The wrong rack could be a safety hazard, scratch your vehicle, or make it easy to steal the bike

You will be limited on the number of bicycles that you can carry. The good part is they can be little bit cheaper than some of the other racks. The bad is that the bikes are a little tight on these types of racks. The other bad part is gaining access to your rear cargo area. When you have the rack installed and the bikes attached, you better hope you have a swinging left to right door on the back of your vehicle becuase this would probably be to heavy and dangerous for anybody to lift up.

Here are some good spare tire bike rack carriers that we have seen. Allen Deluxe 3-Bike Spare Tire Mount Rack Model #303DB. Thule 963 Spare Me 2-Bike Spare Tire Mount Rack Model # 963.

If you do have a spare tire on the back of your vehicle and your wondering what options might you have, here are a few. If you have a trailer hitch attached to your car you can use a Hitch Extension that extends you receiver up to 11″ in length. This will allow you to install a tradition hitch mounted  bike rack. The extensions helps clear the rack past the spare tire and will now allow you to easily access the rear cargo area of your vehicle.

Another option would be a roof mounted rack on your vehicle. This would allow full access to the rear of your vehicle.

The Bad:  If your vehicle is too tall, this might not be the best option for you.

The Good: You finally get to take advantage of that factory roof rack you bought from the car manufacturer. These bike yakima racks attach directly to your factory crossbars and include everything you need right out of the box.

The Bad: You will be limited to a maximum of 2 bikes due to the limitations of your factory crossbars.

The Bottom Line: With gas prices on the rise and people constantly downsizing their vehicles, multi-sport racks on bare roofs are becoming more popular. Adding a bike yakima rack attachment to a base rack just plain makes sense. Price Range $30 – $285

This Quote comes From Consumer Reports

Reduce unnecessary drag. At highway speeds, more than 50 percent of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. So don’t carry things on top of your vehicle when you don’t have to. Installing a large Thule Cascade 1700 car-top carrier on our Camry dropped its gas mileage from 35 mpg to 29 at 65 mph. Even driving with empty racks on the car reduces its fuel economy.

This also goes for Roof Top Bike Racks….

 Check out all the detials at Amazon.com

This is a very durable and secure rack. This rack is great because we don’t have to disassemble our bikes at all to use this rack. As soon as we get to the trail, we are off and riding!

Why Yakima is Ahead of the Rest

What really makes Yakima stand out from its competitors is the amount of choice that is given to you when it comes to the racks. Their new range not only looks fantastic, but it also features some extremely good design changes. One such change includes the loss of the average aluminum trays which have been replaced with one piece mountain bike racks that make your automobile look sleek and sophisticated.

One particular mountain bike rack which Yakima are proud of is the “SprocketRocket” which has some unique features. It is a fork mount rack and it costs just fewer than one hundred and fifty dollars. The main advantage to this rack is that it can fit any type of mountain bike onto it. Many racks are designed specifically for a certain type of mountain bike, but this one is able to accommodate all bikes and that is definitely a good advantage.

Yakima are also proud of the “HighRoller” rack which is definitely one of the best looking mountain bikes racks available to purchase. It is incredibly sturdy and it has quite a lot of vertical and body strength. It is similar in appearance to the King Cobra rack and it is mainly designed for those who like to have the best looking bikes equipment.

Generally the main thing is that you purchase a rack which is sturdy, good looking and which will make mountain biking a lot easier. Many people underestimate just how important a bike rack can be, but it really can help to make the whole mountain biking experience a lot more enjoyable. Think about it – when you travel with your bike, without a bike rack it can be awkward and that can cause you to become stressed. So by having a bike rack it allows you to easily take your bike with you and that does make the experience a lot more enjoyable.

Overall mountain biking should be fun and it will be as long as you have the right equipment. Make sure that you choose a good, sturdy rack and if you are in any doubt at all, choose a Yakima rack wherever possible.

You want to go biking out in the backwoods but it’s too far from home to consider cycling there and back. What do you do? Try to stuff your bike in the back of your car and risk damaging the upholstery or getting dirt and grease everywhere? No, the answer is simple, get a bike rack for your car or truck so you can transport your bike there and back.

That’s the easy decision made, the hard part comes in deciding what type of rack to buy. There’s a bewildering range on offer these days. This article is going to help you make an informed decision so you choose the right bike rack for your needs. So, what are your needs with regard to bike racks? Here are some starting points to consider:

• How often will you need to use it?
• How many bikes will you want to carry?
• Will the rack need to fit different vehicles (say, for example you will need to switch one rack between two family cars)?
• Is security of the bikes and rack paramount?
• Are you able to reach a high rack to load a bike onto it?
• Is your bike pretty standard in design or something unusual such as a tandem or recumbent?
• Do you already have a towing hitch fitted to your vehicle?
• Is your vehicle an off-road type with a spare wheel mounted on the rear?
• How much money are you prepared to spend?

What categories of rack are there?

There are four basic types: Hitch-mount racks. Roof mounted racks. Strap on trunk racks and racks that mount in the bed of a pickup truck. The cheapest tends to be the strap-on. They are fine for light duties but are the worst when it comes to security. The roof rack is good as it uses wasted space and doesn’t hinder access to doors or the trunk but it can be quite difficult to load up due to the working height. The hitch mount is my favorite as it is easy to load and can take a lot of weight. If you’ve a pickup and don’t need all the space in the bed for other stuff then the bed-mounted racks are great.

A bit more on the most important pros and cons of these racks:

Strap-on trunk mounted racks usually cost between $50 and $150. The rack needs to be tightly strapped onto the vehicle and the vehicle’s paintwork must be properly protected from damage if parts of the carrier rest on the body. These strap-on racks usually carry one or two bikes, sometimes three. More than that and you risk damaging the car or bikes.

Pros

• They are good if you often change your vehicle as they are universal fitting.
• They are usually a manageable height for loading bikes on to.
• When not in use, they fold down for easy storage.
• With prices starting at just $50 they are the most affordable of all bike racks.

Cons

• The usual method of fitting means the weight of your bikes and the rack is all taken on the car’s panels, risking damage (I speak from first-hand experience!).
• The polyester webbing securing straps can snap or wear out in the fullness of time.
• Theft is a high risk as the straps can be easily cut with a knife.
• Care needs to be taken when reversing as the bikes project way out beyond the tailgate.
• In many cases it’s not possible to open the trunk once the bikes are loaded.
• The rack position means that the driver’s view to the rear is often blocked.

Roof-mounted bike racks can be attached to your vehicle’s existing rack mounts if provided, or you can install a pair of crossbars that the rack attaches to. Prices start from around $50 per bike but if you need to buy crossbars, the total will end up closer to $200 for a two bike setup.

Pros

• The bikes, once loaded, are up out of your way and don’t restrict access to the trunk.
• Once you have your crossbars you are able to fit other carriers for different items such as skis or canoes.
• Most manufacturers offer lockable attachments so the rack stays on your car!
• You can carry more bikes than a strap-on setup, typically up to five bikes at once.

Cons

• This type of bike rack can be tricky to install
• Headroom is limited with bikes loaded. Many car parks etc will be ‘out of bounds’
• Noisier when driving due to wind resistance. For the same reason, fuel economy can be badly affected.
• Can be a strain to lift bikes onto these racks, especially for shorter people.

Hitch-mount racks have been getting more popular recently. They can hold lots of weight and are easy to load and unload. Simple one bike hitch-mounts start from around $100, but can go as high as $400 for a ‘top of the range’ branded model with a swing-away feature.

Pros

• The easiest of all to install -just slide it onto the trailer hitch fitting.
• Bike front wheels can usually stay in place, unlike some roof mount systems
• Easiest to lift and fix the bikes in place

Cons

• If your vehicle doesn’t already have a trailer hitch you’ll need to pay extra to get one fitted.
• Only the swing-away models are guaranteed to allow access to the car’s tailgate.
• These cost more though so check before buying if this might be an issue for you.
• Like the strap-on racks, extra care needs to be taken when reversing.
• Rear vision might also be impaired depending on the height of the vehicle.

If you do plan on taking your bikes out in your truck, consider using a bike rack truck mount. Truck bike racks are made up of rods and bars that connect across the truck bed without allowing the bikes to move during travel. The bike rack will keep the bikes from sliding around, which allows you not only to carry more than one bike without scratching the bikes, it will also protect the paint on your truck. You will maintain a greater amount of space in the truck bed using a rack, as the bikes will stand up, rather than lying down. These racks are particularly useful when you are hauling a trailer or a camper and cannot mount a bike rack on your hitch.

There are so many options to consider when purchasing a bike rack for your truck bed, so make sure to research them thoroughly! While some options require drilling to attach the rack, you can find truck bed bike racks without this as a requirement. Many of them also require that you remove the front tire of the bike, and to attach the bike fork to the rack, but there are an increasing number of options that will allow you to leave the bike tire attached, making loading and unloading a quicker process. They are also available with locking mechanisms that will aid in the security of your bike if you have to leave them in the truck while you run an errand.

Having the ability to travel with your bicycles will allow for some great bike rides that weren’t previously possible near your home. Enjoy!