Quantcast

Roof Racks on compact cars

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
With theses rediculous gas prices..I'm gonna have to ditch the shuttle vehicle for a small compact ie. Mini Couper. I see that Sportworks/Thule makes the type of roof rack where you don't have to remove wheels. Anybody have any insight with this type on a small compact...I mean my DHR probably weighs more than the car!
I want to be able to get 2 DH bikes up there??
 

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
AR_ said:
Do you mean the original Mini cooper? Not the new BMW one? If so i'de also be interested.. Edd and myself are trying to sort one for the top of his mini.. We're honestly not sure how two racelinks are gonna fit up there though!

http://www.littermag.com/ (Edd left, me right)
Dang!.....that is a MINI! No I'm considering the BMW Mini which from looking at your pic is probably a bit bigger...but yeah I'm wondering if that size of car can handle the weight of 2 bikes.
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
Edgy said:
Dang!.....that is a MINI! No I'm considering the BMW Mini which from looking at your pic is probably a bit bigger...but yeah I'm wondering if that size of car can handle the weight of 2 bikes.
not sure about the mini, thought that they have a 100lb weight limit or something on the roof. and if you get the MCS, you can't put a hitch on it either due to the center exhaust.

I've got a tC, and it does have a roof rack on it. cuts down on the mileage I get, w/o bikes I get 28 or so, w/ bikes it drops to 24-25 depending on the speed. :D fits 2 dh bikes fine, though.
 

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
Brian HCM#1 said:
Will a hitch mount work?
Well like Dante pointed out the Mini S has a dual exhaust right in the middle...so thats why I was inquiring about the roof method.
I saw someone on the other side of the freeway with this type and it looked like they were in a small to midsize car.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I have a new beetle. Even with a fork-up, 1 DH bike is pushing the limit of the roof rack. I've had it come off with snowboards before.
The limiting factor on a small car is the 2 door issue. With no rear doors, you have to place the cross bars of the rack very close together. You don't have to be a physics major to know that wider is better for heavy leveraged loads.
Good luck with a hitch rack on a car that low. If I could get a sportworks on my beetle, I would.
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
pics of roof rack on a tC (two door):





the lack of room for the legs to hold on to kinda sucks, but the bikes are stable (at least with a forkup) at speed. if you're really interested in holding bikes onto the roof, VWs have a mounting bracket for Yakima racks to attach to. That will hold 2 dh bikes on the roof while doing 90mph on an off ramp in a 20th AE GTI. Not that I'd know or anything... ;)
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
you can prob do 2 dh bikes on the top of the mini, if they are like my VW or my dad bmw they have actual tabs that say a yakima clip will actually go around, the thing is incredibly stiff, and the mini is an engineering marvel, im sure i can withstand 100+ lbs. Personally though with dh bikes i would run fork-ups they are so tall that i just never feel secure having them wobble. My setup on my jetta right now is tight, its a regular yakima roofrack, with 2 viper attachments (the best yakima has) and fork ups for the DH bikes...my 2 cents.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
AR_ said:
Do you mean the original Mini cooper? Not the new BMW one? If so i'de also be interested.. Edd and myself are trying to sort one for the top of his mini.. We're honestly not sure how two racelinks are gonna fit up there though!

http://www.littermag.com/ (Edd left, me right)

got any more pics of the mini ? man i love the classic ones my dream is to have an old mini painted audi negarro blue with a skid plate on the bottom, lowered all the way to the floor, with about 6 150 watt hellas on the front and a brushguard thing. Oh with sticky ass tires wow im getting excited...OMG i would effing nuts in that hahhaha
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
manhattanprjkt83 said:
got any more pics of the mini ? man i love the classic ones my dream is to have an old mini painted audi negarro blue with a skid plate on the bottom, lowered all the way to the floor, with about 6 150 watt hellas on the front and a brushguard thing. Oh with sticky ass tires wow im getting excited...OMG i would effing nuts in that hahhaha
nope, I want one of these: http://racetec.net/vtecmini.htm

vtec mini's... :drool:
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
those have to be soooooooooooooooooooooooo fun to drive, anyone feel me on the skid plate? It would make it impossible to work on but it would be so kick ass...isnt this thread about roof racks? :sneaky:
 

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
Thanks gents....all points well noted and it does seem that the fork up is going to be the safest method for compact cars. Of course I was trying to be a lazy azz and NOT have to pull the front tire off but I guess you have to give to get...and what I need to get is better gas mileage. I'm blowing $60-90 a week going back n forth to work and the occasional shuttle. Thats at least...1 new Maxxis or 2 Kendas!

I don't know what the price of gas is in your area but here in Anaheim, CA ARCO is $2.89 and seems to have been climbing at approx .02 every other day or so. With the Katrina thing it's probably only going to get worse. :mumble:

Good luck to all...especially if you're in an affected area.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
dante said:
if you're really interested in holding bikes onto the roof, VWs have a mounting bracket for Yakima racks to attach to. That will hold 2 dh bikes on the roof while doing 90mph on an off ramp in a 20th AE GTI. Not that I'd know or anything... ;)

Please elaborate. Is there a way to attach a roof rack to a VW other than those cheesy feet that grab under the door trim??
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
buildyourown said:
Please elaborate. Is there a way to attach a roof rack to a VW other than those cheesy feet that grab under the door trim??
not sure, but on Todd's GTI if you pull down the door trim there's pegs to hold the Yakima rack if you have the right adaptors. not sure if that's the "cheesy feet that grab under the door trim" or not, but would rather have that setup than the "put the non-stick pads and wrench down tight" setup that I've got...
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Yeah, I've got the non-stick pads. That's why I lost the front cross bar in a sidewind.
Word of caution, don't ever use those snowboard rack risers on small racks.
 

GunShow?

Chimp
May 12, 2004
43
0
Edgy said:
With theses rediculous gas prices..I'm gonna have to ditch the shuttle vehicle for a small compact ie. Mini Couper.....be able to get 2 DH bikes up there??
Mini Cooper....Edgie????

Aren't you the one who always makes fun of Rabie's Miata? :think:

I am not familiar with the Mini, but could you fit 2 people, 2 dh bikes, and 2 sets of DH gear in it? You might need one of those Mini's from that 'Italian Job' movie.
 

Five

Turbo Monkey
Mar 8, 2003
1,506
0
West Seattle, WA
buildyourown said:
I have a new beetle. Even with a fork-up, 1 DH bike is pushing the limit of the roof rack. I've had it come off with snowboards before.
The limiting factor on a small car is the 2 door issue. With no rear doors, you have to place the cross bars of the rack very close together. You don't have to be a physics major to know that wider is better for heavy leveraged loads.
Good luck with a hitch rack on a car that low. If I could get a sportworks on my beetle, I would.
I just saw a new beetle w/ hitch rack at lunch today. That's the first one I've seen w/ one.
 

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
GunShow? said:
Mini Cooper....Edgie????

Aren't you the one who always makes fun of Rabie's Miata? :think:

I am not familiar with the Mini, but could you fit 2 people, 2 dh bikes, and 2 sets of DH gear in it? You might need one of those Mini's from that 'Italian Job' movie.
Brentwood...If Rabie wasn't such a good rider he'd never be able to get away with that Miata(at least its black!) but the MINI is on the complete other side of the spectrum..here's my analogy Miata= :heart: MINI= :evil:
Yeah...its gonna be tight but I need to conserve right now..I'll still consider the truck down the road.
BTW, Sagit just got a new Tundra and he's been the shuttle weenie for the last 2 years...so I guess its my turn.
 

Edgy

Monkey
May 1, 2003
410
0
O.C
dondon said:
This is the perfect rack, quick easy and no need to take wheels off.
It is the Yakima King Cobra rack. We did over 50 000 miles with Dh bike on the roof with no problems whatsoever - except maybe bugs in the midwest.
check it
http://www.dhracers.com/images/anka_yaks/element1.jpg
Hey......so good to see your up and about..well at least on the comp.
Hope you're recovering as expected...hope to see you in socal sometime soon.