Mountain Biking - Car rack help

Not sure which forum to ask this in, but here goes:

I want a roof-top rack for my 2006 Scion XA. Thule claims none of theirs fit.

Yakima has a specific Q-Tower set up for my car, but I guess that the IA (raingutter grabbing) also works. Is there any big advantage to the much more expensive Q-Tower? Why not just grab the raingutter and do it that way?

Any other suggestions for a reasonable rack for this thing? I know nothing about racks so any help is appreciated.

jim

I don't know if you're absolutely set on a roof top rack but I would advise against it. A hitch rack is easier to get to and you won't risk running your bikes into the garage door one day. I know what you're thinking, "how can you forget about a bike on top of your car" but believe me it happens all the time. I'm not saying that I've ever done it but I have this friend...

Thule and Yakima both have some very nice hitch racks that can hold up to four bike and stow nicely when they're not in use. Check them out.

Mike

Oh, if anyone could drive a bike into a garage wall, it would be me. Mercifully, I do not have a garage though.

And there is the problem that I do not have a trailer hitch.

And, I want to be able to carry a canoe sometimes also.

jim

Well, Yakima makes some nice roof racks to be sure. I have one that I use to carry a pontoon boat for flyfishing. I went the Q-tower route with mine and it's solid. Just figure something out to remind yourself when you have something on top. You might not have a garage but oe of there bars at the entrance to a McDonald's drive thru would do a number on your bike, as would any number of low hanging obstacles.

BTW...be sure to get the SKS lockset for your rack and something to lock your gear to your rack. Nothing would suck more than coming back to your car to find that some crackhead stole your gear.

I think Yakima makes a rack to hold both, the bike and canoe at the same time.

Yakima rocks. I've had 'em for years, the raingutter type, no problems. Towers, bars, locks, and trays for 2 bikes you're gonna spend $400-$500 new. We can carry 4 bikes on our '94 Honda civic, and use a 16 foot long cable to secure it all. Also, find a dealer that has plenty of experience with Yakima and they'll likely do you good for an install.

love my yakima rack (q towers) and yeah most def locks, another big thing is that i don't have to worry about some kid flicking up the thingy and making my rack loose

i've heard of this one bridge in maine that many people brake bikes on with racks, cause apparently its like the one bridge in the country thats just stupid low lol

btw i have figured out this trick for racks to put lotsa bikes up, I take at least one bike and turn the handlebars around 180deg so that the bars don't hit on the other bars and i can fit more bikes on the roof w/o having to have any racks on backwards, but it doesn't work with thule fork mounds cause the disc caliper hits the lever (yakima fork trays are better anyway)

i have a steelhead and 2 vipers, if you go fork mount def spring for the steelhead, the skewer is so much nicer, you don't think so at first but after a while of using both i can say that with confidence

You will need to use the qtower sytem and make sure it is on properly before you put a kayak up there, there may be a limit on the length of kayak you can carry if you can carry one at all.
The 1A towers will not work because the xa does not have raingutters...if it did Thule would have a fit for the car!

What is a raingutter exactly then? There is a groove thingy on the top of the roof near each edge running from front to rear. Isn't that a raingutter?

jim

You will need to use the qtower sytem and make sure it is on properly before you put a kayak up there, there may be a limit on the length of kayak you can carry if you can carry one at all.
The 1A towers will not work because the xa does not have raingutters...if it did Thule would have a fit for the car!

I came in to mention the possible limits on carrying the canoe. My wife's Impreza 2.5RS coupe can't carry her kayak (per Yakima) so we always have to carry it on my Impreza wagon.

FWIW, I've used Yakima stuff for three years now and it's been very reliable. I carry my bikes and boat on the roof of my car and have never had an issue. You just have to pay attention to where you're driving when you have your bike up top. To save some money, I'd recommend buying your racks off eBay or craigslist (or maybe even a Scion forum). You may not be able to find the Q-towers for your application, but should be able to save some money on the cross bars and the bike racks.

What is a raingutter exactly then? There is a groove thingy on the top of the roof near each edge running from front to rear. Isn't that a raingutter?

jim

you don't have real raingutters, on old ass cars (like 80s and older and very very view semi-new cars) they had what was literally a rain gutter ie a mettal gutter that ran the lenght of the roof above the windows so rain wouldnt' drip down the windows from the roof, although ur car may have a rain goove thingy on the roof (indentation with black plastic/rubber thing in it 4-6in from ur doors) your car doesn't have a true rain gutter, you want q towers

Will you be driving long distances with bike/kayak atop car?
If not, you might want to go the inexpensive way.
I've had mine for 3 years now...works great.

http://www.prolineracks.com/proline-gmr165-rain-gutter-racks.html