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.