Originally Posted by
BobbyG
If you don't have thru axles, you might consider buying a new/used a new front fork with them.
I used to have rear car racks for my bikes, a hitch mount on my Mustang, then a trunk mount for my Subaru. Having just spent two weeks back home in Chicago I think the chances of having another car bumping into a bike hanging on the rear of a car is pretty good, as well as some one grabbing the bike at a stop (unless you lock it to the carrier.
Same here - sort of: multiple racks collected over the years: hitch mount for various cars, fork mounts for the pickup bed, three different types of roof rack mounts (based on what I've picked up over the years on sale or craigslist), and plan to pick up a rear rack for my wife's car which doesn't have a hitch and she is too short to heft a bike up to the roof rack. FWIW, with the exception of the proposed rear rack, they all lock onto the car and the bikes lock onto the rack (reason I stick with Yakima, to match the keys to my Rocket Box which set the precedent years ago)
My current car is an SUV bought specifically so I could lay my bike in the back without removing the front wheel (just have to remember not to lay it on the drive side to avoid bending the rear dreailler).
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FWIW, you don't need a SUV to fit a bike into the back without taking off the wheel. We've been doing it with Subarus for many years, currently with the tiny Impreza and an Outback. A road bike fits fine with the wheel on in the Impreza with the front passenger seat moved and tilted a bit forward, the Outback (and a past Forester), room to spare. When I shopped for my Impreza, I took my bike with me and field tested it in every small car I looked at. Just so you know I'm not anti-SUV: a Suburban used to be my daily driver, and we currently own two 3/4 ton pickups! (long story, low usage, specific purpose for both). But I love driving the Impreza - easy to maneuver and park!