General Cycling Discussion - roof rack for my new car

I just got a new Honda CRV and need to get a roof rack for my bikes. I am wondering if anyone has got any suggestions vis-a-vis the roof rack on the CRV. Or just roof racks in general.
Thanks,
Tim

Careful with any kind of roof rack on an SUV, as raising your center of mass is very dangerous with the already high center of mass.

Better to get a trailer or put the bike insided.

its a roof rack, its no more than 20lbs. I would not worry too much about the center of mass unless you have over the recomended limit worth of bikes on top (which is normally 100 or so lbs). Go to a local honda dealer and see if honda has some bike gear. I got a rack mounted system for 100$ from my jeep dealer which is 1/3 the cost of getting a thuli (sp?) or yakamia. I would go to the dealer first then ckeck out a LBS or the web for other stuff.

thanks my 2cents
-Ross

center of mass, ok, sure. Yakima racks are excellent. if you have factory rails you can buy cross bars. go on to the websites of yakima or thule and you can put in your model and year and it will give you options.

Another vote for Yakima. I have been using the Vipers for 2 years and love them! I would suggest a bra for the bike up there though if you are traveling on the highway.

Buy a tailgate carrier...

Roof racks wreek havock with aerodinamics of your vehicle, your fuel usage will soar, add at least 25% more....

Roof racks wreek havock with aerodinamics of your vehicle, your fuel usage will soar, add at least 25% more....

Bullfeathers!!

The Yak rack on my Camry makes maybe 1mpg difference. A tail rack isn't worth considering for this car, since I need to use the trunk.

Check with your Honda dealer. If you had ordered a roof rack when you bought the car, you could've had it rolled into your loan.

Another vote for Yakima. I have a Yakima rack on the factory rails on my Audi wagon. The bikes are super secure and I haven't yet driven into the garage door. :)Maybe 1.5 mpg loss with the bikes on.

Well, hopefully, you found what you're after. In case you haven't I'll give you what I can regarding roof racks, since that appears to be what you're after.

I like the Yakima systems. Not only are the components well made, but they offer some nice items that are very useful. After using our Yak system on top of two different cars, we bought the adaptors to swap it onto our new Ford Escape a few years ago.

Yakima makes a roof-top luggage/gear rack that will clamp right onto the crossbars on your CRV, or that you can attach with adaptors and crossbars if you want more load capacity. We went with the crossbars, and then mount our bike trays on EITHER the crossbars (w/o the rack) or onto the rack, which uses tubes the same size as Yak crossbars, so you can carry bikes AND gear in one fell swoop. Regardless of which way you attach it, the luggage rack can be installed or removed in about 5 leisurely minutes, if you're not a pygmy (in which case you should get a ladder and think back to when your Mom asked you to eat those greens).

Yakima's locksets are easy to install (so you can keep things) and use, too.

We DO get a reduction in gas mileage when running with the big rack, empty, and with the rack full of stuff or bikes, too. With just the crossbars, we don't lose any MPG. With the empty rack, we notice a 1.5-2mpg loss, and with bikes or gear in the rack, we lose 4-5mpg depending on weather and terrain (ie lower speeds have less effect). In terms of the "Center of Gravity" concerns, it just gives you an excuse to have another piece of pie and to hunker down in your seat.

I just got a new Honda CRV and need to get a roof rack for my bikes. I am wondering if anyone has got any suggestions vis-a-vis the roof rack on the CRV. Or just roof racks in general.
Thanks,
TimWe sell cr-v roof racks on ebay, they are made by the same manufacture as the oem's but do not carry the Honda label. we sell under the user name of ''bas0_5, thanks

Another vote for Yakima. I have a Yakima rack on the factory rails on my Audi wagon. The bikes are super secure and I haven't yet driven into the garage door. :)Maybe 1.5 mpg loss with the bikes on.

This cracked me up, cuz I accidentally ran my bike into the rain gutter of my garage one night with my bikes on top. Luckily the bike had lil damage. I have a 97 Accord wagon and i like think wagons besides trucks with beds carry bikes the best.

ive got a thule roof rack on my corolla (and had it on my camry wagon).. I didnt notice any aerodynamic problems with either car. i dont have any fairings or anything on the rack either. the only disadvantage i could see with a roof rack on something bigger than a car is the fact you have to lift the bikes higher up...if you have heavy bikes its probibly not a good idea.

Put your garage door opener inside your bike's wedge on top of your car.

I've had a Thule rack on the roof of various cars for about 16 years. In fact, eight years ago, my car was totalled, the rack popped clear off the roof (no bikes in it, fortunately) and landed in one piece about 10 feet away; I'm still using it on my current vehicle.

They are pricey, though.

Here's my opinion... The best thing to do for your bike, is to put it inside. There, it will be safe from rocks, sand, dust, bugs, rain, etc...

With a trunk rack, it would be pretty safe from rocks and, but may get a little sand and dust. If it happens to rain, you will most likely get lots of oil and grease from the road, being kicked or sprayed up from your tires. I live in a pretty snowy area, and my car gets lots of road salt on the backside, and road salt is bad news - promotes rust.

Of course, with a roof rack, the bike isn't safe from rocks, sand, bugs, dust, or rain, but provides easy access to trunk, and saves plenty of room inside the vehicle.

It's not hard to make a "floor rack" for the inside of a SUV, and shouldn't cost any more than $10.

If I were you, I would make a "floor rack" and install it. If you think you will run out of room (bikes don't take up much space, really - take off the front wheel and pedals), you should use a rack of some sorts. I would use a roof rack, to allow easy access to the backside of the vehicle. You can buy a "bra" for the bike to keep bugs and rain off, but I'm not sure how they are.

I hope I have been some help.

It's not always practical or possible to put the bike(s) inside. For instance, going to my last two rides, I was transporting two fellow cyclists. I have a hitch rack which will take two bikes securely (might look at getting the +2 extension soon) and I was able to fit one bike inside. Everyone rode in comfort. I probably could have fit another if I really tried. At anyrate, there was no way to safely fit three bikes inside my Jeep and still have enough room for a person in the back plus gear. However, if I really wanted to (and had the money), I could add a rack extension for two more bikes off the back, a roof rack for four bikes up top and if I had no passengers in the back seats, fit four bikes inside.

I agree that inside is the best place for a bike. About the only minus (besides that it may take up space that you need for other stuff) is that a gunky driveline might gunk up your interior.

Beyond that, I'd opt for a roof rack over a rear (hitch or trunk) rack. Rear-end collisions aren't uncommon, and the first thing to go will be the bikes on the rack. My roof rack costs me 1, maybe 1.5 MPG in fuel economy.

The third of the "big three" is Saris, at http://www.sarisproducts.com . They have a new set of load bars that interface with factory racks. You can find amazing deals on all three brands on eBay. You may have to buy the part that interfaces between the load bar and the factory rack new, however.

'Course, if you can get something of good quality via the dealer, for a competitive price, I'd go for it.