BMW / Thule Rack Carrier

[JCL]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

Watched the video, wow that is a cool rack.

I guess if preserving the bikes isn't important, and the main thing is access to the rear hatch, but the guy in the video put a Madone on that rack. Sacrilege. The front fork was swinging around freely, the wheels can spin freely in the wind, and there was just a rubber band to stop the bike from swinging fore and aft. Their idea of a lock was a cable around the frame. A hitch rack is a good idea for those who can't easily reach the roof rack, and for mountain or cross-country bikes that are already dirty from riding offroad, but the racks that hold the bikes in wheel trays are much more solid. This is Walmart stuff.

[hhhm3]

Originally Posted by JCL

I guess if preserving the bikes isn't important, and the main thing is access to the rear hatch, but the guy in the video put a Madone on that rack. Sacrilege. The front fork was swinging around freely, the wheels can spin freely in the wind, and there was just a rubber band to stop the bike from swinging fore and aft. Their idea of a lock was a cable around the frame. A hitch rack is a good idea for those who can't easily reach the roof rack, and for mountain or cross-country bikes that are already dirty from riding offroad, but the racks that hold the bikes in wheel trays are much more solid. This is Walmart stuff.

No, the bike will not sway at all, the rack has anti-sway support harness.
We have high-end bikes so I care a lot about our bike.
I have a Felt Virtue3 mountain bike and Wife has Scott mountain bike along with kids bikes and they never touch each other regardless how rough the roads are.
Before We bought the bike carrier racks, I w did a lot of research/reviews and also
asked the retailers what is the best, they all said Yakama doubledown and the Swingdaddy.
They also said not to go with Thule for bike carriers, they have issues with product design and returns. Thule are great for roof ski/luggage carriers but not for carrying bikes. Thule is a cheaper quality product in the opinion of retailers and experience cyclist.
You will never find a Yakama at Wal-mart, only at high-end outdoor sporting stores. However I have seen Thule rack/carrier lines at Canadian Tire stores and did consider buying Thule but that's when I didn't know anything about bike carries/racks and before I asked experts and people that have great deal of experience.
There is nothing worst than buying a product and regreting the decision that you didn't get the best, I'm a guy, I got to have the best tools!.

Also the disadvantage of a hitch or roof tiremount houldup bike carrier is the limitation of only 2 bikes it can carry (Although I seen 3 bikes on a roof before but tight.
With the roof carrier, if you travel through or to locations with hieght limitations like covered bridges, trunnels, parking areas with hieght limits or trails then you will have to unmount.

Oh' I wouldn't buy a bike carrier/rack from BMW either but nothing wrong with the BMW roof support rack.

But As long as the product fits your requirements, budget and protential growth, it's fine.

[X5 Meister]

JCL - Do you think the BMW hitch rack is better?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

JCL - Do you think the BMW hitch rack is better?

I wouldn't buy a rack from BMW, whether for the hitch or the roof rails.

If I had to have a hitch rack for some reason, I would buy the Thule Doubletree or T2, or maybe the Saris. Nothing wrong with Yakima, I just don't know their models, but it would at least be a design like the Doubletree. A design that has the bicycle frame hanging free is suitable for kid's sidewalk bicycles, if you don't mind marking up your paint job. In other words, a last resort.

All of the above would only be an option if for example I had a convertible and no place to mount a roof rack.

[X5 Meister]

Understood. What's wrong with the BMW roof racks in your opinion?

Originally Posted by JCL

I wouldn't buy a rack from BMW, whether for the hitch or the roof rails.

If I had to have a hitch rack for some reason, I would buy the Thule Doubletree or T2, or maybe the Saris. Nothing wrong with Yakima, I just don't know their models, but it would at least be a design like the Doubletree. A design that has the bicycle frame hanging free is suitable for kid's sidewalk bicycles, if you don't mind marking up your paint job. In other words, a last resort.

All of the above would only be an option if for example I had a convertible and no place to mount a roof rack.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

Understood. What's wrong with the BMW roof racks in your opinion?

The rails seem fine, but many aftermarket attachments don't fit them due to the profile. I don't like the BMW bike carriers for the roof rails. So, I would select either Thule or Yakikma attachments first, and then I would select Thule or Yakima rails to support them.

[JCL]

hhhm3:

I have used a few hitch mounted racks where the bikes hung down; all of them had some sway when accelerating or braking. I thought the wheel tray versions would be more stable, but I don't own one. In the video that was linked, the bike fork was swinging free and the wheels were spinning. Do you tie both of those down? With four bikes, that would be eight additional tie-downs.

I have had great luck with Thule for the past 14 years. I like Yakima as well, but I have never seen a quality difference between the two. I think each brand has some better and also some cheaper versions. My current supplier (Rack Attack) told me that they didn't see any quality difference between the two. My tandem bike carrier is an Atoc Tandem Topper, and now Thule is selling that same carrier (they either bought the design, or licensed it). It is the best bike carrier I have used, for single or tandem bikes (fork mount).

I have had four bikes on a roof, but I agree that three is easier (especially when you have fork-mount wheel holders up there as well). Never had a problem with height limits (I know not to back into the garage). The flip side is that you never run into length limitations in the parking stall. More importantly for me, I found that hitch mounted racks held the bikes in a low pressure zone that tended to collect road grit (just like a rear window). That situation was improved with a roof mount. If I rode a mountain bike, particularly one that was dirty after riding offroad, that would not be an issue at all. With high-end road bikes, it matters to me. I also understand that for many people, the height makes it difficult to load. I am 6'4", so that isn't an issue in my case.

Agree that whatever works for you is fine.

[pedah3]

I use the Thule swing away hitch rack similiar to the Yakima in the video. With the arm folded down, the hatch on the car opens clearing the main rack bar. I put two S-works road bikes on my rack and just wrap a small microfiber cloth around the frame where the straps go. Have been doing this for years without any issues.