Looking for OEM Roof Rack Bike Carrier Recommendations

[Silentnoise713]

I'm new to roof racks and accessories. I have some questions I hope someone can guide me with.

-How many bikes can I fit up top on an OEM rack?
-Do you have a good bike carrier recommendation? Are they pretty much universal fit?
-How secure are they ontop? Do I need to exercise caution taking esses (tossing weight up top) or can I drive normal (granted this is subjective)?

Thanks.

 

[Silentnoise713]

No one has roof top bike carriers? I've been looking online and these things are not cheap (still unsure about questions above)! Two decent carries cost about the same as getting a hitch AND a hitch mount rack (uhm)

 

[SuperJETT]

I have an Inno rack with wider bars than OEM, so while I can get 3-4 up top easily, I'm not sure about OEM.

I have a single arm Thule which is awesome and 2 older Yakima Anklebiters which work but are cumbersome. I paid $65 total for all 3 of those used, $40 for the Thule and $25 for the pair of Yakimas.

I definitely prefer the single side-arm style. They are very quick and easy to secure a bike with, but not very theft-resistant if you have quick releases on your wheels---pop the quick release, remove bike without front wheel, let air out of front tire and it comes out and you have the whole bike out of the carrier. In that regard, the Anklebiters are better.

With all of that being said, on my Accord I use a hitch rack---fastest and easiest to use by far.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Security is a concern for me so a somewhat decent lock is a must. Any opinions on the Swagman carrier below? It was recommended in one of the eTrailer posts and seems pretty nice, yet affordable. Looks MUCH better than the cheap ones on Amazon! I would only use it a few times a year so don’t justify paying more for a quality carrier. Nevertheless, a hitch is <$100 and can serve double duty but I don’t have plans to ever haul anything… I only hope the OEM rack can fit 3 bikes. Also, are you ‘required’ to face the bikes forward or can I stagger them (alternating front and back facing)? And, have you tried leaving your bike up top with a rear child seat mounted on the bike (wind resistance)? Take this on/off would suck and builds the case for a hitch, I think. Thoughts?

Swagman S64720 @ $50 (free S/H over $150)
http://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Bike-Racks/Swagman/S64720.html
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

Cheapest one on Amazon @ $30 + $15 S/H
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

Looking at the overall construction of these things, it seems you can easily build one yourself if you can find some of these parts off the shelf.

 

[SuperJETT]

There is a lot of force on bikes at highway speed, I wouldn't try it with a childseat on one. I've had a bike shift backwards before and only caught right before rolling under a bridge that it would have hit had the guard not mentioned something.

You can stagger them forward/rearward just fine.

That Swagman looks flimsy to me, I'm sure it's fine but it just looks that way compared to my carriers.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Since the hitch is prob not going to happen anytime soon, I started looking into roof carriers for now. I took superJETT's advice and skipped the cheap ones and went reading/searching for some quality USED ones. Boy am I glad I did! I have two great condition Thule Big Mouth carrier for CHEAP!

Tip for anyone else looking for roof racks. Turns out the Honda OEM carrier are unbranded Thule carrier (pretty obvious based on profile) but they have a non-universal mount. You can easily buy the adapter kit for a few buck! I think the same is probably true for other OEM carrier as well so shop for these bc the limited audience vs universal fit ones make them much cheaper. If anyone's interested, I can explain in more detail. Woot!

I am still going to keep an eye out fo CX5 hitches.

 

[batmick]

A good alternative that I recently went for is the Saris Bones RS. It is a rear mounted rack with room for up to three bikes.

The rear is a much more aerodynamic place for the bikes and also much easier to load and unload than the roof. But like you I was hesitant to shell out for a hitch and a hitch rack. The Bones RS is incredibly easy to adjust and install and fits many vehicles, including the M5. Other than many trunk racks it does not have all those straps that go everywhere and then slap around in the wind. It has one set of sturdy straps to the top of the hatch that adjust with a ratcheting system. I can literally put this rack on and off in less than a minute.
The holding system for the bikes is very strong (three points) and even at freeway speeds my bike sits on there solid like a rock. The only thing you need is a strap or bungee cord to immobilize the front wheel and fork.
We are very happy with this rack and how it performs on the Mazda 5.

 

[Silentnoise713]

I have a cheapie trunk mount bike rack (Walmart?) that fits 2 bikes and have used it successfully on various cars. However, I want to move up to a more stable mount. I also don’t like the thought of all that weight hooked onto the trunk, especially not with 3-4 bikes. I find the Mazda5’s sheet meat very thin and would not want to use this kind of rack. Definitely agree with you that the rear is most preferred but I will not buy a class I hitch + bike rack just to ‘occasionally’ carry bikes.

I went with roof carriers b/c 1) I already have the OEM rook rack and 2) I got a pair of very good condition Thule Big Mouth carriers for $60 and 3) I think it’s kinda cool to have bikes up top (until I have an accident and drop a bike on the roof).

 

[batmick]

We have a roof rack too but I leave it attached to the cargo box and we only use it occasionally. My bike, on the other hand, needs to hitch a ride quite often.

But I must now eat some crow regarding the Saris Bones RS. I still believe it is a great rack but last night we discovered that it is NOT good for the Mazda 5.

Was installing the rack as usual and as I tightened the straps I discovered movement at the top of the hatch. I had always thought the entire back door was sheet metal but it turns out that the top part is plastic. And the load from the straps had actually started some small cracks, near where the hinges are.

Needless to say that the rack is now off and we will not be using it anymore. We have been so lucky that the entire thing did not fail on the freeway and destroy rear hatch plus bike.

Oh well, guess I'll have to get a hitch now after all. Will read the threads and post progress as I make it. Fingers crossed I can find a good deal on a platform type bike rack on CL or The Bay. I am not worried about selling the Bones RS quickly because it is a great rack. Just don't use it on the Mazda 5!!!

 

[deisz001]

You don't suffer from these cracks?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123745338-Cracks-in-tailgate&highlight=cracks

 

[batmick]

You don't suffer from these cracks?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123745338-Cracks-in-tailgate&highlight=cracks

Hmmmm. That looks very similar to ours. Maybe they were beginning crack and the added stress from the rack made it worse. On our car they extend all the way to the edge. Unfortunately our car (2006) is definitely out of warranty so they will not fix it for us. Oh well, maybe I can find an intact one at a junk yard and replace the panel myself.

Thanks for letting me know!

 

[SandmanXP]

I thought the Mz5 manual said somewhere that the hatch wasn't supposed to support a bike rack, but I can't find it anywhere. That said, if you check the trunk/hatch racks on the Yakima site against the Mz5, it will say that the rack doesn't fit the Mz5. Well obviously, it can be made to fit, but the plastic hatch isn't strong enough for them to warranty it.

I've used a hatch rack many times before getting a trailer hitch. I was careful not to overdo it; never more than two bikes, and tried to distribute the weight to the rear bumper so it wasn't all on the top of the hatch. I did consider trying to come up with some kind of metal reinforcement at the top of the hatch, but just decided to got with the hitch rack instead.

 

[Silentnoise713]

I'm new to roof racks and accessories. I have some questions I hope someone can guide me with.

-How many bikes can I fit up top on an OEM rack?
-Do you have a good bike carrier recommendation? Are they pretty much universal fit?
-How secure are they ontop? Do I need to exercise caution taking esses (tossing weight up top) or can I drive normal (granted this is subjective)?

Thanks.

I've learned a little about roof rack bike carriers so let's see if I can answer some of my own question for future reference.

1) a) If you use the carriers that lock onto the bike frame, you can easily carry 3 bikes with space to spare but not enough for 4 –doh!!
b) If you use the carriers that removes the front wheel, you ‘should' (stress the SHOULD) be able to carry 4 bikes, staggered (alternate front and back). Don’t’ blame me if it doesn’t work out for you b/c I did not try, only gauging based on visual
c) The side mouth carriers seem to be a tad lower in width so you ‘might’ be able to use 4 as well.

2) No car manufacture makes bike carriers. The carrier may have whatever manufacturers label on it but chances are it is a rebranded Thule rack. I find a LOT of manufactures use the Thule Big Mouth carrier in their catalog. The all aluminum one in the pic is a Honda CRV OEM carrier (does not say Thule anywhere), the black one is the Thule universal fit Big Mouth carrier –see a difference?. EVERYTHING is interchangeable.

3) These type of carriers hold down bikes pretty good but I wouldn’t toss the car around carelessly. Drive like a normal sane person and you are good to go. Don’t need extra precautions.
The Honda rack comes with a XADAPTER1 mount so I had to buy some spare parts to make it fit my square bars (only a few bucks). I like the XADAPTER1 so much, I converted and mod the universal carrier to use one too as it is more secure and convenient. I can easily take a carrier off with the flip of 3 toggles – done. The carrier’s lock secure the carrier-to-rack AND bike-to-carrier. Simple locks but good enough to stop grab and go thief but I wouldn’t trust it for overnight security.

By silentnoise713 at 2012-06-25