Another Trailer Hitch/Bike Rack Question
 

I just bought a used 2009 ssport with 17k miles. the only thing I don't like is not being able to use my truck rack from my 2001 civic. After reading a lot of great posts here I've decided to got with the draw tite class one hitch. Now I am trying to decide which rack to get. My trunk rack is Thule and I have a Yakima roof rack (that I decided not to use for bikes), so I don't have a brand preference. I will only be carrying 2 bikes. I plan to use it about every other weekend to go 30-50 miles round trip and 2 or 3 time a year to go 300-600 miles round trip. My bike is a road bike that weighs about 25 lbs and my girlfriend's bike is a hybrid that weighs about 30 lbs. I guess I am looking for the most compact design that clears the bumper and is far enough out that my pedal don't hit the hatch. One other factor that I have to consider is that my girlfriends frame is a step thru so my handlebars hit her seat stays so I have to be able to mount the bikes about 11" apart.
Some racks offer an ofset up mounting which sorta seems like a good idea; but since the Fit has such a short overhang behind the rear wheels I don't think this is needed.
Any comments would be appreciated

ok...as an avid cyclist and due to the fact that I have spent a serious amount of time trying to figure this out...i have your solution:

Your bikes are too heavy to worry about throwing on top of the car. I would say to go with a hitch mount rack. The nice thing about the Fit is that there is a ton of "dead air" behind the car, especially at higher speeds. That being said, you shouldn't get as much of a hit to your overall MPGs by going to route of the hitch rack. Plus, with a heavier bike, you won't have to lift it as high.

Uhaul will install a trailer hitch for you at a pretty reasonable rate, but if you want to do it yourself, I would suggest going to etrailer.com and ordering it from there. Here's the hitch you would be looking for:

Trailer Hitch by Hidden Hitch for - 60218

It's considered a hidden hitch, so when you take the bike rack off, you won't have a huge trailer hitch sticking out. That'll keep your Fit looking clean.

There are quite a few different hitch mount racks, so the choice is up to you. Here's what I would suggest:

http://www.saris.com/index.php?page=...hk=1&Itemid=57

This Saris rack is super clean, light and an amazing rack. This would be my first choice.

Thule*-*916XTR T2

This Thule rack would be my second choice. It's a little more expensive, but totally worth it if you can spend the loot. It has a bunch of features including folding down to get in the rear hatch, locking, etc.

I know that this is probably more money than you want to spend, but it'll be totally worth it. I promise!

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the response. I appreciate the advice

Personally, I'd recommend using the Roof Rack. i'm not quite sure why the previous poster said that tossing up a 30lb bike on the roof is a big deal. The lightest full suspension mountain bikes out there are 25lbs (Mine's 26lbs) and I have no problems tossing my bike up on the roof. My wife's bike is closer to 35lbs and that's pretty easy to get up there as well. Use the Yakima since you already have it instead of throwing on a trailer hitch AND adding a trailer bike rack. you also don't have to worry about having to offset your GF's bike either.

~SB

I use my rack a lot at least 3 times a week. I don't really understand roof bike racks. I know it gets the bikes out of the dust, BUT is this not offset by the decrease in MPG with the bike on or off, the pain in lifting it on the roof (I'm 6'5" and can bench press 300 pounds and I don't like doing it) and the chance you will forget and drive into a garage with bike on the roof.

Here is the rack I use, and really like on the car https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...bike-rack.html

Info on the rack XC 2 | Swagman
Swagman are a good company to deal with, the second hook was too short for my huge bikes and they sent me a longer hook no charge.

second on the Swagman-- if you have older bikes, they weigh more than 25 lbs-As a female, there is no way I wanted to lift a bike and put it on the roof. I drove across country 4500 miles with my 1995 Trek on the hitch mount--didn't affect mpg much (got high 30's on my new Fit that wasn't even broken in). The bike stayed rock solid on the rack, too.
Nice thing about a roof rack though is you can put a kayak on it if you need to or a roof top carrier.

I'm running a Thule T2 (actually the older sportworks one, same rack though). My wife just took a road trip and averaged 36.6 mpg with it (measured from the pump), and she's not too much of an eco driver. I've usually been getting 1-2 mpg higher, but I'm much easier on the gas pedal and I almost never run AC. The T2 is super easy to put bikes on, though it's kind of bulky and heavy to put in the hitch. It's not cheap either, but for the regular cyclist it's worth it. Also, it doesn't touch the frame at all, just the wheels, and I've never worried about how secure it is.

I'm the opposite on the roof rack thing. I had a trunk rack for my prelude & my one integra. I couldn't imagine using a hitch mount as I already scrape a tiny bit with three of us in the car if I don't come out of my driveway at the right angle (I don't have a sloped driveway - just a small water gully at the end of the driveway)
I'm 5' 9.5" and have no issues whatsoever with throwing my bikes on the roof. I hav a Canondale Jekyll which is about 26 lbs and a Giant Mountain for my wife which is about 35 lbs. Takes me about 10-20 seconds to toss a bike on the roof and lock it in. My MPG drops about 1mpg. 2-3 if I have the fairing installed. We have a Hitch mount for the Ridgeline but that's because I got the rack for $20 and I would have issues with putting the bikes on the roof of the Ridgeline.

I won't do a trunk mount rack again if I have the choice of a roof rack as well.

I've never had an issue with Drive-thrus or our garage. I'd be more concerned about backing into other objects. Plus with a roof rack, you can use it for other things. skis/snowboards, canoes, cargo boxes, lumber, etc...

~SB

I have the T2 and love it, but it's pretty heavy. That is my only complaint.

With the hitch, is it high enough to protect the rear bumper if you have a ball on it? I park on the street and want to protect it from people bumping it.

i dont know what your driveway looks like, but ive never scraped my hitch and im probably a helluva lot lower than you

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3916110_n.jpg

yes it is!