Bike Racks
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June 2005
We just bought a HOnda CRV and had a roof bike rack installed by
the dealer. It makes so much noise! I was enjoying the car,
keeping the sun roof open almost all the time and it was so
quiet. Now, even with the sun roof closed there's a whistling
noise coming from the air resistance against the roof rack.
Anyone else have this problem? How can I fix it? I'm almost to
the point where I want it removed! IT's terrible! Any ideas how
to fix it? The dealer just said, ''Oh yeah, we get a lot of
complaints about that.'' Well, don't you think you should warn
customers about it then? I'm really angry and upset about this.
I find the noise almost unbearable! Any suggestions or ideas are
greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Jodi
We had the same problem with our Yakima kayak racks until we
bought and installed the matching fairing, which is that strip of
plastic (about 6'' wide) that runs at an angle across the front of
the car right above the windshield. It really cut down on the
noise--that's what it's for. You may want to ask your dealer if
they sell those, or see if you can get one aftermarket from REI
or similar.
Quiet Ride
November 2001
I am looking to purchase a good quality, sturdy, non wobbly bike rack
that can hold 4 bikes so that our family can venture on some rides
beyond the usual paths around here. I finally have a 2" hitch installed
onto my Toyota Sienna minivan and at this point have catalogs from REI
describing racks from Yakima and Thule. Yakima's top of the line model,
the Roc'ngate, seems nice with the swing away feature for. Wondering if
it's worth the high price ($459). My own bike has the woman's drop bar
which seems more awkward to hang on our other bike rack. I would
appreciate input on experiences with 4 bike capacity bike racks. Yakima,
Thule, any other brands plus the particular model that you have.
Thanks!
Liz
You're not obliged to put all four bikes in the same place. We have
a rack that attaches to the back window of the car that takes two
bikes and another that fits to the packrack on the roof takes the
other two.
Fiona
Our family, and many people in our cycling club (not just families) use
Yakima roof rack systems. One of their advantages is that you can get bike
mounts for all kinds of bikes individually, rather than rely on "one mount
fits all" that the trunk racks have. We have different mounts for our road
bikes (same mount works for mountain bikes), kid bikes, and tag-along. You can also get a tandem mount for a roof rack. (Try putting a tandem on a trunk rack!)
The disadvantages of a roof rack are:
1. Wind drag.
2. You have to be aware of the total height of your car with bikes on it when entering parking structures.
3. If you have a van, it may be too awkward to put a bike on top of it. (This isn't such a problem with SUV's.)
4. If you are small and not strong, you would have trouble putting bikes on the inner two mounts. When I ride with my son alone, I can put my own road bike on the rack and put his heavy kid's bike in the car.
The total cost of a Yakima or Thule roof system is probably higher than that of a trunk rack system, but the cost is outweighed by the flexibility of the system. Above I mentioned different kinds of bike mounts, but you can take off the bike mounts and put on a roof carrier (Yakima makes very capacious ones), ski mounts, kayak mounts, surfboard mounts, or just tie things to the rack for hauling.
Fran
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