BMW / Thule Rack Carrier

[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.

[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.

[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.

[hhhm3]

Originally Posted by 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 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.

I think the anti-sway harness only came out a couple/few year ago so if you have a hanging bike rack that is older, yes it will sway, it was a common complaint. The anti-sway harness is pretty solid. The wheels will spin if wind catches it but not an issue.
Most people use a cross bar attachment ($30) that connect to the seat stem to the handle bar stem, this is used to mount on the bike rack so it don't interfere with the bike brake/gear cabling or women bike if your bike is configure that way. That cross bar would also prevent any fork movement but if you mount the bike on the bike frame with out crossbar there can be fork movement, so yes an extra band around the wheel and frame would stop that movement.

Four bikes on the roof! I guess if you are 6'4" it would be easier but still quite a task.
But after riding in dirt/mud and not able to hose it off, I wouldn't want to mount the bike on the roof of my new X5.

Oh' the reason I like the hitch hanging bike racks is because the convenience of mount and unmount the bikes, folding the rack arms down and go on you normal business during the week with minimum obstruction until the the weekend to be used again.

If park in the garage, the roof rack bike carrier would not fit, at lease not in my standard size garage with X5 or SUV.

I do like the hitch tiremount carriers style too, it seem more secure but its limited to 2 bikes, a little more obstructive when folded up during the weekday business.
Check out this thread pictures.
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-35d-pics.html

enjoy.

[chile1]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

I just realized, why do you say that the one on the left is the E53 and the one on the right is an E70? They are both E53's.

I said that because that's how it was shown on the Dealerfit website. I'm glad to know that the newer version (part# 82-71-0-415-053) is similar in appearance to what's offered for the E70.

My apologies for my belated reply......