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Hey gang,
I'm new :o (in case you can't tell by my post count), but I've been lurking for a while. Does anyone have a Yakima roof rack for their bikes?? All of my bikes have always fit in my car pretty well but I've had a Yakima roof rack for a number of years for my skis and snowboards. I'm finally going to get a bike attachment for it. Anyone have one? They have several different kinds so I'm looking for some input.
Thanks!
A couple of questions first. What is your make, model and year of your vehicle? This is important to know the type of Yak rack you currently have and also verifying your weight capacity. Also, what type of bike do you have - road, mountain, hybrid, etc?
Yakima has an excellent web site, you just plug in your vehicle and it will make recommendations on the towers/bars for you.
I've had roof racks for my bikes for 20+ years, all Yakima. I started with the (I think it's called )Raptor, and now have King Cobra mounts for my mountain bikes.
I prefer the ones where you leave the front wheel on. I have been on too many trips where someone has left a wheel in their garage or at the trailhead.
I've trained myself to throw my garage door clicker under the seat when the bikes are on top.
If you don't mind taking your front wheel off, I can recommend the Rocky Mounts. I have them on my Yakima rack. They were a lot cheaper than anything else! If you have disc brakes, you can order an "extension" to accommodate that too. It was easy to put together.
Both of Yakima's Viper and Sprocket Rocket are disc compatible.
I have the sprocket rockets on my car. I love them. Very solid, very easy to mount the bikes. Easily carries two road bikes without any touching/overlap anywhere.
I can't remember which bike mount we have for our Yakima rack but the front wheel has to be remove to attach the bike. It's inconvinient for our touring/commuter bikes because they have fenders. We have to remove the front fenders to attach the bikes to the rack. As soon as we're able, we're planning to get the King Cobras. Just something else for you to consider.... YMMV
I have the Cobra. It's like the King Cobra but without the built in lock.
If I need a lock just use a spare cable lock. I like it, just roll the bike in, don't even have to un-QR the wheel. I'm mechanicly challenged so it's great.
Sorry guys.. I already have the basic setup with crossbars and all that jazz. I have a large sedan (Oldsmobile Intrigue.. similar to a Grand Prix). I also have just a road bike now (just sold two mtbs :().
I think I would rather have one where I take the wheel off because of wind resistance and it would be lower on the rack so seems more stable. You guys with experience.. I know there's a couple and I can use any of them in my car. Suggestions? Thanks a bunch!!
Sprocket Rockets are the kind that require removal of the front wheel. As noted above, I really like mine :cool:.
They are the attachment, they go ON the crossbars... (I had to buy crossbars in addition to the SRs & remove part of the factory-installed rack on my Subaru).
You have a 100 lb weight limit.
There are some differences between the Yakima fork mount bike carriers. The basic one is the Copperhead - low cost. Use this if you will always be able to keep an eye on your bike - not secure at all (easy to steal).
The Steelhead is next in price. Definitely more secure, but I find this one clunky to use.
I currently have the Viper - very secure. This works fine with road or mountain bikes.
The Sprocket Rocket is the newest model - quite fancy looking. One nice feature that makes it an upgrade to the Viper is the twist knob to tighten the head down onto the fork - quite comfy on the fingers.
Hope this helps.