
Trunk rack will be the least expensive, probably $40 to $180 or so.
Do you intend to park & leave your car with the bike on it? The roof & hitch racks are more secure as you can buy integrated locks to secure both the bike to the rack & the rack to the car.
Where do you park? If garages are normal, don’t go with the roof rack, if parallel parking is regular for you, go w/ the roof rack. Does the car have backup sensors? I have a friend with a Ford Explorer & a hitch rack, the car isn’t smart enough to know that if the hitch is engaged & you shift into reverse, the “Hey Idiot, you’re too close & about to hit something in behind you” alarm should not make that annoying squeal because the bike is always just a few inches from the rear bumper (but I digress)
How tall are you; can you lift the bike onto a roof rack?
Trunk & hitch racks are much easier to put on/take off than a roof rack if you don’t intend to put the bike on the car regularly.
If you go with either a roof or hitch mount, the best ones don’t contact the bike frame, like this one from Thule
We’ve got a base roof rack with cross bars, and I was thinking of just getting a Thule rack for my bike, but was leaning towards one which I didn’t have to take the front wheel off for. Are there advantages to the other type though?
Thanks everyone for the advice! I have a Focus Sedan. I’ll probably go with a trunk mount because I doubt I could get the bike on the roof easily. I’m 5’4.
I usually park in driveways or in parking lots. I doubt I will leave the bike on the car for a long amount of time, I’m super paranoid about it getting stolen. I ride it to campus and have to lock it up and the whole time I worry about it haha so I check in between classes. The rack will be used for transporting the bike from college and back home, about 300 miles. I checked out the racks you suggested and I like the Rhode Gear. It got pretty good reviews on Amazon. Thanks!
Since White Unicorn’s question was answered, I think it’s okay to do a slight hijack to make this a generic bike rack thread…
A fork mount has a lower profile to the bike & is probably slightly more aerodynamic (both with a bike on & when you’re driving without a bike up there). The bike weighs less (because the front wheel isn’t attached) when putting it up/taking it down. The bike bra that I have works better with the fork mount because the fabric extension that comes down in front of the fork doesn’t hold as well if the wheel is attached.
That being said, I have both a fork mount & a Sidearm on my roof, I usually use the Sidearm for just one bike & if I had to purchase again, I’d get two Sidearms & no fork mounts.
I like the Sidearm because it’s quicker to get the bike on & off since I don’t need to take off/put on the wheel. Also the adjustment to secure the bike to the rack is quicker. Since different forks have different widths, you may need to spin the adjustment wheel to ensure the right amount of tension on the fork mount before you close it. In my case, it seems I never put the same bike on twice in a row.
Based on this reply, I’d recommend Thule’s Raceway Platform for 2 bikes. Yes, it’s expensive, but so is your bike. If you’re worried about your bike being stolen, it’s important to understand that security is about deterrence, in other words making thieves work harder to steal your stuff. You should know that most trunk carriers lack integrated locks, although you may be able to lock the bike to the rack with a separate cable lock. However, most rear racks (not hitch) attach to the car by clips and nylon straps which can easily be cut with a simple pocket knife separating the rack (and bike) from your car.
The Raceway attaches to your vehicle via a series of ratcheting wrapped steel cables which better secures the rack to your car and includes an locking clamps to secure the bikes to the rack. The bikes sit on platforms that secure them from movement while driving and makes putting your bikes on the rack much easier. It also folds up nicely while not in use. Thule is a well-known and trusted manufacturer of quality products.