Roof rack or hitch rack?

[Bill Valley]

I need help deciding which to get. I am very familiar with a roof rack setup, but since getting my X5 I am wondering if a hitch rack will be better. I will need to carry my Trek MTB, wife's MTB, and my little boy's bike.

Roof rack pros: versatile, good looking, secure. Cons: aerodynamics, hard to load, bugs.

Hitch rack pros: easy to load, carry more bikes, carry kids' bikes, aerodynamics. Cons: I have no hitch.

Would appreciate any opinion either way.

[vinuneuro]

If all you're going to do with it is just haul bicycles, just get a cheap hitch and carrier.

[NINCHS]

depends if you will ever use the hitch for anything else (towing) if its a possibilty then go that route, but if not save the money and go with the roof rack.

[xnsf]

i have BMW's profile 2000 for my bike, and it's not fun getting a bike up there. i ended up seriously scratching the bike arm with the pedal of the bike. however, i do like the look of the profile 2000. it's easier to spot my car. besides, it only costs $200 and it's easily installed. $110 for the bike attachment

[JCL]

It is very much a personal preference issue.

I like the roof rack because I am 6'4" and can lift the bikes straight up there. We don't have a lot of bugs to worry about here, but a protective fly is available for the front of the bike if bugs are a problem. We do have grit on the roads when it is wet and I find that the back of the X5 gets dirty from the low pressure zone. I don't want that grit on my good road bikes. A mountain bike would be less of an issue, they get dirty anyway. The roof rack is easy to hang on the wall of the garage. I like having better rearward visibility, and visible brake/turn/taillights, and I have driven lots of overheight vehicles so I don't see a chance of forgetting they are there and driving under a low bridge/garage/etc. I can see the bikes through the sunroof and see if they are moving around.

If any of the above don't apply to you, consider a hitch rack.

I already have a hitch, but simply didn't want to buy a hitch rack. That's just me. Many swear by them. I have used them on other vehicles. If you do get a hitch rack, I recommend you get one with troughs for the wheels to sit in, not one of the ones that clamps the frame and lets the bike hang in space. I found those allowed too much movement, and damage to the bikes. If they are cheap or old bikes, that really doesn't matter at all. For the kid's bike, I would just throw it in the back if it is small, or put it on the rack if it is closer to adult size.

Whichever you get, consider how you will lock the bikes on the vehicle, and lock the rack to the vehicle, when they are unattended. All racks are lockable to some extent, some easier than others. I like Thule, but again, that is just a personal preference. There is an aerodynamic aid to reduce wind noise, but I have never found it necessary. I hear some wind noise, but consider it acceptable.

Good luck

Jeff

[Bill Valley]

Thanks for the feedback. I have a Trek 7000 I bought in 99. I take very good care of it, so some of the concerns you expressed are relevant. I am also a fan of Thule. Do you find that the roof rack/bikes has a big impact on mpg?

[minneso]

I have a 2 bike crossbar rack with Yakima space case (or just 4 bikes). Perfect solution for going camping. The nice thing is everything locks and is very secure at freeway speeds 70-90MPH. The bad thing is major cross winds and plenty of noise if the sunroof is open on the freeway.

The trailer hitch is very quit but the bikes are not very secure at freeway speeds. I have to use toe straps to keep the front wheels straight and padding to keep the bikes from banging into each other.

RE the height issue, just place the bike in the tray, hop up on the back wheel or door jam and secure the fork. Very easy.

RE the grime issue, the rear rack gets very dirty and so does the trailer hitch. Remember this when putting the rack on as you will get dirty.

MOST IMPORTANT with roof rack - create a routine to remind you there are bikes up there. Driving into a garage or parking structure will ruin your day, most likely ruin the bikes and may damage the X5.

Good luck Eric in AZ
IF single speed MTB
Merlin road
Surly LHT touring
Kona MTB

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Bill Valley

Thanks for the feedback. I have a Trek 7000 I bought in 99. I take very good care of it, so some of the concerns you expressed are relevant. I am also a fan of Thule. Do you find that the roof rack/bikes has a big impact on mpg?

I have a Trek 8000 mountain bike in excellent condition. Mine is from about 1998, IIRC. My road bike is a Trek 5200 OCLV. That is the one I really want to keep clean. I have a new bike that I am picking up this weekend, and it is a fair step up from the Trek so it is only ever going on the roof. I am picking up a new rack for it on Saturday, to put on my Thule crossbars.

I have never measured the mileage with the bikes on the roof. I am sure there is an impact, but I tend to slow down somewhat when I am carrying the bikes, so that probably has as much of a positive impact on fuel consumption as the bikes have a negative impact. I am just guessing here. If I was going on a long trip I would want them up there even more, the loading hassle would be not as important. That is just me. The bike racks I used on a hitch allowed too much motion, similar to the comments above from Eric. A good hitch rack like a Thule 916 shouldn't have that problem. Thule just bought that line from another company as I understand it.

I also like Eric's comments about a routine. Nothing like driving under a low clearance obstruction to ruin a day.

Jeff

[Bill Valley]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Looks like the roof rack is the way to go. One of the local bike dealers has a big sale this weekend so my timing is perfect.

I do like to take my bikes camping and usually drive an hour or so for that. My roof rack on my Saab was always very stable, even on long trips.

[rack_boy]

If you are leaning towards the bmw x5 roof rack option for carrying bikes make sure you check out the new Thule 450R Rapid Crossroad car rack system. It is made to install right on the X5 side rails. I think this roof rack looks beautiful on the X5 because of its sleek and low profile design. FYI Thule Racks introduced this rack to the american market after offering it for several years in europe. It was so popular on new model european cars over there that they launched it in the U.S. One thing to keep in mind though is that you'll probably have to use a set of Xadapt adapters to mount a Thule roof mount bike rack to the Thule elliptical load bars that the Thule 450R uses (does not use the normal square Thule crossbars). The Xadapts slide into the slots on the load bars and then you connect the bike rack to the Xadapt.