Bicycle carrier racks

I'm planning on doing a little travelling with my bikes and I'm checking out car carriers. I have a Dodge Neon which I have no intentions of giving up anytime soon. (Purchased before the biking addiction). Anyway, I'm worried about security. I don't necessarily want to put a hitch on my car, (would pretty much add $150 on to the total cost) but it seems like the most secure option. What I would like to do is get a trunk rack, but aren't they easy to get off of a car? Can you lock your bike on them? If they are easy to get off, seems kind of useless to get a nice one like a Yakima that someone can easily take. I want to be able to leave my car from time to time. Oh, not 6 hours in a mall, but I do want to stop and do tourist stuff that doesn't include the bike, although the bike is the main reason I'm hitting other states and their trails.

Can anyone give me some insight on all of this? I live pretty far away from any places that carry racks, and I've been trying to get all of my info from the Thule and Yakima websites.

Thanks!

I had a neon. I usually wound up folding down the seats and sticking the bike inside (with the front wheel off). Granted, this does cut down on the amount of other stuff you can carry.

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

I had a neon. I usually wound up folding down the seats and sticking the bike inside (with the front wheel off). Granted, this does cut down on the amount of other stuff you can carry.

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I've done that and it's hard on the Neon and the bike. I also want to take my mountain bike AND road bike if possible. Thanks!

Last season I used a Bones rear rack. I had two of the straps tucked inside the trunk so it was harder to remove the rack without opening the vehicle. I then wrapped a fairly decent rubber coated chain and lock thru both the bike and around the rack. It would have been a bit of a hassle to try to steal the bike (unless of course the thief came prepared with a bolt cutter). I left it parked in various places around town for hours at a time and no one ever messed with it.

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Originally Posted by SJCzar

Last season I used a Bones rear rack. I had two of the straps tucked inside the trunk so it was harder to remove the rack without opening the vehicle. I then wrapped a fairly decent rubber coated chain and lock thru both the bike and around the rack. It would have been a bit of a hassle to try to steal the bike (unless of course the thief came prepared with a bolt cutter). I left it parked in various places around town for hours at a time and no one ever messed with it.

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I second the recomendation of a Bones rack. I recently got the 3 bike one, after much frustration with a less expensive carrier (THANK YOU to Performance, who took the other carrier back after a month of use and applied the credit to the Bones one!).

The Bones rack fits almost any car, is TOTALLY adjustable and is very easy to get on and off the car. Using a lock like SJCzar suggests will keep your bike secure.

Right now I have a trunk rack that I've been using for awhile, my hitch and 4 bike rack will be here next week. The trunk rack has done the job fine, but I want to get in my trunk w/ the bike on the rack. They should come w/ a pin lock or something. But I have a cable lock and would wrap it every which way to make it difficult to steal. Jennifer

I drive a Mini and use a VERY old Allen rack and it works fine for me. The problem with most of the truck racks I've looked at (including my Allen) is that they attach by way of fabric straps. Fabric can be cut...so it's not all that secure unless you can lock the bike and the rack to the car.

Normally, my bike only sits unattended on my car at work, and our lot is secure and on camera, so it's not an issue. For when I need to run errands and my bike is still on the back, I use a long cable lock to secure the bike and the rack to my spoiler. I know it's not as secure at some other options, but it will definitely detour the casual theft. Neither of my bikes look like they are super expensive racing bikes (and they are both quite small), so I doubt I'd be a target of a 'real' theif. If you don't have a spoiler, is there any other permanent part of the car that a cable lock will fit around? It helps if it's immedately visable as well...so a theif doesn't even try to get away with it.

When we travel with our bikes, we take my husband's car which has a locking trailer hitch rack where the bikes are secured by a U-lock. Even then, we don't leave them unattended overnight or for more than a couple of hours or so at at time.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

I drive a Mini and use a VERY old Allen rack and it works fine for me. The problem with most of the truck racks I've looked at (including my Allen) is that they attach by way of fabric straps. Fabric can be cut...so it's not all that secure unless you can lock the bike and the rack to the car.

When we travel with our bikes, we take my husband's car which has a locking trailer hitch rack where the bikes are secured by a U-lock. Even then, we don't leave them unattended overnight or for more than a couple of hours or so at at time.

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I went to the Saris website and checked out the Bones, but it had the straps, too, and I could just picture "snip snip" and the whole thing would be lifted off, but Saris has another rack coming out that has steel cables on it. Price? $250 or so. I decided it would be about the same price to go ahead with a hitch. I now know way more about hitches and classes than I need to. I called my local auto parts store and he quoted a hitch at $64, so I got it. Turns out he accidentally quoted me his price, but he's letting me have it anyway.

Anyway, I'm checking out the Thules and Yakimas. I can only carry two bikes with a class I hitch, which is all my tiny neon can get.

Thanks to everyone for their input. It really helped verify what I knew all along....I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

I drive a Mini and use a VERY old Allen rack and it works fine for me. The problem with most of the truck racks I've looked at (including my Allen) is that they attach by way of fabric straps. Fabric can be cut...so it's not all that secure unless you can lock the bike and the rack to the car.

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I love the MINIS- I wanted one but they were a little more than we wanted to spend. I drive a Dodge Caliber, my compromise.

Glad you were able to get the hitch at the quoted price. I don't know about hitch racks, but we have a Thule Trunk rack (Speedway 2) and it has been very good.

Amanda, we seem to be following each other on these boards! Anyway, I won a Thule on ebay. It's the Rak n Loc so the metal top comes down and locks over the bikes and straps. Total with shipping was $117, so I think I got pretty good deals all around. Thule doesn't make this one anymore, so I'm hoping there wasn't a problem with it...

Here's a pic. I'm hoping I don't hear all kinds of horror stories about it!:eek:

Another MINI lover here. I decided after having mine four years, and with the warranty about to run out, that it was time to trade it in. I sure missed it this summer. It was such a fun car. I feel left out of the special club now when I pass one on the street....no more waves from fellow MINI owners.