i carry two DH bike on a sportworks rack. they are a little on the pricy side but ever since i got rear-ended im sticking with them. the rack did an amazing job of protecting my car and the bikes. the only damaged sustained was one bent atom lab wheel and a 3mm long scratch on my bumper. i was amazed, i got outta the car thinking i would have to cap the womans legs off.

my only gripe is the fact that my damn muffler sits like 2 inchs from my bumper. i hate that. although, it's worth it since the hitch system is much more efficent than a roof rack when it comes to DH rigs.

hope this helps.
~SGD

 

I would go with a hitch bike rack.

I used to have a Thule roof rack on my old Civic and it was actually a pain to use. You have to lift the bike on top of the car and after a long day at the trail all the dirt from the bike falls off on top of your car. Plus, there were a few times where the bike slipped out of my hands and scratched the roof.

The wind noise of the bike rack can get annoying too. Even without a bike on it, it is very noticable. It even would effect my cars performance and gas mileage. You might think, well I'll just take it off whenever I'm not using it but it's such a pain to take off, you'll put it on there and never want to mess with taking it on and off all the time.

I finally sold the Thule and decided to try the hitch rack since there was a hitch on my car for towing a Sea Doo. The hitch rack is so much easier. It just slides into the hitch and you place the bikes on it and lock it down. Takes like 1 minute. With the roof rack I had to take the front wheel off, lift the bike on the roof, clamp it down, lock it, strap the rear wheel down, then put the front wheel on the seperate carrier. Just not very convienent.

If you decide to use a hitch rack be sure to get one that has foam or rubber around the arm that holds the frame of the bike. Otherwise it will scratch your bike. Also be sure to get one that keeps the bikes from swaying and bumping the rear of the car. Thule and Yakima also make some hitch racks that look very decent. I've got a cheap RoadGear rack which is about to go. It's not nice enough for my new WRX.

Another thing I've noticed with our wagons is that people with roof racks have to face the bikes backwards or the rear hatch door hits the tube that holds the bike in. This may not go for all roof racks. Some might say the backwards facing bikes looks silly but who really cares.

 

i sell both types at my shop.
yes, hich rack are much eaiser to use, but they are not as modular as a roof rack. you can always buy different accessories for a roof rack to expand your system. also, you have to get the hitch hooked up to your car. but if you go with the hitch, yakima makes a good one. the ROC series are pretty good.
on the roof rack side, i would get a bike carrier like the yakima lock jaw. it hooks up to you down tube so you dont have to take your front wheel off (cool if you have thru-axel hubs). yakima makes a newer model, but i cant remember the name. just dont forget your bikes are on top of the car when you pull into you garage. i make that mistake once.

 

see you on ridemonkey :banana:

~SGD

 

I have a Yakima trailer hitch bicke mount. Takes 1 miniute to put on or take off. Kinda $$$$ though.

Nick