Bike racks - gas mileage

[Catrin]

I am headed to Ohio Saturday (day trip) and I may, or may not, have time to take a spin on the Richland B&O Trail. It would be easier if I could just toss my bike on the rack and go - but am wondering if this might have a strong impact on my gas mileage - it is a trunk rack.

I have a Saris Bones - do they have the potential to become loose over a long drive? That is another consideration - Saturday will include 9 hours of driving... I have the version of the Saris rack that locks. I haven't used it outside of town.

[Possegal]

I have no idea about the gas mileage but have to admit that I always have assumed it does impact it. I have the same bike rack as you. I do drive a lot with my bike - to and from my family in Philly (3 hrs) and Pittsburgh (4 hrs) and a couple times to my family in Canada (8 hrs). I've never worried about this rack the way I did about the one I had before it. With that one, I swear I drove the whole way staring at the bike in my mirror.

[SheFly]

A trunk rack will impact your mileage much less than a roof rack. When I had a roof rack, my milege literally dropped by 5 mpg. I now have a hitch mount rack and find that it doesn't impact at all.

So, you may see SOME impact, but not as much as with another type of rack.

SheFly

[Thorn]

Depends upon your car and how aerodynamic it is. If you're talking a squarish SUV or minivan, probably not much; if you're talking a Prius or Honda Insight, you could see a considerable drop.

I drive a Prius and mileage dropped from 55mpg to around 40mpg with the rack and 2 bikes. Just the presence of the rack dropped mileage. We've since learned how to get both bikes inside the car if we're transporting for any distance.

But, we never had any issues with the Saris Bones slipping during transit. Yes, the straps loosen over time, but no problems with sudden slipping like other racks in the past.

[GLC1968]

Depends upon your car and how aerodynamic it is. If you're talking a squarish SUV or minivan, probably not much; if you're talking a Prius or Honda Insight, you could see a considerable drop.

I drive a Prius and mileage dropped from 55mpg to around 40mpg with the rack and 2 bikes. Just the presence of the rack dropped mileage. We've since learned how to get both bikes inside the car if we're transporting for any distance.

This.

We saw our Prius drop from 48 mpg to 33 mpg on the windy highways of Kansas and Colorado with two bikes on the back rack (ours is a hitch rack - but same idea). We moved the rack/bikes to our Matrix which is boxier and has a more powerful engine and the mpg drop was 2 or 3 mph - even crossing the continental divide. It really depends on the car!

ETA - I used to use my Saris bones on my Mini Cooper with little to no mpg difference and it held very well. The longest ride I ever used it for was about 2 hours and I was carrying two bikes (one very heavy one).

[indysteel]

What kind of car do you have? Have you considering taking one or both wheels off and putting the bike inside the car?

As for whether the Saris is secure. It is if you strap it on correctly. When I use mine, I get the rack pretty well situated, then I put the bike on it and then I retighten every strap. I recheck it here and there along the way. What's disconcerting is that as you drive at highway speed, you will see the bike swaying a bit. I've yet to have an incident yet.

That said, I usually just put my bike in the car. I have a 4-door sedan but it's rear seats don't go down for some reason (a detail my dealer didn't point out to me). With just my front wheel off, I can put the bike behind my front seats. It sits upright, with the handlebard turned toward the side if you can picture that. I use a velcro strap to hold it in place behind my seat. My husband can put his bike in my trunk but he has to take both wheels off.

He also has a 4-door sedan, but its seats go down. We can put both bikes in the car if we take the front wheels off and still have room for a week's worth of luggage and gear.