Time to buy a bicycle rack and looking for input

[goldfinch]

Oh, I'm so glad you posted! Are fenders out, as I suspect?

I am not so sure. Our Yakima rack has a similar bar that goes over the wheel. My spouse puts his bike with fenders on that rack, he just doesn't force the bar down as hard as when it is directly on the wheel. Nevertheless, it seems stable. But maybe he is taking a risk, I just don't know.

[Trek-chick]

Here is a photo of the Saris Freedom Rack in action. I LOVE this rack!!!! Easy set-up and getting the bike on/off is a breeze.

[gnat23]

Another vote for the Kuat. I have one on my Mini Cooper, and I *always* get comments about it. It's spiffy-easy to use, love the integrated lock for those emergency grocery stops, and feels good and sturdy.

-- gnat!

[BonnieS]

Trek-Chick, What a great picture of your Saris Freedom! I am getting that exact rack this week. Plus a pin to keep it locked on the car. So excited. And it's several months away from outside cycling yet!

[LanterneRouge]

OP have you already bought your hitch? Is there a reason you wouldn't want to get a rear mount bike rack? I, too, was determined to get a hitch until I realized 1) how much extra it would cost, and 2) possible damage to the hitch when going over bumps in the road since my car is pretty low. My initial concern with a rear mount rack was that it would scratch the paint on my car, so I was primarily only looking at hitch racks.

I ended up getting a rear mount Thule (I think it's the Raceway series) and I have no regrets. It takes me literally 30 seconds to put it on my trunk, and it folds up easily. I can shove it in my trunk during rides if I'm concerned someone is going to attempt to steal it (even though it has a lock). My only regret is that I didn't get the model that holds 3 bikes. Mine only carries 2. There have been a number of occasions when carrying an extra bike would've come in handy. I've used it for about 2 years and there isn't a single scratch on my car.

[BonnieS]

Well thank you for all the good advice! This thread discussion lead me to choose and purchase my first bike rack, the saris freedom. Here it is on my Corolla. Haven't put a bike on it yet, but this makes me very eager to get going - as soon as the snow clears, of course! Just FYI this costs about $100 more in Canada than in the US!

[murielalex]

I just wanted to follow up with this thread and say that I ended up getting the 1UP. I had to wait two weeks for UHaul to order my hitch, but it only took five minutes to set it up. I'm getting a hitch on my other car next week, and like how I'll be able to switch it out easy peasy. I'm quite happy with it.

[indysteel]

I am not so sure. Our Yakima rack has a similar bar that goes over the wheel. My spouse puts his bike with fenders on that rack, he just doesn't force the bar down as hard as when it is directly on the wheel. Nevertheless, it seems stable. But maybe he is taking a risk, I just don't know.

We do the same thing with our Thule rack and our fendered touring bikes--but only for short trips. When we drove out to Maine this past fall (21 hours), we just removed the fenders and then put them back on when we got there. Same thing with a 5-hour drive to Saint Louis two years ago. It's not that hard to install them and it gave us a bit more peace of mind.