getting a bike rack installed

I

imported_Frugle

New member
I have no choice, I have to be able to carry my bike around, and it has already scratched the inside of my car significantly :(



does anyone else have one on their car (roof rack)?



does it damage the paint or car?



what do I need to do to keep the car safe?



it is a thule roof mounted bike carrier...



thanks!
 
They work very well you shouldn't have any problem. When you remove them you may see some slight marring where the rubber contacts the paint but its very easy to correct.

Follow the fit instructions very carefully to insure proper placement .Thule does a great job engineering thier custom fits.
 
how much wind resistance would a roof rack cause? doesn't seem like it would be enough to make a difference, especially with a fairing..



but I don't think a hitch rack would work with my car.... and my bike only weighs 15.8lb with the front wheels... so If I drop that, I'm pretty much a ............ politically correct "nin-com-poop"....
 
We have one that attaches to our roof rack rails. Works great but it whistles like crazy and I can not stand to drive the car with it on unless we are hauling the bikes somewhere. We ended up with a Saris.
 
Even with the trunk rack I used with my old car, if I was hauling bikes on the highway I could count on it knocking of a couple MPG. I recall posts from folks hauling bikes on roof racks that were more significant than that, especially with small cars, but I can't cite specifics. Maybe try searching or asking on the forum at the site I linked above.
 
Most of my friends have hitch racks these days. Besides being easy and fast to access there’s no chance of wedging your bike into your garage (a very large percentage of people I know with roof racks have done that).



That said, I’m old school and still use roof racks on both of our bike haulers. I love the look of a car bristling with bikes and wheels. It’s the whole Director Sportif vibe. Shouting Allez, Allez! out the window when your bikes are hanging off the tail just ain’t right. I also like the fact that I can get stuff in and out of the back of the car easily when the bikes are on the roof.



Plus I prefer fork clamps to hold the bikes. Some hitch racks do have fork clamps but most have frame clamps or hangers. The bikes tend to flop around and/or you’re clamping onto the bike’s paint (on those bikes that have paint anyway). If you have an unusual frame they may not work at all. We used to have three Y-bikes in our crowd, frame clamps weren't useable. Fork clamps are nice and stable and work for everything.



We have factory rails on our cars so mounting the racks without touching the paint was easy. If I hade a car that needed to use towers sitting on the paint I would put down some protective film where the bases rest on the car.



I’ve never noticed any difference in gas mileage with bikes but I haven’t looked closely.





PC.
 
Frugle said:
where can I get protective film?
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Some online vendors that sell clear bras sell smaller pieces that you can cut up. Maybe somebody that does clear bra installs would have scraps.



I got a small roll from TOL (though it’s not clear who the original manufacturer of the film is).





PC.
 
I just bought a Thule system a couple weeks ago. I spent a lot of time debating roof vs. rear but when I saw my BMW had a set of threaded bolt holes in the roof specifically for a rack I went with that.



Overall it is very tough and well designed package, and it is very protective of the bikes and the car which is obviously important to anyone on this forum. I spent nearly $500 on everything but now I'm glad I did. I got the 599 "Criterium" bike racks which hold the downtube and no wheels need to be removed. Very easy on/off operation.



Noise isn't too bad, and I still get about 27mpg in steady cruise, down about 3mpg...but much better than my van which I sold!



Let me know if you have any other questions. It was annoying having to learn all this stuff and I'd be happy if I could help someone else out!



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I read about the bmw thing.. I wish my toyota had that!



I have rain gutters, so shouldn't they be able to use that instead of gluing to the side of the car?
 
You say 'car' but you're avatar has an Exploder in it.



If you have an SUV, you can look into interior bike racks for the cargo area..may be able to fabricate one pretty easily
 
Frugle said:
I read about the bmw thing.. I wish my toyota had that!



I have rain gutters, so shouldn't they be able to use that instead of gluing to the side of the car?
Click to expand...



Yeah, on my Dad's car he had that setup. It wasn't quite as rigid but worked perfectly fine and without marring. Bottom line with Thule is they really do engineer the mounts for a particular car...and so they know they can charge a lot of money for them too!
 
sorry, my car is the 2003 camry, the expedition is my moms.. .I just liked the shine (see signature).



Well I've already paid the 350 for the rack, the shop is waiting to get it shipped in, and then they will install it...



I guess I will look to find a cheap clear bra...
 
so like I said over at the other place..



so okay, I bought the thule, and just now got around to taking pictures.



the way it works I feel very safe... the two peices that touch the car are either rubber, or rubber coated. So I really don't think it will cause anything other than light marring.



the fairing came with some 3M clear bra stuff to put under it to be sure not to scratch your car..





so overall I'm happy and would recomend anyone the Thule roof rack system.





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Looks good.



This pic scares me though:



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Just keep repeating to yourself, there’s a bike on the roof, there’s a bike on the roof, there’s a bike on the roof…



After loading up the bikes I always move a large object into the middle the car’s garage spot. That way I can’t pull in until I get out and move it (and unload the bikes).





PC.
 
the other pc said:
Looks good.



This pic scares me though:



close.JPG




Just keep repeating to yourself, there’s a bike on the roof, there’s a bike on the roof, there’s a bike on the roof…



After loading up the bikes I always move a large object into the middle the car’s garage spot. That way I can’t pull in until I get out and move it (and unload the bikes).





PC.
Click to expand...



I put my garage door opener in the trunk, and a string on my steering-wheel to let me know it's up there :cool:
 
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