Pilot

I was looking at getting a bike rack for my car. I've looked at trunk mounts and roof mounts. The trunk mount looks alittle unsafe for long rides. What would be the best way to go? Even if i wanted to use it to take the bikes across town.

Jason

ljbike

Trunk mounts are quite safe and much less expensive than roof mounts. Grabber, Allen and Saris are three names I can think of who all make good racks and which I have used at various times. I've never used a roof rack.

a2psyklnut

A roof rack is a little more secure, but costs a heck of a lot more. The trunk mounts are o.k., as long as you install them correctly.

I personally use a hitch mount, but that'll add cost if you have to have a hitch receiver onto your car! Most around here are about $100-150 and then the hitch mount racks run from around $90 for cheap ones to $140 for a decent one up to $290 for one with all the bells & whistles.

L8R

nathank

trunk racks work pretty well. the disadvantages:
1) difficult or impossible to lock -- my friend's rack was cut off the car with the 2 bikes locked to the rack
2) can't acces the trunk

good:
*cheap - i bought a cheap one for like $40 i think and it worked great

so you end up mounting and unmounting it almost every time you need it b/c invariably you need the trunk some time later...

roof racks, or hitch racks are better because you can still access your gear and lock your bikes, but they're way more expensive.

i used a trunk rack for 2 years before shelling out the cash for a roof rack --- probably a good idea until you know you'll use the $200++ invested

if you mount it right, all the trunk racks i've seen should be pretty stable and strong for 2 or 3 bikes --- of course, i'm sure there are some junk ones around...