Bike Roof Racks Review

Bike roof racks help anchor bikes to the roofs of vehicles. Some sports utility vehicles come with factory roof racks, but a more stable roof rack is needed for transporting heavier bikers on a long trip. It’s important that any bike car racks chosen must work with the bicycle and the vehicle to insure safety while traveling. Hence, an aftermarket roof rack like a Yakima rack of even a trunk rack such as a Saris rack may be a more practical choice. 

Yakima and Thule are two major brands of bike roof racks. Bike manufacturers design bike storage and racks so that the parts are manufacturer specific. Parts cannot be mixed among manufacturers, so bikers must choose a favorite brand when choosing a bike rack. Bike racks work with bike mounts and the bike rack accessories are purchased separately to attach the rack bars to the roof. So a Thule roof rack would only work with other Thule parts and specifics; a Yakima roof rack would work with just Yakima specifications. 

Before attaching a bike to the roof, a bicyclist must attach the roof rack system. The crossbar or load bar is the main part of the rack system. These bars span the width of the roof and bear the brunt of the bike weight. These bars are available in square, round, and rapid designs. Yakima specializes in round crossbars, while Thule has the square and rapid load bars. To install the bars, a tower or foot pack is needed to hold the bars on the roof. The clips or fit kits are what attach the roof rack systems to the roof. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate all car models.

For cars that have shorter roofs, a roof adapter or stretch kit is needed to insure the bike sits securely on the bike rack. These kits include an extra set of bars that run vertically along the roof and attach to the main roof rack bars. A bicyclist can check a company’s fit guide to see which bike roof rack bars fit which vehicles.

Once the roof bike rack is installed, a bike mount is needed to mount the bicycle onto the rack. The two types of bike mounts include a fork mounted rack and an upright mounted rack. A fork mount attaches to the bicycle fork and locks the bike onto the rack. An upright mounted rack has a front wheel upright locking system, rather than locking into the fork of the bike. Most bike racks will fit onto factory roof rack systems with the use of additional mounting hardware.

Models

Average Pricing

The parts of a roof rack system are purchased individually. The average cost of a whole system for a naked roof is between $275 and $350. For vehicles with a shorter roof span, an extension kit costs around $115. Bike mounts start around $85 and can average over $300. With the roof rack system and the bike mount, a cyclist can spend anywhere from $300 to over $600 for a bike roof rack system and mount.