Which is better???

SWEETRIDE4ME said:

Which do you feel is better, a roof rack or a trunk mount bike carrier?

Roof rack.

That is all

Roof racks seem to be adding an extra element of risk to transporting cycles - bridges, overhead signs, etc. all have the potential to crunch your bike, as well as seriously and expensively damage your vehicle. Can't help thinking that roof racks are more of a poseur accessory for non-professionals...

Well, if a semi can get under the bridge, etc., a car with a roof rack can.

SWEETRIDE4ME said:

Which do you feel is better, a roof rack or a trunk mount bike carrier?

Hitch mount. Stable ,solid and easy to get to. Comes off easily in 20 seconds.
Of course you need a trailer hitch receiver.

I perfer the Yakima roof rack for security reasons.

you forgot to include for those ppl who own trucks... a truck bed bike rack mount

http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=71&subcategory=1178&sku=1120&brand=

poor elephants..... oh, oh, you mean the boot of the car, well why didn't you say so......

SWEETRIDE4ME said:

Which do you feel is better, a roof rack or a trunk mount bike carrier?

On the roof I always worry about forgetting that it's there and ripping it off by accident, at the back I worry about someone slamming into me from behind, in the trunk I have to take off both wheels.

I prefer to just take off the front wheel and put the bike across the back seats (upside down to prevent the chainrings and cluster mucking the seats).

keydates said:

Well, if a semi can get under the bridge, etc., a car with a roof rack can.

Helloooo???? And your local shopping centre entrance????? THEY're not built for semis.........

seems like almost all local shopping centres here are open, so not much to worry about. And besides, usually don't take my bike along to shop nor do I run errands immediately after riding.

keydates said:

seems like almost all local shopping centres here are open, so not much to worry about. And besides, usually don't take my bike along to shop nor do I run errands immediately after riding.

Ah! I see. You're single, without a family....

Unfortunately, in the real world, most cyclists have families and commitments. Responsibilities. Children. Significant (and permanent) others. You know, the sort of thing that the young eschew... The sort of things that make posing difficult, and practicality of the utmost importance...

🙂

Goosebeak said:

Ah! I see. You're single, without a family....

Unfortunately, in the real world, most cyclists have families and commitments. Responsibilities. Children. Significant (and permanent) others. You know, the sort of thing that the young eschew... The sort of things that make posing difficult, and practicality of the utmost importance...

🙂

How about the back of a big a$$ pickup? Works for me (I have a 'bent).

'bent Brian

tanggoman said:

you forgot to include for those ppl who own trucks... a truck bed bike rack mount

you also forgot about people who carrie multi bicycles
for my whole family thats moving 5
trailer 🙂

I guess it all depends on your personal situation. For me I think a roofrack will be the best option. I'm currently using a Saris 3 bike Trunk Rack on my 99 Honda Accord sedan. The rubber arm supports have started to smuge my paint a little bit. While I don't fawn over every bit of my car like I did when I first got it, I do like to take good care of it. It's also been a pain to get into the trunk once the rack has been put on. On the matter of bike saftey, No rack is completely safe. A friend of mine was rear-ended this past week bringing his new and old bike home from the bike shop just after a fitting. 🙁

I think sometime this winter I'm going to Opt for a roof rack.

Yakima hitch mount- too damn short to put the bikes on the roof. My hitch went on in about 20 minutes (so don't have a muffler shop do it- find a local weekend Grease Monkey) and myself, or my wife (the important part of the equation) can easily transport the bikes...course the hitch looks pretty silly on our little Ford Focus hatchback😄

Inside the car, always. Wheels into the wheel bags, blanket under the bike, blanket over the bike. I've put too much work into my bikes to be attaching them to the outside of a vehicle.

SWEETRIDE4ME said:

Which do you feel is better, a roof rack or a trunk mount bike carrier?

I think roof racks support bikes better.

If you have the bucks for a trailer hitch thats the way to go. If you don't have the bucks, I don't, get a trunk mounted rack. I have a Saris Bones that can hold three bicycles and its been used a lot on my Subaru Outback without maring, scratching or leaving any marks. But the most stable has to be those racks that plug into a hitch.