Road Cycling - Trunk mounted bike racks?

Does anyone use those truck mounted bike racks? It really is my only choice since I have a two seater convertible. I love my bike but I love my car a little more.

A few questions:

1) Do they scratch the paint?

2) How long do they take to get set up properly?

3) How well do they hold a bike?

4) What makes the more expensive models better?

5) Can you get into the trunk after it is mounted or do you have to take everything off again?

Are there any other options? I guess I could get a miny hitch installed and then use a hitch style rack, but that seems expensive and a lot of work.

Thanks.

I like my Saris Bones rack. I hade a Thule, but it got rusty and I didn't want to drive 8 hours with my bike on a rusty rack in a couple weekends!

1. So far, no.
2. Long enough to stick the rubber coated hook in place and tighten the straps. Not long at all.
3. Very well..they're bike racks. That's what they do ;)
4. Materials that won't rust, padding that won't crack and peel away, nifty built in cradles and straps to hold your bike in place rather than just two metal tubes sticking out.
5. Depends on if the bottom straps can be hooked to the bottom of the trunk lid or have to be put under the car. I could open my trunk with the Thule rack on it, but not the Bones rack because the rubber feet that make contact with the bumper are too big. I'm lying..I can't but it's a pain in the but to get it shut again.

Saris Bones. The best choice. If you keep the feet and car clean, the feet will not scratch it.
Opening the trunk depends on the car often you can set the lower arms against the tag frame and all the straps on the trunk frame, then you can open the trunk no problem. Some cars require you to put the lower arms on the bumper and the lower straps below the bumper.

I third the Saris Bones, we sell atleast 2/3 a weekend at work.

They have rubber feet on them so they don't scratch the car, unless you're doing the scratching.

A fourth for the Saris Bones. I use the 2-bike rack, most of the time on a mini-van. Setting it up to fit your car may take a little time (read the directions before unfolding the thing), but once you have everything in the correct position, putting it on and taking it off take little time at all.

Unfortunately, the Saris Bones fit chart excluded my car. I went with my second choice, the Yakima Mighty Joe. So far no problems, and the triangular foam cushions on this model seem to be a vast improvement from the standpoint of protecting the paint. Hope this helps!

wow!
I've got the Saris Bones as well, great rack...........bike rack that is.

Saris Bones is the Bombs!!!! I highly recommend it, we own 2 of them. My wife had one before we got married and I had one as well. Can't say enough about it. We have the 3 up versions that hold 3 bikes.

i've got a Bell something-or-other, holds three bikes. seems to work well, and it's way cheaper than the Saris everyone's talking about (although mine was a gift so it was even cheaper).

watch the spoiler issue though! you can't place straps over a spoiler as it will snap the spoiler off. and my car has a spoiler that is always joined to the car... so the rack goes on my wife's car, and i'm contemplating a roof-rack thing for mine.

Yakima Mo Joe

1) Be careful if your car has a spoiler. No problems on my Subaru Outback.
2) Almost no time at all after you get the hang of it.
3) Just fine.
4) Better materials, better padding, sturdier mounts.
5) No.

The spoiler issue is another reason to use a Bones. While it will not clear every spoiler it sits pretty high where it passes over the lip of trunk. The straps pull from central points at each end of the rack spine so they don't touch the car anywhere but at the hook end.

Thanks everyone for your help. I love this forum!!!:)

I found a Seris Bones Double online for $79.00. Figure I will go with that. Luckily my car doesn't have a spoiler so that shouldn't be an issue.

Cheers.