General Cycling Discussion - Needing to buy a Bike Rack, soon

I am borrowing a Saris 'Bones' rack from a friend, as I am taking delivery of a new Specialized Hardrock Comp on Thursday. However; it will not fit on my MAZDASPEED (Spoiler is too tall).....
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3df33b3127cce93fe89d122c20000001610
.......so I am going to mount it on my wife's Protege, so I can at least get my new bike back to the house. It seems to fit okay on her car.

I am, however, going to need a rack, and noticed the Saris Guardian 3 for $110.00. It clears the spolier fine. Anyone had any experience with this rack? Thanks!

Greg

That is a fine little car! How about a reciever hitch mounted on there and a reciever rack so nothing has to touch the paint.

I like Rev.Chuck's idea that is how I decided to go. The main drawback it is one of the more expensive ways. It cost me $170 to get the hitch and have it installed plus the rack. But I have no worries about my bike at all. Which concerned me more then the cost.

Get the hitch part from etrailer.com and put it on yourself. That will save you some$$$. It is usually only four bolts and a little muscle required.

Check out sportworks.com - cool racks - a bit pricey though. I am using the mod series with a receiver hitch on an SUV and love it.

It appears I have one of the hardest cars to find a hitch receiver for. I drive a geo prizm, and so far I have only found 2 different receivers that will fit and take a 1 1/4" draw bar. The rest take a 5/8*2" flat bar that won't work for bike racks. The etrailer site helped though.
For the rack itself, I think I'm gonna weld one myself, buy the tiedowns and save some dollars.

Why not just buy a roof rack? Yakima racks seem to be the best deal for the money....

Main reason I decided not to get a roof rack, is that each compan makes about 4 different types of towers, so I get at best a 50/50 chance of being able to use the roof rack on my next car. And I can't move it from car to car.

As for why I did not install my own hitch, I have a buick regal and it was not easy to install. It took the installer 1.5 hours to do, since holes actualy had to be drilled into my trunk to bolt it down with 4 bolts on each side.

I have the sportsworks transport, that thing is STRONG and rock solid! But is also fairly expensive which is a drawback. Only other complaint since it is heavier then some it does take a bit more work to put on and take off. There is a anti-rattle hitch, which is basicaly a bolt that screws through teh hitch on the car to the rack itself. So you need a wrench to pull it out. But I like this in a way makes it harder to steal.

I got lucky! A friend had a an extra Thule (3) bike rack he wasn't using, and it fits my MAZDASPEED. I was shocked!! 'Cleared the wing just fine. Not to mention; the only contact points are the top of the bumper and the back glass (besides the 6 padded hook straps. It is in nearly new condition, too. I will definetly get him some good beer for this. He saved me a bunch of money.

I will take some photos this weekend, if my bike arrives...

:beer:

Greg