I had the Saris Bones 3 bike rack for my Subaru Forester. It was nicely built but frankly I hated it. Took forever to get it secured properly on because it had to be opened very wide to accommodate the relatively flat back of the car which made it less stable. The straps would stretch and the top arm would come off the window by a good inch or two allowing the rack to sway which was disconcerting to see in my rearview. I tried padding that area but it didn't help so basically the rack was hanging by the top straps instead of being secure to the car. As a result the straps rubbed the paint (if I had known that I would have padded them too). No matter what I did I could not get the rack to stay tight against the car and I am anal about that especially for long trips. By the time I got the rack on and the bikes loaded, secured and padded it took almost two hours and a great deal of sweat. Not to mention how difficult it became to heft two hybrids up above my waist level. Also, these racks don't work with spoilers or rear-window wipers (ask me how I know that). The road bikes were a little easier. I have since gone to a hitch rack and it is much much easier. I don't have to worry about the bikes crashing through the rear window if I have to stop suddenly and I don't have to lift them as high. I started with a Sportrack three bike carrier which still required lots of bungee cording and padding but it cut my load time down to 45 minutes. I just pulled the trigger on a 1Up USA rack. I haven't travelled with it yet but I did a dry run and installed the rack and loaded the bikes in under 5 minutes. No padding necessary. Moral of the story is for me a hitch rack is the only way to go for ease of loading and security.YMMV.
Last edited by FlyingScot; 09-16-2014 at 05:30 AM.
Reason: What can I say I'm on Nyquil.
2008 Specialized Globe Sport
2009 Specialized Sequoia Elite