Anyone have a Saris Bones?

[RoseC]

OK, so I now have a new bike, and plan to do as much riding as I can this year, once I'm in good enough shape to handle it!

My mountain bike with the front wheel removed fit in the very back of my minivan (yes, even though I'm a single gal with no kids, I have a very uncool old minivan), but it was a tight fit and I don't think it'd work for the Volpe, plus I don't want to deal with it. For the moment, I put a blanket across the folded down seats (the rear bench doesn't come out of this van), and I'm just laying it flat. Even though the bike is light, it's still a pain in the rear maneuvering it in there. It's amazing how many places the handlebars and pedals can catch!

So...I think I want a good quality trunk mount rack, and I see a Saris Bones on Craigslist. It *looks* pretty cool and pretty simple to use, but does anyone have practical experience with one?

[FreshNewbie]

Hi, I have one. I actually bought it a month ago to replace my old one. I got the one that holds 3 bikes even though we never drive 3 bikes together. Right now we have Honda Civic (2door) car and we used to put one bike in the back (front wheel comes off) and one bike on the rack. We tried to put both bikes on the rack but the rack just feels unstable and we decided to continue putting one bike inside the car and one on the rack. It's a cool rack, easy to use and has soft rubber banks that don't scratch your bike unlike my old rack. It was pretty easy to put it together too. Since you only plan to transport one bike it should be pretty good for your car.

[bike4ever]

The Saris Bones is a nice rack. Saris does a great job of offering support after the sale. The biggest issue is for you to verify that the rack will fit your vehicle. A great price on Craigslist isn't worth the hassle of it not fitting your vehicle. What make, model and year of vehicle do you have?

[HillSlugger]

I've had a good experience with my Bones 2 rack. The bike is held securely, no scratching. It certainly looks cooler than the typical trunk/hatch mount rack.

[RoseC]

The Saris Bones is a nice rack. Saris does a great job of offering support after the sale. The biggest issue is for you to verify that the rack will fit your vehicle. A great price on Craigslist isn't worth the hassle of it not fitting your vehicle. What make, model and year of vehicle do you have?

I have a '97 Mercury Villager - according to Saris' website, it should fit. The downside is that I don't think you can open the back with the rack mounted, but that's true of any trunk mount, isn't it?

[RoseC]

Thanks for the input, all! I think I'll contact the seller...

I'm sure I could get a *new* some-sorta-generic rack at Target or Wal-mart for the price of a used Bones, but I don't want anything happening to my precious new bike!

[indysteel]

Saris makes a good product and they offer good customer service from my experience. It's very easy, once you get the hang of it, to mount it on your vehicle. You really have to make sure that the straps are all pretty tight and secure. Retighten and double check them them after the bike(s) are mounted since the weight of the bike can "drag" the straps down a bit. One other suggestion. I bought a velcro strap that I use to secure the front wheel to the frame when the bike's on the rack. That way, the wheel doesn't move around and hit my car.