you forget that your bike,
is on top of the car when you pull into the carport"


So close, almost made it.

That is why I have avoid buying a roof rack as I am positive I would do this.

+1! several of my friends have gone all the way. Heard a story about a guy brining his new $5K machine home on his new rack and drove into the garage. Yes is was carbon!

I have the luxury of a minivan. I ride my bikes inside.

If I had a roof rack, I'd not only have to worry about the garage clearance, but also about cleaning the bike after every drive (thinking of ladybug season, here...).

^ i know exactly what you mean. i spent a weekend in lafayette, louisiana during 'love bug' season. felt like i had to wash the car every day.

Oh, Rocky, did you kill your lovely Pug? Looks like you stopped just in time.

I'm afraid I will do that, and I do have a roof rack. Someone did invite me to drive into a municipal parking garage. I looked at the entrance and somehow I was mindful enough to realize what a bad idea it was. Lucky.

^Well, no and no.
The photo was posed after the fact.
The seat went halfway, under the fascia board.

The bike rack wasn't screwed down tight, so I tore off the rack.

This looks like the worst of the damage to the bike.
The front of the seat looks a little bent down.

The only reason I wasn't riding it (home from the bar) is because
I was bringing it home from my LBS to fix a broken spoke.



I also tore off the rain gutter trim.

"They don't build 'em like they used to"

"Steal is real"

Looks like you were lucky it was not in too tight.

I have a roof rack but don't carry the bike up there too often. When I do I put a "BIKE!" Post It note on the rear view mirror.

Makes for some spectacular internet photos though

Toys on Top Roof Rack Sign Bike Garage Warning Reminder for Thule Yakima Car | eBay

So glad to see that the gutters yielded, but I have to question if those gutters are "rated" for using any kind of roof rack?
Hopefully not too expensive to fix!

This sort of talk somehow reminds me of my rare, folding Colnago:

I use a hitch rack so no issues there. I did however see a fellow biker pulling into a parking structure with a bike on his roof rack, I was pretty far away spotted him and started to shout and wave but he continued to pull in. The results were spectacular, most of the bike flew off the back when he hit the first beam, the rest flew off the front when he screeched to a halt. I stopped and spoke to him for a bit and helped pick up the pieces. He was choking back tears the whole time.

Reminds me of forty years ago, my boss at the Fuji/Atala shop that I helped get going (and regular riding buddy in the Presque Isle Bike Club) had a Honda Z600 (the little two cylinder coupe that came out before the first Civic) with a roof rack. Used to carry a pair of 531 framed, all Campy Atalas on the car, and it looked comical. From the side, the bikes looked almost as big as the car, to the point you'd swear he could just reverse the situation and have the bicycle wheels on the road.

One night he comes home he rolls right into the garage without thinking. Completely shattered both bikes, tore the rain gutters off the car, and managed to slightly buckle the roof. Despite that (probably because of it because the memory stands out so strongly) I still have the Yakima roof rack on my Scion xB, but have never come close to pulling that kind of stunt. Then again, I have enough different carriers are home: The roof rack, a home made one that was used to carry three bikes across my pickup bed which has now been modified to be used inside my mini van, a four bike trailer hitch rack, plus two different strap on racks that goes across the rear hatch.

+100!!!!

I find enough of a challenge remembering all of my travel destinations on a timetable, and with full respect for laws and safety, so would not want to have to pay attention to whether I am carrying any kind of high-profile load.

I remember once entering a public parking garage and forgetting the high-top fiberglass shell I had just installed. I actually backed up and checked the actual clearance and it was 2", too close for comfort. But I've never hit anything with the shell in 26 years, if only because it's not all that tall.

I agree!

I once drove a school bus (an old Crown) full of kids, under this low overpass.
I knew the height of my bus, stopped and looked and read the sign.
I thought I had three inches of clearance.
So I went for it slowly, and cleared.

Later a park official laughed at me, saying that, "that sign lies",
they had added an inch and a half of blacktop the summer before.

I know a bike shop owner who did it with his wife and kids standing on the deck watching him.

Thank goodness your bike is OK. I sold my roof rack last summer to invest in a hitch-mounted, swing-away rack. I absolutely love it. I do have to be careful, however, to pull all the way forward in the garage (really a 1900's carriage house now used as a garage) so the garage door doesn't come down on the rack.... I must always check to see if the arms are folded down.

I have seen people attach signs to the bottom of their garage doors so when they are open they hand down to remind the driver to check the roof rack for items. But if you are driving to a motel or something like this...


...you still need to be mindfull.

Ugh It hurts to look at the pictures. I would be that guy... and right into the garage.


Glad it was only your seat.

Harv

Just curious, would insurance cover something like this?

Two or three nice bikes can add up real quick.

I don't have a roof rack either, could probably not lift the bikes way up there any way. I have great confidence in my RoadeGear trunk mount 1 bike rack. BUT I got in my first ride out in the open today, first since New Years. 32 miles on the Schuylkill River Trail. 90% clear and dry and 10% ice and slush packed with a few flooded sections: 2" deep water. But I did it and got back to the car, put the Trek ZX7000 on the rack and headed out onto the freeway. About 3 minutes later I look in the mirror and the rear of the bike has come loose from the rack. 70mph in the left lane and the bike is wagging in the wind, lashed by the front tt strap and the front wheel tied to the rack. Oh, rush hour traffic - high speed close order racing home.

I flipped the car over onto the shoulder, hit the flashers and got the bike secured again. I checked it every 20 or 30 seconds after that until I was off the freeway. Yup, my imagination was whirling away with visions of that bike flying off the back and right under a dozen cars in about 6 seconds. What an ellofamess that would have been. Yikes.

I've done it, a little over a year ago. Pulled into my garage (well, started to anyway) with my Super V on the roof. Luckily the rack mounts were weaker than the Cannondale. Broke the rack mounts, dented the roof of my car, bent my Thule bars and bike tray, and cracked the vinyl siding trim. The bike was fine other than a tear in the headshok boot. Easy fix.

I don't normally park my car in the garage, because I keep my vintage cars in two of the bays and the third is reserved for she who must be obeyed. But on this day my wife was out and I was in a hurry because my 8 yo son forgot something. I've had the same roof rack for almost 20 years so I guess I've done OK. Funny part was that after I surveyed the damage and calmed back down, my son said "wow Dad, for a minute there I thought you were going to swear." My response: "I didn't??"

Other funny part was that I was more concerned about the bike than the car or house. I really love my Super V!

I now bury my garage door opener at the bottom of my console storage compartment whenever the bike rack is on the car. That way I have to stop and think before I open the doors.

- John