Bike racks

[section8joe]

I have a roof rack from my old car(vw gti) and i was wondering if i should keep it or just buy a new hitch rack. I have an 02 explorer xls. I travel alot with my friends to ride skateparks across the country. We ride bmx bikes and some of the bikes are pretty heavy(40 lbs). The explorer is alot higher than my gti and i think it might be a pain in the butt to lift the bikes onto the rack all the time. I'm also worried about clearance with things like atm machines and drive thrus. If i buy a hitch rack i worried about weight of the bikes being an issue. I have a 1 1/4 hitch and on the thule website it asks about weight limits for the hitch. I don't know if there is a 200lb or 300lb weight limit for my hitch. Anybody have either of these racks? What do you think i should do?

 

[jenren81]

Does the roof rack fit on your explorer? I just got an '03 sport recently and am awaiting my roof rack cross bars and mounts, etc. I was in the same dilemma as you...I didn't know if I should get a roof or hitch mount. I think the hitch mount is probably easier, but don't know much about the weight limits. I'm buying a new rack of some dude and he is just throwing in two of the roof bike tray mount things for like 20 bucks...so I guess that is what I'm going to do for now. I carry mountain bikes so I imagine lifting them up there will be a pain. I bet the weight would be fine for the hitch, but I have a 2 inch so I don't really know. I'm getting the yakima low riders.

That's cool you travel around to different skateparks...I have a lot of respect for skaters because it is soo hard. I'm starting to get into it again, thanks to my 7 year old brother who thinks his older sister should know how to do everything. It's crazy how much harder skating is after like a 10 year break
-jenni

 

[section8joe]

bump.

 

[99stocksport]

i would go with a hitch mount. that is what i have and it is very easy to use, plus it does not really hurt your gas milage like a roof rack does.

 

[bmxking5]

I use a hitch mounted bike rack as well. It works pretty well, but we have to load on the bikes a certain way or they won't work. Since it is pretty much designed for mtn. and road bikes (skinny/long frames) we have to put our BMX bikes in a certain order so that they will all fit on correctly.

 

[Hokie]

definately go with a hitch mounted, lifting thigns onto the top of the Ex is a PITA

don't worry about the load ratings, you aren't going to break a 1 1/4 hitch with a little 'ole bike rack. You could put 4 bikes on the rack and the hitch wouldn't even know they were there. or if you're worried about it, they sell 1 1/4" >> 2" adapters so you could run a bigger hitch rack

I hang all sorts of crap off my hitch... cargo rack, kayak rack, mtn bike rack, ski rack...

 

[Explorerhucker]

Actually.......

I'm a Mtn bike feind and the best rack on the market right now is the sportworks racks. They are made to handle heavy loads, are easy to use, and fit most any bike in a second. They have both sizes 1 1/4 and 2". With small bikes you could get 4 on there, and they have a new one (2") that fits up to 250lbs. Thule just aquired the company, but they are sure to jack prices, so buy them now. Trust me, they're the best by far. Look up Sportworks on Google.

 

[Explorerhucker]

Actually again....

I've seen tons of 1 1/4 racks bend, so DO pay attention to the load ratings!!

 

[Hectanooga]

I am also a mtn. biking nut and I decided on the hatch mounted rack. It just hold on to your rear hatch with some little fingers. It goes on and off in minutes and doesn't cost as much as roof or hitch mounted solutions. (Though there are major advantages to roof and hitch...) It all depends on what you want to do. Look around on the internet for different setups.

www.rei.com is good.
www.jcwhitney.com has some stuff.
www.rackattack.com
www.thuleracks.com

Just a few site to get started on research.

 

[Hokie]

I am also a mtn. biking nut and I decided on the hatch mounted rack. It just hold on to your rear hatch with some little fingers. It goes on and off in minutes and doesn't cost as much as roof or hitch mounted solutions. (Though there are major advantages to roof and hitch...) It all depends on what you want to do. Look around on the internet for different setups.

www.rei.com is good.
www.jcwhitney.com has some stuff.
www.rackattack.com
www.thuleracks.com

Just a few site to get started on research.

I have a hatch mounted one too (I think its a Thule) and it used to drive me insane b/c you can't open the rear hatch or the back glass when it is mounted so accessing equipment/gear had to be done from the over the seats (which is even a bigger pain in the butt in a 2door)