I feel your pain...

Trunk/hatch racks are great, but make getting into the trunk or hatch a challenge sometimes. They also scratch the paint. Some of the cheaper once also allow the bike to swing back & forth a bit... not good.

Hitch racks are great, but again... make getting into the trunk or hitch cumbersome. They're also pricey since you have to get a hitch installed AND buy the rack. Plus, too and also, you're going to be hitting your shins on that hitch! LOL! *been there, done that...

Roof racks are my preferred method, but like you said, you have to be able to lift your bike over your head and then be agile enough to get it into the rack.

I have a minivan, a coupe and a station wagon. The wagon & minivan have roof racks from the factory. I bought a couple of bike fork clamps like the one in the picture:

I have one permanently mounted to the roof rack on the wagon. This meant I had to drill two holes into the roof rack for the bolts to mount through. The bonus to one like this is that I could mount it towards the edge of the rack so I don't have to reach very far onto the roof. Since the rear tire just sits on the roof, I don't have to fool with lining it up with anything or getting it into any silly slots. In 2 years of using it like this, I have yet to have the rear wheel move more than a couple of inches. If I'm going a long distance, I'll use a small bungie cord to hold it in place.

The other is mounted to a removable roof rack I sometimes put on my coupe. This means the rear tire is on the rear window. It works, and again, have never had the rear tire move much at all.


I've tried a ton of solutions to carrying bikes and find the simplest to be the best. Some of those big fancy racks companies like Yakima sell are just overkill.