figured id make a new thread cause the last ones 10 years old and technology has most likely changed.
Buying a new car tomorrow. a corolla hatchback. I am unsure if I should put roof racks on it or if I should put a hitch on it and buy a hitch rack.
I have only had a hitch rack before and although I do like the hitch rack I am scared shitless of being rear ended with my bike on the back so I was kind of leaning towards roof racks for the new car.
I went in to Rackology and they quoted me 850 installed for the THULE roof racks. I am unsure if thatās a good price or not but I am not familiar with these kind of things.
Iād like to hear some peoples opinions and feedback on the topic if possible.
I prefer the hitch mount rack.
The ability to see my bike while Iām driving puts my mind at ease.
And loading/unloading the bike is that much easier.
Iāve had roof racks for yearsā¦ The latest car they are on is a lawn ornament now and if I was ever getting a rack again it would be a hitch rack. The kuat stuff looks pretty good.
Iāve had both and hitch is the way to go for sure, just like everyone else has said. There are lots of great hitch options out there now to choose from. And with a hitch rack you wonāt show up to ride with the front of your fork/ handlebars/ frame covered in bug guts. And do you really want to hoist your bike up onto a roof and muck about with it after a day at Wentworth? Enduro bikes are a riot, but they certainly arenāt featherweights! If you do go hitch route your hitch may have a tab in it that prevents the rack from sliding in far enough, a lot of the aftermarket hitches have this tab for whatever reason. If that happens to be the case and your rack wonāt go in far enough to get the lock pin in just swing out and Iāll knock it off for you.
Had roof racks for years and everything about them sucks. They cause extra drag and noise even without bikes mounted. If you have a sunroof you canāt open it. Itās harder to hoist bikes onto the rack, and they are expensive compared to hitch racks.
On most cars, you can buy an aftermarket hitch for only a few hundred bucks and they are usually just four bolts to install. The Thule XTR is a great rack, and itās easy to move around when itās off the car thanks to the little wheels.
Would agree and the curt hitches usually come with clear installation instructions. Iāve installed some and had no issues with themā¦ I know more people who have driven their bikes into things on a roof rack then ever had issues with a hitch rackā¦
Iām also looking for a hitch rack when I canāt use the truck so if you find any good deals let me knowā¦
I second thst roof racks suck. My first bike broke loose from the rack on the highway and had over $200 damage to the bike. Not to mention the shop that fixed it head mechanic said hed had the same yakima roof rack do the same thing twice.
As for hitch mount i wish i could reccomend apple auto glass on kempt road still. They were hands down the best shop in hrm both in skill and price wise far superior than anyone else. I had ordered truck accessories and had them installed there by damon. Price point on one item was half the price of atlantic car stereo and 1/4 of what parte for trucks wanted.
Thatās been a fear of mine too, and correct me if Iām wrong but I always assumed that my car insurance would cover the cost of repairing or replacing the bike. Iāve never actually looked into it with my insurance company though.
One thing going in favour of roof racks is that if youāre a multi-sport household, you can carry lots of other types of stuff with the right attachments ($$$$$).
damn. thanks for the input you guys, it is really appreciated and definitely has my re thinking the roof racks. Iāve used a hitch for the last 3 years and have just used a $100 dollar hitch rack (lmaoooo, I know) but this time I want something more sound and trustworthy. I will look into hitches and a hitch rack.
I have a 2in hitch and a VelociRax and I havent found a better combo. Velocirax arenāt ācheapā but theyre worth the dough. They come in plenty of sizes too (2 - 7 bikes) and have some nice features like a build in wedge to keep it stable in the hitch and dampers that allow the rack to tilt down for easy load/unload.
Iāve had a roof rack on my old civic and Jetta for years. They are great on small cars as the roofs are low enough to make them easy to use. Yakima makes great trays for the roof. Iāve mostly always had small cars, and on the last small car two bikes on the hitch rack was a concern. You can literally hear the interior plastics rubbing on each other has the car flexed under the weight of two bikes on the car while driving though a bump or depression. That was a '18 Golf Sportwagon with 1.25" tray rack. Iāll never use one with a small car again, and Iād only use a 2". Nothing bad ever happened, but I know how those tiny hitches are bolted and they donāt bolt very far under the car to make a nice solid connection. The other problem was the rubbing of the hitch rack on the pavement when you go into a driveway or whatnot.
I use a Thule hitch rack with my Outback now, and itās been great. Love everything about it, but I never had problems with my roof rack bike racks in the past. I would use them with a tall car, but smaller yes. I always have to have a roof rack anyway for boats, lumber, filing cabinets, or whatnot.
Again, i appreciate all the feedback. I am pretty set on a hitch rack now but after seeing @landandwater ās comment im a bit nervous. The car i have purchased is a 2022 corolla hatchback se. I know its a smaller car and im just curious if anyone here would be worried about a hitch rack being too heavy for it? I would usually only be carrying around my own bike but id like to be able to carry a second if need be.
I honestly never really took this into account when buying the car but i love the car and its mine now lol.
Just curious if anyone has any insight on if having a hitch rack on a smaller hatchback could be a bad idea? And that being said, wheres the best place to begin looking local?
I used a two bike hitch rack on a Mazda 2 for a couple years including a couple trips to Sugarloaf. Other than seeing the bikes in the mirror I never noticed they were there.
