Car bike rack?

Hello friends!

I don't drive but my sister has given me the delightful task of ordering a bike rack for her car (2-door VW GTI hatchback) before we take a road trip this summer (women's world cup!).

Any suggestions? This is foreign territory for me!

Thanks!

Melanie

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Permalink Reply by Tom Z on April 20, 2015 at 3:52pm

For a Trunk Rack. The Thule Raceway is the absolute easiest to install.

The Raceway using two cables on top and two on the bottom. The cool thing is because they are plastic coated metal cables you can lock the rack to the vehicle and lock the bikes to the rack.

As for a hitch rack: I just purchased the Saris Freedom SuperClamp 2 Bike Hitch Rack.

You will need a hitch receiver to use this rack. I really like it because the rack clamps down on the tires, so it will work with just about any bicycle out there. Also, it is fairly light for a platform rack at 32 lbs.

Also, Both of these racks are Made in the USA. In fact the Saris is made right in Madison, WI. This is a big reason I like both Thule and Saris, built in the USA.

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on April 20, 2015 at 4:58pm

Hi Melanie- Craigslist always has these for sale used, extra cheap.

Search under 'for sale-bikes', then look in 'parts and accessories', by owner. You should see plenty of 'em.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on April 21, 2015 at 12:36am

Melanie said the car is a hatchback.  Do the trunk racks mount on a hatchback?  Are there special "trunk" mount racks for a hatchback?

I am 4'11 and don't have a lot of upper body strength, so the trunk mount I had was tough for me.  We spent the money to put a hitch receiver on our Honda Accord and bought the Thule 916 X hitch rack.  It is low, easy to use, and securely holds the bikes.  You can lower it with the bikes on it to get into the trunk, although I don't know if you could do that with a hatchback.  Downside:  A lot of money.  Worth it to me because I use it fairly frequently. 

Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on April 21, 2015 at 2:09am

Take into consideration the frame type of the bicycle that going to be mounted. 

A drop-frame bike might require a mounting rod that goes between the seat tube and the handlebar tube to be properly mounted on the car.

Permalink Reply by Tom Z on April 21, 2015 at 2:19am

Melanie,

Here is a link to the Thule Buyer's Guide (formally called the Fit Guide):

http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/buyers-guide

Saris Fit Guide:

https://www.saris.com/catalog/racks

Both of these should give you an idea of what will fit your vehicle.

Tom

BTW... Sometimes spending a little more money on a well designed rack will mean you will be more inclined to use it, rather having it just sit in the corner.

Permalink Reply by Jamais716 on April 21, 2015 at 3:29am

Saris bones trunk rack. Fit on my old Geo Prizm and now my Pontiac Vibe hatchback. Arms adjust up and down separately so I can put a step through frame on it for a short ride without an adapter bar

Permalink Reply by David P. on April 21, 2015 at 4:09am

Start by figuring out from her what kind of rack she might want

Roof racks can be left on all the time (if you dont' mind a bit of a hit in fuel consumption and wind noise) and put the bikes up out of the way, but are relatively expensive and require enough strength to lift the bikes up to head level

Trunk-mounted racks are inexpensive and can be stored somewhere convenient when not in use, but I think they don't tend to be as securely mounted as other rack types (this might be personal bias, though.)

You can put a strap-on trunk rack on a hatchback like her GTI.\

Hitch-mounted racks make it very easy to load the bikes (no lifting) and do not affect fuel consumption as much as roof racks do, but they are also relatively expensive and require installation of a hitch on the car. They also often do not allow you to open the hatchback without removing the rack. Some hitch racks do fold down.

As someone else suggested, Craigslist is a good place to start if she's on a budget.

Permalink Reply by S on April 21, 2015 at 4:19am

Roof racks can be left on all the time (if you dont' mind a bit of a hit in fuel consumption and wind noise) and put the bikes up out of the way, but are relatively expensive and require enough strength to lift the bikes up to head level

Roof racks get even more expensive if you forget that you have bikes on the roof and pull into a place with a low vertical clearance.

Permalink Reply by Ifi Susana on April 21, 2015 at 8:04am

Hitch-mounted racks also work best for carbon frames. or at least that is what the websites recommend.

Permalink Reply by S on April 21, 2015 at 4:15am

I have a GTI as well and use the saris bones rack for 2 bikes.  Haven't had a problem with it so far. Well, except for the time when I accidentally turned on the rear windshield wiper and screwed up the wiper blade but that was my fault.  If she goes with a trunk mounted rack, she'd have to remember to turn off all the wipers before putting the car into reverse (the GTI automatically turns on the rear wiper if you have them on and shift into reverse) but that's a rare situation.

Permalink Reply by Melanie M on June 17, 2015 at 7:05am

This is too funny, I wish I had remembered this as it took us a few times to realize the rear wiper always turns on in reverse (we had a somewhat rainy trip to New England/Canada) but it didn't seem to do any permanent harm and we quickly learned to wait to put the wipers on until we backed out!

Permalink Reply by BuddyJ on April 21, 2015 at 4:41am

Melanie,

If you decide to go with the saris bones, I have one I no longer use and am planning on putting up on craigslist. It holds 3 bikes and has hauled bikes over multiple states without issue. DM if interested.

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