[s-cars] Bike Rack Suggestions

[Lee Levitt]

Greg asks

 
> Does anyone have suggestions on a good bike rack for our cars 
> and where to get it?  I need one for mountain bikes.  Is on 
> the roof or at the trunk better?  Is there a way to attach 
> one to the roof without scratches?
> 
> I'd like to be able to carry 2 or 3 bikes.

I've used both Thule and Yakima, switched over to the latter a few years ago
when it was rumored that Thule fork mounts were snapping dropouts off front
forks. Both are quite stable. 

I've almost always used roof mount racks...but then again I have a factory
rack to mount them on. I did try a trailer hitch rack once, on my Range
Rover, but I thought it was too unstable.

I don't know about gutter mount versus trunk...I'd expect that gutter mount
(or gutterless roof mount) would be at least as stable as the trunk mount,
and much less likely to damange the car finish.

I'm a bit fanatical about this...with my bikes loaded I've got a *lot* of
money riding up there.
 
Lee
'95.5 S6 avant (Bilstein/Eibach/Euros/HID/BIRA S3)
'96 A6 quattro avant (Euros)
'91 Colnago Spiral Conic SLX race bike
'99 Colnago Crystal race bike
'2003 Hot Tubes Cyclocross race bike
'84 Colnago Super
'90 Miyata 912 (trainer rat)
'87 Wicked Fat Chance mountain bike
(and assorted other bikes that belong to family members...)