bike carriers vs bikes in cars

[kenyonchris]

I have a roof rack, a hitch rack, a trunk rack, and a bed mounting thing as well (we have a lot of vehicles). Of all of them, the hitch is the easiest. It is supposed to hold four bikes, but we are never comfortable with putting more than two and a kid bike on it, as my husband is very tall and has big guy bikes. So we usually put two on the hitch, two on the roof. I am 5'5 and can't get my bike on the roof of the Sequoia...but I can get it on the roof of my mini...which is my next roof rack purchase (I tested out whether I could get it up there)...I use a trunk rack on the mini at the moment, but it gives me the willies. It is secure as houses, but too much room for human error for me. I always think "DID I strap that thing down?"
FWIW, I can fit a bike in my mini cooper....but nothing else!

[spindizzy]

My bike goes inside car. Front wheel off with back seats down. Skis are the only thing that I will put outside. I would never put bikes on top...very long story about going camping with a rooftop carrier..husband drives through a covered parking garage...argh ..that could be my bike!

[BikeDutchess]

I have the Thule Ridgeline 4 hitch rack on my Subaru. I can easily mount it on the car or remove it from the car by myself. It also locks to the hitch, and has an integrated cable to lock the bikes to the rack (although I've had to replace the cable twice now - if you don't secure it properly when the bikes are not on the rack, the cable will drag on the ground and the locking mechanism is shot). We've managed to get 4 bikes on there on occasion but it can be a puzzle depending on the types of bikes.

When I'm by myself I'll often just put the seats down and slide the bike in the car.