Well, Ive been wanting to get a roof rack for some time. The fear is getting the sizing right. I just purchased a Chevy Venture Mini Van. It does not come with any roof adaptions. So Im thinking it might have to hook into under the doors/clamp down? Can I buy off the web, or should I go to a lbs and have it sized right. I hesitate to go through the lbs, I know the price with be very high, compared to going through - like Nashbar/

Nikos

Take a look at Thule or Yakima racks. Their websites will guide you through which rack is right for your vehicle. They have a sizing guide and which attachments will work for you. You can't go wrong with either company.

I agree with the Captain there... I had Yakima racks on my Isuzu Rodeo before I got my truck, and they were great... I'm debating on selling them or not... I have the Lockjaw bike racks on them, and they are great unless you have a weird shaped downtube, then they don;t work so well... check out Yakima's web site, for fitting, and accessories.. or REI.com

Jeff

Nikos-
I'm partial to Saris racks as they are much easier to actually mount on your car than the offerings from Thule or Yakima. They also have a lifetime warranty. Any respectable LBS will have the fit guides on hand for the brands they carry and help you in picking and installing a rack. You would be surprised on pricing (our shop prices are VERY close to those in mail order catalogs), plus you will still pay tax and a substantial shipping charge if you purchase via mail order.

I have a Yakima roof rack on my old piece of $h!t car. Had the folks at the LBS look through the charts to get all the parts (Q towers, cross bars, locks, etc.). The rack fits like a glove. It stays on the car 365 days a year.

Wind noise -- that's another problem.

I second the Saris recommendation. It is easy to move between my Windstar and my Saturn. I bought the rack at my LBS and probably paid less than I would have online after adding in the shipping. The feet for the Saturn came directly from Saturn and cost $8 for all four (the Saturn cycling team uses Saris racks). There is no measuring involved, since turning the knob at the end of the bar moves both feet in or out at the same time. This makes it easy to move the rack between cars, which may not matter to you if you only have one car.

I forgot to mention a couple things about the Saris racks-you can tighten them from only one side and they will automatically center themselves on your roof. Much easier than running back and forth with other systems. Also, as Doug mentioned, all you need to do is swap out clips and you're ready to mount the rack on another vehicle. As for wind noise, Saris provides rubber strips to plug some of the areas that can generate noide, but with a fairing I don't get any anyway.

That self centering feature on the Saris racks sounds cool, but I tend to manipulate my rack a little and put wheels, etc. on the outside of the tower, but typically only on one side of the car. I've also been known to put a bike outside the towers, though, so you can't really take anything I say as being sage advice. Just something to consider. I've had a Yakima rack for probably 7 years now and it's been great. I might suggest, if you like your car's finish, that you not leave it on all the time, though. You'll get some grit under part of one of the rubber feet and it'll do wonders for your paint/clear coat!

I'll put in a third for the Saris racks. I got mine in a very small town, at the only LBS for about.. 50 miles or so, and I got it for a decent price. The best part is the ease of installation and removal. It takes me alone about 5-6 minutes to get the whole thing put on the car, ready for a bike.

From what y'all say, those Saris racks sound pretty cool. I bought a Yakima rack a year ago and I love it. If you want to save a few bucks - do what I did: Figure out what you need on the Yakima web site and buy it used on ebay.