Bike racks?

[MattB]

I'm very interested, but those images aren't appearing for me...

[Elwood]

I installed a Curt trailer hitch on my CR-Z, and all went well except that the bolt that goes through the loop at the rear center of the car wouldn't tighten securely. That is, the hitch bounces up and down just a tiny bit, so I put a U-clamp on it, which works pretty well. Next I added my Saris T-Rax Pro 2-bike rack and it worked pretty well, except that it was pretty low and once hit the road when I pulled out of a banked driveway. Ouch! With my bike wheels so low, I knew I had to do something. I hired a local machinist to modify the horizontal member of the rack so it angled up 45 degrees. That raised the rack several inches and kept the rack and bikes safely above the ground, well worth the $60. With two bikes, the rear of the car does ride a bit lower, and add a passenger and luggage for a day trip and the handling is noticeably less nimble. Mileage drops by about 5 mpg compared to commuting to work, but it's still nearly 40, which ain't bad. I'll attach photos of the rack before and after the modification.

[Little Zee]

The modification to the bike rack looks really effective. Thanks for sharing!!

[Alexander9871]

If you need to carry a load on your car roof. you first need to buy roof bars and make sure they are properly secured. We have high quality roof bars to suit most cars and vans and an extensive range of fitting kits to complete the package.
cable raceways

[karlev]

Sorry to dig this up... REI doesn't carry the Saris Bones 2, but does carry the bones 3. With a 20% off coupon (and the 10% members refund!) it's actually cheaper for me to get the Bones 3.

So, has anyone used the Bones 3? Would you trust it on the CR-Z? Obviously it's kind of funny having room for 3 bikes on a car with two seats, but I have friends who ride and could use this on their (larger) cars.

I doubt I'd ever mount 3 bikes on my CR-Z... But would it be worth the extra cost (maybe $10?) to get the smaller Bones 2 rather than the Bonds 3? Any thoughts?

I could also get a Thule or Yakima rack, but the models they carry are about $250 and up before discounts... And I'm not familiar with the models, other than that they say they're compatible with the CR-Z. Any thoughts? I don't mind spending a bit more to make sure something isn't at risk of damaging my car. I'd throw a hitch on but my car is lowered and I'm not up for scraping my 39 year old bike on a driveway or something like that. And hills actually exist in Wisconsin, rather than Florida!