Saris Bike Rack and SUV's

[FlyingScot]

I just bought a Saris Bones rack for my 2001 Forester and I have a question. Overall I'm pleased with it but on a recent long trip at highway speeds I noticed the upper "leg" would not stay firmly against the rear window and actually gapped about 3/4". This caused more sway than I am comfortable seeing in my rearview. I played with the angle of the legs, position of the straps and position of the bikes. I followed the manufacturers instructions to the letter. It starts out okay but gradually gets further and further off the glass even though the straps aren't loosening. I'm not worried about the bikes falling off as their weight is actually on the lower legs that rest on the bumper and remain snug but I am worried that the sway is putting too much stress on the sheet metal of my car. Plus I don't like the bikes or the rack to move at all because I am a complete control freak so this is making me nuts. Am I overreacting or doing something wrong?

[JaneE]

Hi FlyingScot,

We have a Saris Bones (3) bike rack and love it.

The first time we used it, however, we had the same (or at least very similar), problem that you are describing. Our problem was solved when we realized that even though the rack had been installed properly and tightened down, the straps need to be re-snugged *after* the bikes have been loaded. Don't know if that's your issue, too, but we found that even tightened straps needed further snugging with the weight of the bikes on the rack.

Otherwise, we're very happy with our rack. We needed something that would be adjustable for use on both our van and my husband's Corolla and that fits the bill perfectly.

Hope this helps!

Janee in WNY

[singletrackmind]

To make the Bones work on my 4runner the upper legs have go on the roof and the lower legs a couple of inches below the glass. No movement of the rack, though the arms flex slightly. It's secure enough to endure moderate 4 wheeling with a full suspension and a tandem mtb in place.

[FlyingScot]

Yeah, I did the tighten the strap thing after the bikes were on and the 30 mile check as well. The Bones 3 has two upper legs so it's probably easier to fix the problem. The Bones 2 only has one upper leg so it's a little less stable. I just got off the phone with customer service. They suggested mounting the rack with the lower legs one inch above the bumper, then load the bikes, then tighten the lower straps until the feet are on the bumper. They call it "pre-loading" the rack. In theory it sounds like it might work. Apparently this is a long-standing issue with the Bones 2 when mounted on a flat back SUV. According to the tech the purpose of the upper leg is to hold the bikes away from the car so the gap isn't really a big deal as long as it doesn't get so large that the rack begins swinging. For us it never got bigger than about 3/4" which allowed the upper leg to shift back and forth about an inch either way just enough to annoy me but the rack and bikes were still secure. One of the reasons I like this rack is the weight of the bikes rides on the bumper not on the rear glass which always made me a bit nervous. If anybody else has a suggestion I'm all ears.

[VeloVT]

We had a Thule rear rack that also had significant sway, which made me nervous as well. For this reason, and because the geometry of the rack made it difficult to get both bikes in without risk of scratching, and the holders didn't fit bf's shaped carbon tubes too well, we upgraded to a Yakima roof rack. I'm MUCH happier with it.