jdawginsc 

JUst curious what the CV crowd uses as a rack for their precious and not-so-precious cargo when driving your bike to parts near and far...and what you think of your choice.

Car: 2012 Ford Escape
Rack: Allen Deluxe

It does the job, but I have a Yakima King Joe 3 rack that is hella heavy.

Classtime 

I've had Yakima bars and a pair of Raptor bike racks for 20 years.

non-fixie 

I have been using this Hapro 2-bike rack for about ten years now, on different cars. It locks onto a tow hitch, and tilts so I can open the rear hatch without removing the bikes. Works well.

Bug Shield

In the vehicles that have enough space I mount a Saris triple-track mounting plate (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BTA6NG/) and fork mount to that. Front racks and fenders can be problematic with this system.

I prefer roof racks to hitch racks and use two different setups on the roof. My preference is fork mounted in a tray which usually works well except for unusual fork setups, tandems and bikes with fenders. I also use 1Up roof racks that work well enough but I prefer a rigid fork mount; these also do not work well on bikes with fenders.

fabiofarelli

I'm privileged with a VW Westfalia.

Chuck M 

Saris Bones 2. It mounts with straps like the Allen but the arms are more adjustable and I imagine it will fit almost anything I will ever drive. The trunks of my Civic and Accord though will hold a bike with the wheels off and that is usually what I do as it is more secure if I want to stop somewhere and eat, go shopping, etc.

iab

Kuat. Please pardon the off-topic bike.

Coppi 50K 02 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Roger M

I've been using a roof rack for a lot of years. They work good on cars with a lower roofline(old Volvo wagon here).Mostly with the fork mounts. I do have a couple of the trays with the downtube clamp, that I'll use for mountain bikes occasionally.

I found this hitch rack on the local offer up last year. My wife's car is too tall for hoisting bikes on. It's an Overland rack with 1UP trays. It works real good, and only requires about 30 seconds to mount a bike in the tray. I modified my tandem roof mount to use on it.

iab

I had a Saris Bones, but I like the Kuat more. (That is BF member smontanaro & spouse just prior to hitting the road to the 2013 BAMF)

BAMF 001 by iabisdb, on Flickr

P!N20

Buzz Rack 4 tow ball mount platform type here. Really happy with it - easy to install, solid, brake/turn lights incorporated and fits two adult and two kids bikes without any problems.

Looks like this if you're wondering: https://www.bicyclesuperstore.com.au...ee-4-bike-rack

dedhed

Yakima ridgeback 2 cuz it fits both my 1.25" & 2" hitches. Had a Saris T-Rax 4 when kids were around, gave it away. There are a couple trunk mount Thules hanging in my garage from sedan days and kids "storing"

clubman 

Strange timing, I've been using Thules on Volvos for 25 years. Until today, when I sold mine along with the rack. I'll miss it.

Roger M

It's nice to see lights being incorporated into hitch racks. I think it should be available on all of them, especially racks capable of more than two bikes.

non-fixie, that's a good looking rack. I don't believe it's available here on the other side of the Atlantic. The Benz wagon is not bad either...

obrentharris 

That looks like a step up in quality from the Fiamma that we get in the US. Who is the manufacturer?
Brent

mstateglfr 

Thule T2 Classic with the expandable 2 tray add-on.
I use it in 2 bike setup 95% of the time, but the ability to easily load and carry 4 bikes is invaluable.

panzerwagon 

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-...ble-bike-rack/

I have a couple add-on trays for when the whole family needs it. Best rack I’ve ever used. Not perfect for bikes with fenders, but secure enough.

Drillium Dude 

My old setup: Thule rack utilizing footers directly bolted to BMW "fixpoints" - factory-installed threaded collars welded to the roof:



Loaded up:



I miss this car; it was totaled after a distracted driver forced me onto the central reservation, destroying the suspension. Today, I take the wheels off, lower the rear pass-through seat of the Audi A4, and put the bike in the trunk. Better gas mileage is a major benefit, but the cool factor is no more.

DD

Soody

cheap towbar rack from the 90s complete with bits of hose to protect the frame and a sketchy extra bit that slides in for a second bike

cyccommute 

For my truck. have a Thule Helium which is similar in concept to the 1UP and Yakima Copperheads. The Helium isn’t something that I would use for off-road. That’s what the Copperheads are for but the roof rack isn’t great for highway travel nor is it easy to load. The Helium carried my touring bike quite well on a 3000 mile drive.





For our sedan we use Yakima Forkchops. Nice and small without the trays of other racks. The Copperheads would interfere with the hatch opening.



I also have a Hollywood rack that I’ve modified to carry our tandem on the back of my truck.

non-fixie 

Thule offers similar racks, and operates on both sides of the pond. But for some reason we get the ones with lights, and you don't. Differences in local legislation?

fabiofarelli

It's the original from the factory and I think the brand is Votex.

bikingshearer 

I use Yakima roof top stuff. I'm currently using the Front :Loader racks, but mine are an older version than what is currently available. They work well, but they are spendy. I like that I don't have to remove any wheels and that it holds the bike securely without touching the frame at all - only the wheels. I'm tall (6'3") so mounting mu bikes on my Camry is no problem. Mounting my bikes on my wife's RAV-4 is a bit more challenging but doable. I would not want to be any shorter to do that, though.

jdawginsc 

My issue is that the Escape has no tow hitch. So either it is roof, or hatch mount for me.

So far the Allen has worked, but was wondering about experiences with roof racks on SUVs or hatch mounts.

nlerner

I decided to avoid roof racks after too many people I know had the bikes mounted on top of their cars have encounters with low clearance entrances. I bought a tow hitch kit for our 2015 Prius from etrailer.com and then got a Swagman rack for two bikes. Very happy with that setup (plus we often us a cargo cage attached to the hitch for longer trips—it’s eliminated the need to rent a larger car!).

Narhay

My bikes fit inside of my minivan