I used the search functions but I couldn't find anything about this. Nothing comes up with google also.

I used to have a fit 2007 with a thule roof bars and 2x thule sidearms mounted on it. The racking weights about 30 pounds total. With 2x 45 pounds DH bikes it weights about 120 pounds. Never had a problem.

I got involved in an accident this summer that totaled that fit, sadly. I got a brand new fit 2010 now. I just got the racks back on it today and now I'm reading that I can only put 90-110 pounds (depending on the source) on the roof including the mounting system. Apparently a 2007-2008 could hold up to 130 pounds.

If 110 pounds max is the appropriate value then I don't think overloading by 10% would cause any damage, since they usually suggest lesser values than what it can truly hold... If the real value is 90 pounds max, that's a 30% overload which seems a lot.

Anyone know the real numbers? Anyone can tell me if it's safe or not? I don't really want to change my setup but then again I don't want to see my roof tear off on the highway or cave in after a while haha. If I recall correctly carrying something with a hitch voids the warranty anyway so I really don't have many options left.

Thanks!

 

FWIW, the Thule web site mentions 110 pounds for the max limit of some of their solutions for the 2010 Fit.

A dealer/manufacturer can't void your warranty for carrying something on a hitch on the Fit (at least in the US). While the manual says the Fit is not recommended to tow, that doesn't mean you couldn't use a hitch-mount bike rack. In the US, the manufacturer/dealer basically has to prove that a modification caused the failure to rightfully deny warranty service. I can't think of any non-wear item that carrying a bike rack is likely to damage.

But you're missing the bigger picture. If the Fit roof can't accomodate the weight of your bike(s), the obvious solution is a nice Moots (or similar) Ti cross country bike weighing in at a svelte 22-25 pounds. Wala... problem solved.

 

haha yeah that.

or, consider taking a wheel off and tossing it in the back. my bike and my girls bike both fit in the back of my ride

 

I hate taking the wheels off because for some reason, the rotors never seem to fit right anymore between the calipers and it's a pain to get it to fit. I still couldn't justify to myself buying a rack just for being lazy about a minor adjustment though. So I tried taking the wheel off but I faced another problem...

The bike is 6 feet long. Yeah... and my cousin's bike is even longer. If I take a wheel off, the bike is still 57 inches long and I have like 52 inches of clearance or something close to that. I can fit it diagonally but it becomes a lot harder to fit 2 especially with the wide, straight handlebars. Already tried in the 2007 fit and it didn't work out too well. I had to take both wheels off or only one and take off the handlebars and it just wasn't worth all the effort to me. I can fit 2 roadbikes in the back easily though without taking anything off and together, they don't even weight as much as one DH bike haha.

As for the hitch, I don't want to sound lazy but I'd have to go through the hassle of selling the bars and the bike racks to buy it when I already had a perfect system a month ago.. Also, the guy at the car rack shop said he really was against installing a rack such as a saris cycle-on or a thule T2 on a hitch for the fit saying the car wasn't made for that at all.

I guess I'll just have to go to the dealer and talk to them about the roof rack capacity and the hitch possibility and see what's best I guess.

 

Come back with the info. I'm curious to hear what they tell you on the hitch. Other domestic markets [UK GR] set up the Fit w/ a hitch [from the dealer] and rate it for towing. Why not the US would be my question.

 

correct me if I'm wrong but roof racks rely it's weight on the frame and not the roof itself... roof structures/frames are as rigid as safety goes.




http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtest...ut-towing.html

 

I'm going roof mount as well. I have both a Thule & Yakima setup from previous cars and just need to get the fit kit for one or the other. FYI, Yakima says 125lbs for the Fit.

I also use an upright mount for bikes as my front wheel doesn't easily come off (Cannondale Jekyll with a Lefty).

My more recent setup is the Yakima setup from my GS-R but I hate the way the bars Howl while driving. I have the Thule Bigmouth bike carriers (attached to the Yakima) and it worked well.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight. Yakima is saying 125 so that's close to your max. I'd double-check the way the Thule mounts as that may be where the issue lies.

~SB

 

It doesn't touch the roof itself but I wondered if it could bend the parts the rack touches, breaking the seals between those parts and the roof itself or whatever other bad scenario.

The bikeracks (thule sidearms) user manual states that it can hold up to 50 pounds bikes if you're using thule bar kits but it's lower for OEM bars. I looked at the installation paper for the fit kit (thule 400) and it says 90 pounds for a 2009-2010 fit. It was 130 I believe for the first gen. So I guess the fit kit is the weak spot, it probably has a smaller contact surface or something like that. So I don't think you risk damaging the car but losing the racks if anything happens. After it was installed, I could rock the car left and right and the rack wouldn't move at all so I don't think it would be problematic but who knows...

edit: I found the PDF: http://www.rackattack.com/product-pa...structions.pdf
It doesn't state if it's due to a honda recommendation or if it's due to worse fit kit design. I vote for the latter.

Funny thing is that when my first fit got totaled, I actually had the rack on the roof, with 2x 40-45 pounds bikes loaded on. One of the rack foot slid a bit but the bikes stayed there. The front wheel moved a little but only because the fork (8'' travel boxxer race) compressed when we crashed, so the wheel got loose for a split second. There was zero damage on the bikes or the racking system.

 

txmatt


I never knew moots existed, but now I love them, thanks for the 411!

 

Alright, I wanted to go to the dealer but they already gave me erroneous answers in the past so I figured I should ask honda canada directly instead (since i'm in canada but i'm pretty sure it's the same for the U.S.). So I asked:

They answered me back:

LTDR Version: if it doesn't come stock with the vehicule, resulting damages aren't covered by the warranty.

So yeah, it's probably possible but it's at your own risks. I doubt honda will ever be clearer than that for legal reasons so it's all about if you're ready to take the risk or not.

To be honest, I'm must admit that I'm a bit disappointed by honda. I liked my fit 2007 a lot more than the 2010 so far for multiple reasons. If I remember correctly, it's the most expensive vehicule of it's class, I expected a bit more from the car. The 3 years I've had my 2007, I've always told everybody that even if I had 100k$ to put on a car I'd still buy a fit again. Today, I'm not even sure I'd go with honda the next time.

 

Well I can tell you many Fit roofs are loaded and many Fit's tow with no adverse consequence. I would not have expected Honda to say anything but what they did.

Now, send an email to HondaUK and hear the news.

 

Except they are full of crap b/c there are OEM Fit roof racks sold outside NA as well as tow ratings. In fact I wonder if you could get better information if you looked in a foreign manual...perhaps UK?

Might also be a possibility to call Thule and see if they will say why the new rating is so low.

ETA: http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/_assets/...ries_final.pdf
LOLWUT

Page 7 shows the roof rack. Page 9 shows bumper-mounted tow-bars.

 

Wow, that's pretty fucked up indeed. It has been mentionned before somewhere in this thread. I don't know much about the jazz so I thought ''maybe the jazz is different than the north american version'' but judging by the look it's pretty much the same thing. Maybe the frame is stronger but I highly doubt there's much difference. I'll message thule tomorrow and ask them why the new version is weaker, what would be the possible problems and how far can you stretch the weight limit... hoping I won't get a canned answer.

At least I'm happy to know the euro dash is just as fugly as ours. Yay!

 

I don't think 'no tow' on our class car is managed by the manufacturer. I'm guessing it's the insurance guys. Other world markets have it rated. Other world markets respect the class.

Personal use trailers are big in Germany - many folks have them for the occasional need. I can attest, a 4x6 trailer is mighty handy.

 

My first choice was to get a hitch for a bike rack because it's a lot easier to lift 45 pounds 2 feet high than 7 feet high, especially when you're short. I went for a roof rack when so many sources didn't recommend the hitch on the fit but looks like it turns out the roof rack isn't any safer.

When I chose my new car I checked for a ridgeline since i was stuck with honda. I just couldnt justify spending another 15k$ on a truck that doesn't look like a great truck to me though. And don't get me started on the element...

But yeah, I guess you shouldn't expect much from an entry level car.

I'm just gonna use my roof rack like I used to with my 2007 and if something starts to go wrong (which I doubt) I'll find the easiest way to carry the bikes inside I guess.

 

Plenty of people using roof racks and/or hitch racks. I imagine a good hitch will have better capacity than the roof rack would.

 

I HATE this crap. For one, you didn't even ask about towing, but using a hitch-mount bike rack. And the idea that the Fit cannot accelerate or stop 150 pounds of stuff in the rear is absolutely ludicrous.

In regards towing, as others have mentioned, the Fit/Jazz is rated to tow in other countries, even in models with less powerful engines, so I have a hard time believing anybody who claims the Fit is incapable of towing anything.

I will say that you have to be aware of rear sag with weight on the hitch. The farther that weight is behind the rear bumper, the longer the lever arm on the rear axle. 150 pounds is getting up there. I think the UK/Australia ratings are 70 kg = 154 pounds of max hitch weight. You'd definitely want to pay close attention to the rear sag and remember that anything you put in the hatch area or rear seat (including passengers) is going to add to the weight on the rear axle.

 

The last small car I hooked a hitch to was an Eagle Summit [Mirage - Mitsu]. Under 1000# w/ 50# max tongue weight by the book. I see no reason the Fit will not do that.

Issue with the Fit and hitches is that the hitch is fastening to sheet metal for the most part. Curt makes a nice three point hitch I plan on using on the Fit for my 4x6 trailer. More stable than the two point hitches. An important point when hauling bikes. Those set-ups subject the hitch to a long lever arm holding the bikes and increase stress on the hitch/vehicle connections.

There are a few interesting set-ups around here w/ roof racks that take advantage of the roof support channel - under the black roof strip - for fastening and support. The roof sheet metal IS flimsy. I would not rely on it solely for support.

 

I know, that's what pissed me off too but I guess it includes a bike rack on a hitch when they say ''the forces applied through a trailer hitch''.

Yeah, I talked to someone who shopped for a car recently. She tows boats (relatively small sail boats but still) so a hitch friendly car was a must for her. She was considering the fit but the honda dealer told her a trailer would lessen the traction on the front axle too much.

Yeah, I called a few places for a hitch and they all told me they don't recommend it on a fit because the points where you'd install it are way too flimsy to hold the weight.

Do you have any info about those roof rack set ups you're talking about?


I just e-mailed thule about the roof rack issue. I'll post their answer when I get it.

 

Look here: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ck-mounts.html