General Cycling Discussion - Bike racks are really expensive!

Holy cow!! Went down to the LBS this morning to check on the price of a nice roof rack for my new car since I gave my old trunk mount away(to my son). I was guessing $200-300 but it was almost $500 for a two bike Saris setup. Just don' think I can swing that right now but I need a rack. Anyone got any other suggestions for something a little less expensive? :eek:

A Thule rig for my Saturn is about $350, but I have factory rails.

(REI.com)

I believe paid 110 plus tax for my Saris Bones 2. This is a quality trunk rack, as well.

Edit: I lack basic reading comprehension, please disregard my post.

Just take off the wheels and put them in the back seat.

What kind of car? My daughter has some used Thule roof rack stuff for sale in St. Louis. I'm sure that she can meet your budget but you might need a foot pack to match your car. Interested? alanandcarolyn@prodigy.net.

Heck, i think i have spent more on rack junk than on bikes.

I bought the Sportworks rack for around $300 + receiver hitch $240, + another receiver hitch for second car + $80 + i just bought a new van and ordered another receiver + another $205. Crap I have spent $825 in the last year or so.

Holy Cow! Thanks for starting this thread. Now I am depressed! :eek:

I use a 1.25" receiver hitch ($100) and a 2-bike Thule Hitching Post ($100). Works fine for me! I may install a roofmount someday.

Check eBay. There is usually tons of Thule and Yakima stuff on sale there.

Agee's Bike (https://www.ageebike.com/) is selling Thule and Yakima stuff for 20% off, free shipping. I bought a full Thule system (feet, bars, fairing, 2 top-o-the-range fork mount racks, lock cores) for about $480. You could move down a model on the bike carriers and lose the fairing to sneak in under $400.

You're really paying $200 for the bike racks, and $200 for the roof rack itself. Probably not that different to what you'd pay for a hitch mount + hitch rack.

Heck, i think i have spent more on rack junk than on bikes.

I bought the Sportworks rack for around $300 + receiver hitch $240, + another receiver hitch for second car + $80 + i just bought a new van and ordered another receiver + another $205. Crap I have spent $825 in the last year or so.

Holy Cow! Thanks for starting this thread. Now I am depressed! :eek:

I have a 3 bike carrier on the back of the motorhome. The mount is one of those sleeves that fits over the 2 inch ball mount. Anyway, I'm thinking I'd like to get a 4 bike carrier for back there. 4 Bikes means you have get not only new carrier but new ball mount sleeve and upright foot, because the extra weight for the 4th bike means you gotta have beefier upright.

Total cost $650!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I'll stick with the 3 bike carrier.

Agee's Bike (https://www.ageebike.com/) is selling Thule and Yakima stuff for 20% off, free shipping.Plus no sales tax if you live outside Virginia. I just ordered a roof rack today, under the assumption that this would be about as good a deal as I'd find for a new one. Still, it did seem awfully expensive. Hopefully I'll get years of trouble-free use out of the investment.

Is there anything in biking that is not expensive????

Yeah - The air in your tires is free...

Yeah - The air in your tires is free...

Except that you have to buy a pump to get it in there!

What kind of car? My daughter has some used Thule roof rack stuff for sale in St. Louis. I'm sure that she can meet your budget but you might need a foot pack to match your car. Interested? alanandcarolyn@prodigy.net.

Hmmm...maybe. Car is a 2003 Mazda Protege5 I just bought a few weeks ago. Looking at a Saris roof rack on fleabay right now that has the correct clips and everything. If it gets too high I'll shoot her an email. Thanks. :)

........... Crap I have spent $825 in the last year or so.

Holy Cow! Thanks for starting this thread. Now I am depressed! :eek:

Don't mention it. My pleasure. :D

Is there anything in biking that is not expensive????

Yeah....I don't think those two little screws that hold your bottle cage on are more than about five bucks a piece.
:lol: :lol:

1.99 at Nash - and you don't even get washers.

I built a crossbars for my preexisting roof rails by using 3/4" steel conduit, stainless steel set screws, and conduit beam connectors from Harbor Freight, cost me about 10$ including flat black paint (I'll post a picture if someone wants).

Then I bought a two-wheel style bike rack (the kind that grabs your down tube) from prolineracks.com (their cheapest of that variety, for about 50$).

It works great, isn't as pretty as a Thule, but cost me about 60$ total. Everything biking related is expensive, but don't believe the hype, you don't usually need the special biking themed crapola. Bikes are meant to be SIMPLE transportation, and simple doesn't mean expensive, and if it doesn't mean expensive than companies don't make money, so the obvious solution is to take something simple, and make it complex, so you can charge a lot for it!

If you don't feel like making your own cross bars, or need a gutter mount system, look into the "quik-n-easy" rack system from NRS (sorry, no link). It is a VERY heavy duty gutter mount system that isn't as pretty as Thule, but is rated to higher weight capacities, and you can use anything you want for a cross bar, including 2x4s, electrical conduit, Yakima bars, or anything you want. They are very reasonably priced, and incredibly strong.

peace,
sam

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=1379

Any good recommendations on a hitch type rack? Bottom type or upper bar type? Thule or what?

Yes, Yakima and Thule are pricey. But remember your bike can be flying down the freeway at 70mph with crosswinds. I wouldn't trust my bikes to anything else. I've used trunk racks. In addition to scratching up your car's paint, restricting your rear view, you'll worry the whole time that your bike is going to detach from the mother ship! And then there's always the nice surprise of finding a blown out melted tire that got overheated by the exhaust gasses coming out of the pipe.
Just be glad you're not trying to carry a tandem! The bike mount alone costs $350!
Once you buy a nice roof rack, you'll own (most) of it forever. Buying a new car? Just need new towers or only clips and maybe crossbars. Rest of the rack switches over, no problem.
And putting the bike in the car can work if it's the right car. We used to get our tandem and two half-bikes in our VW Vanagon camper. Now that was nice. Just too bad it went only 40mph on the climbs! But getting bikes in other cars is an exercise in lower back pain and you'll get grease all over the interior - or worse tear it with a chainring or whatever.
Save your cash and look for a 20% off sale - it's worth it. REI does 'em twice a year and most good shops will do at least one big summer sale on roof racks.

Is there anything in biking that is not expensive????

RIDIN'

I built a crossbars for my preexisting roof rails by using 3/4" steel conduit, stainless steel set screws, and conduit beam connectors from Harbor Freight, cost me about 10$ including flat black paint (I'll post a picture if someone wants)...........
sam

Yeah Sam....post a pic. :)

yeah i priced out a roof rack at yakima.com the other day and really was astonished about the cost. I also expected to spend a few hundred but definitely did not expect the final bill to be $600 with one small ski rack and one bike rack.

and there was so much stuff i needed to complete the setup, i'd be reluctant to buy a used set becuase who knows what i specifically need to fit my car.

Yakima and Thule websites wanted to charge me $550 for a roof rack. I went to http://www.rackattack.com/ and picked up a Yakima rack with 2 Rockymount bike racks for $350. Check them out there website says they are still on sale with free shipping.

I haven't had any troubles with my cheapo/custom rack system, including highway driving with a 40 pound tall bike on the roof!

If you are concerned about strength, I'll second my recommendation to look into the 'quik-n-easy' rack system, which is the nrsweb.com link posted above (thanks!). The rack system is cheap, and actually has a HIGHER weight rating than thule or yakima! Then you can use the rack unit of your choice, either Thule, Yakima, or other, and still pay a LOT less than a whole system from REI.

I'll post a pic of my custom cross bars when I get home from work.

peace,
sam