Best Rooftop Bike Rack

[ADKmike]

As a result of blowing the motor in my truck and having to use my Subi Forester to transport the bike - new bike I'm getting won't be as easy to get in the Forester.

Currently with my hardtail I break it down, front wheel off and seat/post removed I can get it in the back with seats folded down. New FS bike coming this week, has a dropper post on it, so won't be pulling the seat to fit it in the car.

Thus, I'm looking for some feedback on rooftop racks. Been looking at the Thule sidearm...prefer to go with something that won't contact the frame, because I can just imagine what that would look like after rubbing for hours on a long drive.

I've also seen the RockyMounts brass knuckles, similar design to the Thule.

Any first hand reports on these (or suggestions on others?)

Would you trust this type of rack with your bike at 80mph for several hours?

[teledad]

The Thule rack is fine, but why not a hitch rack? Love my 1up.

[jackstraw]

Yeah, I have a side arm and it's been fine. I'm at the edge of reaching to get my bike up there though. Looks like my roof height is 65.3 then add factory side bars plus thule bars. I'm 6', so on toes to get bike up there. I would go with a hitch if it makes sense, plus you can throw a fatty on there also. Those are $$ comparatively if you already have roof bars.

[ADKmike]

If I had a hitch, I'd go hitch rack. Then again finding a used hitch and installing is no big deal...but I usually buy high mileage subarus, drive them a few years, and get another, repeat - so constantly moving hitches over or buying new ones to fit wouldn't make much sense.

[Danno]

another vote for installing a hitch and hitch rack.

That said, I have a hard time believing that a bike with the front wheel pulled (and saddle all the way down, but not removed) won't easily fit in a Forester with seats down.

[adrenalated]

I have two Sidearms on my car and haven't used any other roof rack I like better. Stability is totally fine at speed and I've even done some 4-wheeling with one on my truck with no issues.

Agree with the others that a Forester is tall enough getting the bike up there kinda sucks. Hitch would be my preference for that vehicle.

[ADKmike]

So whats the best hitch rack out there that's reasonably priced?

[plugboots]

There's a long thread on hitch racks. I didn't follow the advice, because I really didn't need a tray style, and bought a Yakima Fulltilt off Craig's list. BTW, CL, is perfect for buying racks.

[jqualls]

I can fit every large full squish bike I have owned in recent years in a Prius and a VW Golf by removing the front wheel and compressing the seat. Shouldnt be a problem in a Forester. With that said the hitch rack is the way to go. I have loved both the Kuat NV and Oneup.

[goalieman24]

I have the BrassKnuckles. Works great. The furthest I've traveled was a 3 hour trip at about 70-75mph without issue.

Give it a try inside the car before buying a rack. I've fit a 21" hardtail w/ dropper inside of a sedan trunk with seats down. I find it hard to believe you wouldn't be able to do it in a much more spacious hatch.

[caulfield]

Round crossbars? I use these and Kuat dirtbag mounts to hold the fork, then reusable twist ties to secure the rear wheel. The crossbars need to be spaced pretty far apart (compared to a ski rack), but your car should be long enough. You can rotate/flip the dirtbag mounts to compensate for different wheelbases within a ~6in range. There are probably comparable clamps for other bar shapes. You need about $3 worth of home depot hardware as well.

As long as you trust yourself with the fastener install, shouldn't have any issues on trips. I've gone Seattle->Spokane fine. I do check them every few trips for peace of mind.

[gravitylover]

If I had a hitch, I'd go hitch rack. Then again finding a used hitch and installing is no big deal...but I usually buy high mileage subarus, drive them a few years, and get another, repeat - so constantly moving hitches over or buying new ones to fit wouldn't make much sense.

~$175 for the hitch new but I bet if you head to the local salvage yard you could pull one off a Forester pretty inexpensively.

So whats the best hitch rack out there that's reasonably priced?

$320 http://www.swagman.net/product/sitkka-2/ I have over 10k miles of hard use on it and it's been bombproof. Includes locking hooks and locking hitch pin. If you're still sold on roof this is the ticket at $195 http://www.swagman.net/product/race-ready/ Both of these will hold every bike you own and some that you don't, from kids 20" wheel up to 5.5" fatties and everything in between.

[geomorph]

I have an Inno rack on my Forester. I like it because it holds both wheels. It is slightly less convenient than a hitch rack but much less expensive. Cross bars swap vehicles easy and work for skis too. It really is not that hard to use the inside of the rear door as a step to put on and take off the bike.

[BlueBison]

Mike,

Where are you located? I have an older yakima frontloader I would be willing to part with for an extremely fair price...

[Dee Hubbs]

Brassnuckle here and love it. I also have a hitch rack on my Subaru, but if I'm only transporting one bike I throw it up on the roof on the BrassNuckle. I use it for both my full suspension bike with a 6" fork or my delicate sub 16lb carbon road bike. Thousands of miles with absolute no issue, both rough forest service roads or 80mph oh the highway.

[sethschmautz]

So whats the best hitch rack out there that's reasonably priced?

Just another vote for the hitch. I recently bought a Yakima holdup. Like the rack a lot and was significantly less expensive than other options. I use the integrated locks each time I carry a bike. It folds up really small also. I have a thread about this on here somewhere.

If you are really only swapping cars every few years you're probably talk about an hour or two of work every few years. That's a small price to pay for convenience.

Seth

[ADKmike]

Yeh I know I can fit the bike in the car - it's just that I lose all my seats. I actually can get two 29'er hardtails in the car, flipped upside down resting on the bars with the seats and front wheels removed.

Problem is, it turns the car into a two-seater - not so great for when I need to move 4 ppl and two+ bikes at once.

I never had a hitch on any of the Subi's I've had (and I've had a lot!) but I'll need to look into how universal they really are. If I can invest $120 or so for an aftermarket hitch that I can keep carrying over car to car, then it would be worth it to buy a more expensive hitch rack.

And yes, I'm an avid craigslister (if you're in NJ and need used 02-07 Subi parts hit me up!!! I part them out)

[s_curran]

I've had really good luck with my Brass Knuckles. I've broken so much thule stuff over the years, everything was replaced with rocky mounts pieces and its MUCH more durable in my experiences.

I'm currently thinking about picking up the new Rocky Mounts hitch rack.

[gravitylover]

Yeh I know I can fit the bike in the car - it's just that I lose all my seats. I actually can get two 29'er hardtails in the car, flipped upside down resting on the bars with the seats and front wheels removed.

Problem is, it turns the car into a two-seater - not so great for when I need to move 4 ppl and two+ bikes at once.

I never had a hitch on any of the Subi's I've had (and I've had a lot!) but I'll need to look into how universal they really are. If I can invest $120 or so for an aftermarket hitch that I can keep carrying over car to car, then it would be worth it to buy a more expensive hitch rack.

And yes, I'm an avid craigslister (if you're in NJ and need used 02-07 Subi parts hit me up!!! I part them out)

Not really universal. Each time the platform changes the hitch will change so a hitch for a '14+ most likely won't fit a '10, etc. The rack will continue to transfer from one to the next but the hitch most likely won't but as mentioned a few hours work and ~$125-150 every few years shouldn't be a deal breaker.

[JPaul]

No experience w/the Thule, but I do have the Brass Knuckles and a 1Up tray side-by-side on my Element, and would recommend either for what you're trying to do. Mine routinely do the 3+ hr HWY trip from the SF Bay Area to Tahoe w/everything from road to fat bikes and we haven't had a problem with either rack, our bikes making it safely every time.

In your case, I would give the edge to the Brass Knuckles over the 1Up for a full-suspension bike on a taller roof. It is much easier to load a big bike over your head with the Brass Knuckles. You just need to get the wheels up into the tray and pivot it upwards vs. the 1Up that you need to get the bike vertical and get both wheels to clear the sidebars before landing straight down on the tray. Your back will vote Brass Knuckles or similar.

If you do go the route of hitch rack , I have had good luck with these guys*:
https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2017_Subaru_Forester.htm

I've had one of theirs on my Element for years, and just put one on my wife's Highlander a couple of weeks ago. Their product-specific videos are great to show you what you'd be getting into, and helping decide in the event there are multiple racks for your car. Their stated times to install are pretty conservative (and generally < 1hr), but I'm working with CA frames. Not sure I'd want to take on an install for a car that's been in NJ for a while. The other way I would look at that is I wouldn't want to try to move between 2 NJ Subarus when you get a new car -> just get another $100 hitch & spend the 1/2 hr installing it.

Note that some model year Forresters only have 1-1/4" hitches available, so that may constrain your rack choices. Plenty of threads about selecting a rear rack, so I won't weigh in on this for now!

Good luck, and sorry to hear about your truck!
Paul


*Don't know what their actual business model is, but they offer free shipping. These things are heavy, so it really seems like you're paying for shipping, and getting a free hitch in the deal!

***Rim Material Caveat -> I am lucky that I cannot afford carbon rims, so all of my experience is with aluminum rims. If your new ride has carbon rims, the 1Up is the only roof rack I know of that doesn't touch the frame or the rims. I have no information that says that rachet straps would hurt carbon rims at high speeds for many hours. Also, no way to test my theory, either!