looking for ski/bike roof rack help

"Monique Y. Herman" wrote in message
...
So, I got this new WRX wagon a couple of weeks ago. I have a good idea
of what I want to do, but not how to do it. Yakima's website has a
cool selection tool, but I want to make sure I buy exactly what I need
and no more -- these parts are expensive!


monique


If you're stuck on the Steelhead, get it, but I have to vouch for the
Raptor. Fits every downtube ever, and you can leave the front wheel
on...better for interior cleanliness, and I just have a thing about fork
mounts (even though riding forces are the same on dropouts, I just don't
like it).

And, Penny was right: head to a store and look through the Yakima fit guide,
or, even better, talk to an experienced salesdude/dudette. They always
offer some advice/experience/clearance-priced alternatives that make things
work out real smooth.

So why the WRX? It's lots of fun, but when I went to get one, I ended up
with an Outback Wagon w/ Audio Package. Same price, and it was bigger,
which I like, and didn't feel as "immature" inside as the WRX did (the extra
insurance cost of a turbo weighed on me, but not much). Yup, a 23-year-old
college guy opting out of a WRX. Go figure. Also, I threw two Raptors on
top the day I got the car. Then I put stickers on the Raptor channels.
Nice.

If you end up using the factory crossbars and need the plastic adaptors that
allow Yakima stuff to mount (MightyMounts, I believe) I think I have like 5
or 6 floating around. Let me know, I'll send 'em to you.

Chris

"Penny S" wrote

I love the rear rack. I got it for $12 at a yard sale. I can have it on the
car, bikes loaded and bungeed in about 3 minutes, with no climbing and
lifting.

Penny, dear, if you have to "climb" to put a bike on top of your car,
then your car is way too ****ing big.

CC

Corvus Corvax ran this through spell check:
"Penny S" wrote

I love the rear rack. I got it for $12 at a yard sale. I can have it
on the car, bikes loaded and bungeed in about 3 minutes, with no
climbing and lifting.

Penny, dear, if you have to "climb" to put a bike on top of your car,
then your car is way too ****ing big.

CC

that would be hubby's exploder.
I am assuming that when I get the bike holder set up on the roof of the
Subaru, that should be manageable. at least I hope so. ;-)

Penny

Corvus Corvax ran this through spell check:
"Penny S" wrote

I love the rear rack. I got it for $12 at a yard sale. I can have it
on the car, bikes loaded and bungeed in about 3 minutes, with no
climbing and lifting.

Penny, dear, if you have to "climb" to put a bike on top of your car,
then your car is way too ****ing big.

CC

that's a possiblity, but then I may also be way to ****ing short, too.

penny

On 2004-03-14, Chris penned:

"Monique Y. Herman" wrote in message
...
So, I got this new WRX wagon a couple of weeks ago. I have a good
idea of what I want to do, but not how to do it. Yakima's website
has a cool selection tool, but I want to make sure I buy exactly what
I need and no more -- these parts are expensive!


monique


If you're stuck on the Steelhead, get it, but I have to vouch for the
Raptor. Fits every downtube ever, and you can leave the front wheel
on...better for interior cleanliness, and I just have a thing about
fork mounts (even though riding forces are the same on dropouts, I
just don't like it).

Doesn't fit Eric's Y-frame =/ Also, I'm wondering about how much
climbing I'd have to do to lock that thing properly.

One of the nice things about the Steelhead is that we already have two
on Eric's car; we could save money by just moving them over.

Your suggestion prompted me to poke through the Yakima offerings. I'm
trying to figure out what the difference is between the Viper and the
Steelhead.

And, Penny was right: head to a store and look through the Yakima fit
guide, or, even better, talk to an experienced salesdude/dudette.
They always offer some advice/experience/clearance-priced alternatives
that make things work out real smooth.

Yeah; I just need a find a place I can trust first =)

So why the WRX? It's lots of fun, but when I went to get one, I ended
up with an Outback Wagon w/ Audio Package. Same price, and it was
bigger, which I like, and didn't feel as "immature" inside as the WRX
did (the extra insurance cost of a turbo weighed on me, but not much).
Yup, a 23-year-old college guy opting out of a WRX. Go figure. Also,
I threw two Raptors on top the day I got the car. Then I put stickers
on the Raptor channels. Nice.

Stickers?

Hrm, why the WRX? A few things. It's super-fun. I've been driving
small cars for years, so while I definitely wanted more room, I didn't
want anything that felt big. The WRX has a small-car feel to it and is
pretty easy to park in those tight Boulder spots. And I just plain like
the look of it better than the outback wagon. It was definitely an
emotional thing, guided by certain more practical desires like trunk
space and AWD and the capability of mounting roof racks.

I'm not sure what you mean by the interior of the WRX feeling
"immature"; can you give me some examples? Maybe it's just because my
previous cars were a Probe and then a Celica convertible. I traded in
the fully-optioned convertible, so I guess I should be missing
something, but I'm not. I have tons of headroom and visibility. The
audio controls are pretty easy. The only thing I'm hating is the
cupholders -- there's one that gets in the way of the stereo and is
completely ineffective at keeping my mochas from spilling all over when
driving over a speed bump; the other one is right where my elbow needs
to be when I shift.

Insurance was higher for me, but not ungodly. I also have the advantage
of the drop you get at 25, and I expect my insurance to go down a bit
more once I'm married at the end of the month.

If you end up using the factory crossbars and need the plastic
adaptors that allow Yakima stuff to mount (MightyMounts, I believe) I
think I have like 5 or 6 floating around. Let me know, I'll send 'em
to you.

Well, thank you very much! I'll have to figure it out. I'm definitely
not buying anything till I see where the county taxes and the honeymoon
expenses leave me.

--
monique

On 2004-03-14, Doki penned:


Monique Y. Herman wrote:
What's a Ka?

A pretty small Ford. 1.3L engine (79 cubic inches :P), weighs less
than a tonne and it was the first "new edge" Ford, it's probably still
pretty odd looking even though you've got the Focus over there. Look
here for a pictu www.zemancar.cz/images/ford-ka.jpg.

Cute! I don't think it's odd looking. It looks nice.

Sure, there's room in the trunk, but I'd rather not run the risk of
getting bike grease ground into a brand-new interior, and I also am
not sure about how to stack bikes such that the pedals, gears, chain,
etc don't interact in possibly unfortunate ways.

If you can, get hold of a load box for the back, which will stop you
ruining the carpets etc.

I have that, but it doesn't help the backs of the seats, which need to
be folded down to make room for the bike. I am planning on acquiring a
tarp, though.

Fair enough. If you're driving a couple of hundred miles you'll save a
worthwhile amount of petrol or raise your top speed by 20 or 30mph.
I'd go for the extra speed .

I don't need to be *anywhere* near this car's top speed. Also, while I
do care about fuel efficiency to some extent, I'm under the impression
that gas prices are much cheaper here than in Europe. I'm paying under
$2 for a gallon of premium gas.

--
monique

Monique Y. Herman wrote:
On 2004-03-14, Doki penned:


Monique Y. Herman wrote:
What's a Ka?

A pretty small Ford. 1.3L engine (79 cubic inches :P), weighs less
than a tonne and it was the first "new edge" Ford, it's probably
still pretty odd looking even though you've got the Focus over
there. Look here for a pictu www.zemancar.cz/images/ford-ka.jpg.

Cute! I don't think it's odd looking. It looks nice.

So do, fortuneately. They looked very odd when they first started making
them in 96 though .

Fair enough. If you're driving a couple of hundred miles you'll save
a worthwhile amount of petrol or raise your top speed by 20 or 30mph.
I'd go for the extra speed .

I don't need to be *anywhere* near this car's top speed.

I'd certainly enjoy going places at the car's top speed, even if I didn't
need to . They do 150 or so don't they?

Also, while
I do care about fuel efficiency to some extent, I'm under the
impression that gas prices are much cheaper here than in Europe. I'm
paying under $2 for a gallon of premium gas.

I'm paying something like $1 a litre, 4.4 litres to an imperial gallon. I
think US gallons are different. It won't make much difference if you're
driving around town, but if you're driving at 60mph upwards it'll hit it a
lot more. Not got any figures but I imagine you'd be able to look them up if
you're bothered.

On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 10:58:25 -0700, Monique Y. Herman wrote:

I don't need to be *anywhere* near this car's top speed. Also, while I
do care about fuel efficiency to some extent, I'm under the impression
that gas prices are much cheaper here than in Europe. I'm paying under
$2 for a gallon of premium gas.

Another thing we get ripped off on...

Taking UK petrol price at 80p/l (low average), that equates to about $6
per gallon. Even in Luxembourg, which has the cheapest petrol prices in
Western Europe, we still pay $4 per gallon.

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 21:27:40 -0000, "Doki"
wrote:

Why not just take the wheels off and chuck the bikes in the boot (trunk)?
Bike racks do very bad things to your cars aerodynamics,

That is really dependent upon the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

Roof racks don't have to have that great an impact, let alone do "very
bad things" to a vehicle's aerodynamics.

On 2004-03-15, bomba penned:
On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 10:58:25 -0700, Monique Y. Herman wrote:

I don't need to be *anywhere* near this car's top speed. Also, while
I do care about fuel efficiency to some extent, I'm under the
impression that gas prices are much cheaper here than in Europe. I'm
paying under $2 for a gallon of premium gas.

Another thing we get ripped off on...

Taking UK petrol price at 80p/l (low average), that equates to about
$6 per gallon. Even in Luxembourg, which has the cheapest petrol
prices in Western Europe, we still pay $4 per gallon.

I just filled up. It was like $1.88 for premium gas. If I'd gone for
the regular gas it would've been more like $1.60, I think.

--
monique