so got two bikes that i wanna carry out of town and was wandering for all you bike carriers what is my best bet roof.hitch, thule, or yakima any input

 

There's a thread on this already somewhere...

 

yeah searched didnt see anything

 

bump.......

 

Here is my fit with thule traverse 280 i love it!




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Ima big fan of Thule.

 

I have a roof rack but i dunno if i wanna put it on my fit because its pretty heavy. Thinkng about getting a hitch mount. either way I need something bady!

 

I'm planning to get a Yakima rack for my bike soon.

 

I prefer Yakima. Have used their products for over 20 years. I have nothing against Thule but the round Yakima bars have worked better for me over the years with car roofs that have not been flat. I have carried three bikes at a time on the roof of the Fit with no issues. Hitch mounts are fine for bikes but roof racks give you more versatility if you ever haul anything else - like roof boxes, kayaks, skis, etc.

 

I got one last summer and it looks sexy. Ironically i got a deal on a thule bike attachment. My friend must have slammed my passengers door though because it pushed the black vinyl off the lip of the window but graciously didnt kill my mugen visor.

 

thule roof ftw!

 

I might put my thule rack on.. you guys are convincing me lol.

 

I have the same dilemma. I have a fit (2007 sport, standard) and I was wondering if I should either go for a roof rack or a hitch rack...

At first I wanted to get a hitch and a thule t2 or a saris cycle-on. When I called to get prices on a hitch, a few places told me they didn't recommend it because honda says the fit frame could only carry 100 pounds on a hitch, including the rack itself. The racks are about 40 pounds I'm told, with 2x 40 pounds bike it adds up to 120 pounds and it would be risky. Some place wanted to install a hitch and reinforce it for 275$ or so, not sure if it would really work. I wouldn't want to void the car's warranty either.

I started checking for roof racks but it adds up to close to 1100$ new with the bars, foot and the racks (2x thule 954 sidearms). On top of being more expensive than the hitch racks (about 150$+500$ racks), I heard the wind drag on roof racks makes it really inefficient on gas. Also, getting 2x 40 pounds bike on a roof rack doesn't look fun to me.

Summer is coming and I'm at a loss here. Getting input from both types of rack would be nice.

Thank you.

 

A good roof rack with accessories is admittedly not cheap. Online vendors are quite a bit less than stores. On the flip side, view them as an investment, I have used my current Yakima racks for over 15 years and they are still in great shape (I take them off when I am not using them). They will likely outlive my Fit. The fuel economy issue is not minor but will ultimately be less than a tank of gas over a long journey. If lifting the bikes onto the roof is an issue, get a fork mount carrier so you don't have to lift the bike as high.

 

yeah I have never had a problem getting my bike into a fork mount carrier.. even on my moms subaru.


they are a great design and will last forever.

 

Isn't it uncomfortable taking it up to the roof and then taking it down from the roof? I mean the roof rack looks way better but I think the hitch rack is more convenient than the roof rack.

 

`I'm using Thule Rack and Full bike uprights. I've had the rack for six years now and the Bike attachments for two. They work awesome.

 

trying to decide if i want full bike mount or fork mount myself

 

I'd go with a fork mount it's very solid.

Also, if you thinking putting a bike on a roof rack takes a lot of effort idk if you should even be riding a bike lol.

 

I just got this done. It was a weekend project that costs around $50-60 total, less if you know some people with wood lying around!

I bought two Yakima Blockheads and mounted them to a few pieces of wood.

The base is a strip of 2x10, cut to 42.5 inches long. The vertical piece is a little less than two inches high and about two inches thick. The Blockheads are mounted to another thin piece of wood and countersunk the bolts used to attach the Blockheads to each side. The vertical piece is attached with 2.25 screws. Then, I wrapped the mount in black felt to match the interior, using staples to hold the felt.

I used the elevation to clear the back of the headrest on the front seats. The bikes inside are a 51cm Look 55 and a 53 cm Raleigh Prestige. There is about 2 full inches behind the tires when the hatch is closed.

The bikes don't move and as you can see in the last photo, there is plenty of room in the middle for extra gear.