Topic: Selecting bike rack

[Worf]

I'm looking for some advice on bike racks for my wagon.  I want to be able to take some mountain bikes out camping and still have room for other gear and people, so my only option is to mount them externally.  I want to be able to take 3 bikes with me.  I think I have narrowed it down to 2 choices.   

Either I get one of these:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442594359&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302692829&bmUID=1278337958931

Or 3 of these:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441894669&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302692829&bmUID=1278337993952


I am not sure if I would be able to fit 3 of those on the roof racks though, does anyone have experience with that?

The roof mounted racks seem to me like they would be more secure and safer for the bikes.  Some of the rear mounted bike racks that I see driving around seem to bounce a lot, but if that's the only way to get 3 bikes I can suck it up.  It's only my mountain bike.  I'd love to hear your opinions or if you have any other options that you have liked for bike racks.

[TWRC]

Trunk rack FTL.

I hate dealing with straps that can possibly damage your paint (on both the car and the bike) plus they're not entirely secure.  It sounds like you have already sold yourself on the roof rack.  I understand that it's a bit more expensive because you have to buy crossbars but I think you'll be much happier with that setup because it'll give you options for other uses such as ski / snowboard rack, rocketbox etc.

I've been able to squeeze three bikes on my roof in the past.  I mounted two bikes facing forward and the bike in the middle had to be mounted facing backwards in order to fit.  It was a tight squeeze but totally doable.

[STIfler]

My experience when I got my Subaru, I had to buy new roof racks to fit the rooftop mountings. I still had my Thule kayak stacker and mountain bike carrier. I bought OEM subaru roof racks and discovered that the thule stuff wasn't compatible to the cross beams (different shape than the sport rack I had on my VW) Make sure you accessories are all compatibe with each other before you buy.

[Claw]

Is it important that you can open your hatch when you've got everything mounted?

If so, ixnaay the trunk rack.

Also check that there is enough clearance with the roof mounted bike racks that clears your rear window spoiler.  Check the Car & Biker thread on MTBR.com.  I think some people have had to mount their bikes backwards (with the rear wheel facing front) to be able to open up their hatches all the way.

Personally I'm waiting for the right hitch rack at the right price to come around.

[TWRC]

That reminds me, you won't be able to fully open your hatch if you have the bikes on a roof rack.  I can get mine open about 3/4 of the way before the wing touches the bikes.  I usually just get stuff from out of the back seat if I need to get into the hatch.

[Way-do]

On the wagon, I've found a hitch mount is the way to go.  Hitches are cheap and easy to install (I paid $40 plus off/on labour, about 45min each) or they are $170 New from Sub Cal plus probably and hour labour if you want to pay someone for 7 bolts.

I picked up a platform Swagman from JC and it works great. I can open the hatch (07) with a bike on the aft position.  We did lose a bike last weekend due to me taking a u-turn too fast, the bike skipped out of the tire holders and the angled top-tube allowed it to pop out from under the hood. Was only doing 40km/h and the only damage was to the nose of the saddle.  We now run ratchet straps from the chain stays on the reciever, up around steer tube/seat post back to the other chain stay. It flops around a bit but as long as you drive like you have four thousand dollars worth of bike hanging off the back of your car, you should be fine.

[Jitenshakun]

A North Shore Rack can be set up to tilt back enough to get the hitch open.  The downsides are they don't carry road bikes and they aren't ideal for rough forestry service roads.