Mike O.

I am looking to get a bike rack for my car. What are the pro's and con's of the following?

Roof Mounted:
Trunk Mounted:

Thanks,
Mike O.

Paul Barnard

Roof mounted. Don't forget about low hanging limbs, drive up tellers etc. Trunk mounted=expensive bumper.

Conrol over your bike's destiny vs no control.

JayC

You left out hitch mounted.. its the only way to go.

Paul Barnard

I sure did. Hitch mount=expensive bumper.

dark13star

I tend to agree with the rear bumper statement. I watched a large pickup crush two expensive bikes on the back of an SUV this summer. You see a lot of people destroying their bikes on roof racks, but it is usually user error and personal responsibility. I would rather trust myself not to drive into a parking garage than trust someone else not to hit me.

Boudicca

I've only ever used a trunk rack. I'd be terrified of scratching the car with the bikes as I try to haul 'em up to the roof.

Having said that I usually put the rack on a rental car anyway, so a roof rack would be out of the question.

Jynx

Roof Rack

johnny99

Cheap racks of any sort are bad for your bikes and bad for your car.

Disadvantages of roof racks:
1. can crash into garage doors or trees if you are not careful
2. exposes your bikes to flying debris at freeway speeds
3. can trap dirt on your car roof, scratching away your paint
4. cheap roof racks may not hold on to your roof very well (I personally witnessed a rack with 2 bikes fly off of someone's car at freeway speed)
5. takes some effort to lift bikes up there (especially on tall cars or by short people)
6. not cheap

If you can avoid these problems with careful use and good quality products, then the best roof racks are probably superior to any other type.

challaday

I have both roof and hitch mounts on my Dodge Durango. At 5' 6", it is a feat of acrobatics to get a bike on the roof. On the other hand, the hitch mount is easier to get bikes onto, but they don't seem to be as securely mounted, and I am constantly worried about the other cars rear-ending me and taking out $10K worth of bikes.

One other plus of roof racks is that the lift gate (or trunk) is easily accessible, though some of the hitch mounts now swing out of the way with the bikes still attached.

stapfam

Roof mounted and the bikes are prone to garage doors- low branches and loss of fuel economy.

Rear mounted racks and the bikes are prone to having bits borrowed from them when you stop and leave unattended.

dark13star

This is a slight concern for our mountain bikes, but the road bikes are like 17 lbs (heaviest) without the front wheel. One hand to lift and put the rear wheel in the track, one hand to guide the front fork into the stays. Granted, if you are not tall, I could see this as an issue though. My wife handles it fine at 5'6".

Kai Winters

Depends on how often you need to transport your bike(s) as well.
If only occasional transport needed a trunk/hitch rack(if you have a hitch) is the way to go imo.
If you are always traveling with the bike a roof rack may be better...if you use the same car.
Roof rack is more stable and secure...harder to steal though by no means steal proof. You can also use a "bike bra" to cover the front area of a bike. They are cheap and work well.
It is more costly. A Thule, for example, will set you back around $350ish just for one bike. While a good trunk rack may set you back $75ish.
Roof racks may cause a bit of wear to the paint below its four "touch" points on the roof.
They can also be a bit noisy on the highway...wind noise even with a deflector.
I have been using Thule's for around 20 years and the racks were perfect for constant travel use and I easily learned to live with their few negatives.

Roof rack has other uses as well. Great for lugging lumber, mattresses, etc. that a car can't handle well.
Trunk racks are easily removed leaving no signs of the car as a bike hauler.
If you are hanging more than 2 bikes off a trunk rack I would be very careful and keep a good eye out. They tend to start pulling away from the car and moving around as the straps stretch a bit and the weight is farther from the trunk.

hrstrat57

I have Yakima Q towers roof system.....have 2 Raptor mounts and 1 Copperhead. Rock solid at freeway speeds. I put the spoiler on the front of the rack....helps with the bikes but not too much diff with skis. Dunno why that is....

The Copperhead is for the carbon frame(fork mount) Not generally recommended to grab a carbon downtube with the Raptor....

I don't have a garage tho....forgetting the bikes are on the roof can get expensive I guess....

I you have a garage buy a car with a glass sunroof and keep looking up I guess....

daoswald

Roof mounted:

• You must lift the bike overhead to mount it.
• Depending on the rack, you may need to remove the front wheel.
• At the Mc Donalds drive-through you may knock your bike off the rack and onto the car behind you, doing damage to your bike, your car, and the car behind you.
• See above, but this time consider your garage. ....it's only a matter of time before you forget.
• Roof racks aren't likely to bash two bikes together as you drive down the road.
• Roof racks don't scrape up the back bumper with your pedals or drive train.
• Roof racks don't put your bike in a position of absorbing the shock of a rear-end accident.

Trunk mounted:

• Scrape up your back bumper, trunk, etc. with the bike's pedal and drive train.
• Bash multiple bikes together as you drive down the road (with more than one bike in the rack).
• Leave marks on your trunk hood, no matter how careful you are installing the rack.
• Bikes are lower to the ground, easier to get at by vandals, thieves, etc.
• If you get rear ended, the bikes will take the brunt of the force.
• But.... You don't have to lift the bike overhead.
• Easier to toss the bike onto the rack if it's on the trunk.
• Less expensive.

For me, I would prefer either a roof mount rack that allows you to keep the front wheel on the bike, or a hitch rack. The hitch rack is my overall preference, but it's not practical with all cars, and it still leaves the bikes prone to rear-end accidents.

When I had a hitch rack in the past, my insurance company made me list it on the policy.

Val23708

saris bones.