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Old July 4th 07, 06:33 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
SMS
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Default Roof-mounted bike rack: fork mount or whole bike?

mark wrote:
I won't get involved in "which is better for the bike", except to say
that I use a fork mount for my fenderless road bike, and a "whole bike"
mount for my fender-equipped touring bike. The "whole bike" mount is
bulkier and cost more, although I did get it on sale. In all honesty, I
don't see a significant difference in total effort required to get the
bike onto either rack and secured, but I've spent enough time tinkering
with my bikes that popping a front wheel off is no big deal.

Just to add to the confusion, there is a third option. There are a
variety of carriers that attach to a receiver hitch installed on your
car, that appear to me to be much more secure than the trunk-mounted
strap-on rack you are currently using. Advantages I perceive are that
fuel economy and vehicle aerodynamics are not as adversely affected, you
don't have to worry about low garage entrances (but do be careful
backing up), and the risk of damaging your car's body work is much less
than with roof top or trunk mounted racks.


On a unibody vehicle (nearly every car and car like SUV) even a small
impact on the rear rack will cause many thousands of dollars worth of
damage. The bumper is out of the equation, and the impact goes to the
floor pan where the hitch will be mounted.

I know this from experience unfortunately.

If you use a hitch rack remove it completely unless you have a bicycle
on it.
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