i am very happy so far with my Kaut Sherpa 2.0. You can get an adapter depending on hitch size.

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@adamwfurlong

 
I will share my one bad experience with roof mount bike rack. We drove from Houston to Lubbock for the Buffalo Springs 1/2 Ironman. I drove the last leg. We arrived at the host hotel and saw parking at the covered entrance. Hit the gas, forgetting the bikes on top, three of them. Took apart the roof rack, dropped the bikes along the back of the SUV and damaged one of the wheels. Had to duct tape things together for the ride home, buy replacement parts upon arriving back in Houston as the Lubbock shops did not carry that brand rack and therefore no parts. I also had to pay for bike repairs. Lesson learned the hard way.

Avoid rooftop mount bike racks!


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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Also love my Kuat. They just got a super review in Velo News.

Borrowed a Thule for a weekend and it wasn't nearly as stout.


Only downside to the Kuat is that I believe they are MAP priced, so unless you see someone with a 20% off sale that forgets to exclude Kuat you'll never get a good deal. I was able to get one from that scenario from Western Bike Works.

I don't have a hitch either, so I'd have to invest in one.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

E trailer is very competitive and very knowledgeable.

So far general consensus seems to be invest in getting a trailer mounted rack. Anyone have any experience with the Saris Bones or other hatchback style racks?

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Best trunk rack....ever!


https://www.rei.com/...do-2-bike-trunk-rack

I don't have it but a friend of mine does - the Inno INH305. Best design I have seen. The handle to tilt it down or up is on the end so you don't have to reach through wheels or anything to get to the trunk or hatchback. Maybe there is an issue I am not aware of, but in my experience the design and ease of use is far superior to Kuat or any others I have tried.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

I have or have had all 3 types (roof, hitch, & trunk) on various vehicles... For a tiny car like that w/ poor ground clearance, I'd go roof rack. Trunk rack on a hatchback will work, but pretty much defeats the hatchback functioning. Hitch rack will be an issue just finding a receiver mount that'll fit and clear the muffler/exhaust on a vehicle that's not designed to do any towing whatsoever, and even then you may have issues scraping bottom going out of steeper driveways and curb cuts vs roadway crowns. Not to mention, you'd probably be limited to 1-1/4" receivers instead of 2" which gives a much more solid mounting since many of the better racks are designed for 2", so you might need either an additional reducing adapter (which also extends the clearance problem) or face fewer rack choices.

Hitch mount is much better on a truck/SUV that already has a receiver installed along w/ the added ground clearance, plus then the total combined height starts making a roof rack much less user-friendly (and of course the overhead clearance becomes a bigger issue too). Roof rack on a small car isn't as much trouble to reach when loading/unloading your bike, and keeps it safely up & away from other inattentive dickweeds in parking lots. Overhead clearance in a garage is probably still a concern, but less so w/ restaurant/hotel drive-thrus, etc than atop a taller vehicle to begin with. Personally, I'm a Yakima guy, and use the racks for other stuff besides just the bike trays (but more $$, of course). Trunk mount is good for strictly going cheap, but best on a conventional trunk when you can leave it on and still open the trunk if need be. It's also the least secure.

I really like the trailer hitch/rack setup. I have a Civic with a Curt trailer hitch and the Yakima Hold Up. A hitch will run you about $110. Not sure what year Insight you have, but the installation doesn't look too difficult on the 2014. I would imagine the Civic is fairly similar in size/ground clearance to the Insight. I only have one spot where I've had a scraping issue, one of the exits from my work garage has a pretty steep drop. Other cars have issues with it too though, so it's not just the trailer hitch.

I wouldn't get the Yakima rack again. The arms that clamp down the front wheel seem to come loose on them. There's no way to tighten those arms back up either. I had my LBS get me a warranty replacement. I think it's mostly the large surface area of my Trek Speed Concept with Zipp 404's that is causing the problem. The Civic doesn't really offer any wind protection, so there's a lot of surface area to push on that one arm. I don't seem to have the same problem with the same rack that's on our minivan, and it really started getting bad when I was driving the tri bike around more. Could be coincidence though. Not sure if the Kuat racks has that same problem, but the Kuat Sherpa seemed to be a little more overbuilt than the Yakima.

I've had trunk, roof, and hitch racks over the years. Plus and minuses to all (just look at the responses!). IMHO, a hitch rack is the better option. Of course, as indicated, there are pluses and minuses to every rack too. I have found the 1up USA to be the best option and we are VERY happy with ours. See: https://www.1upusa.com/ We have the 2" double with 2 add-ons to carry 4 bikes. Rock solid and secure. All aluminum. It will last forever! Very easy to use - my small wife (as opposed to the other large one) can easily load 4 bikes by herself in just a couple of minutes (I can do 4 in less than a minute).

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

A friend of mine has a Sea Sucker, swears by it. Least intrusive and smallest rack I have run across. Looks a bit spooky, but they tested it with a drift car and picked up a VW bus with it. Just a thunk it...

https://www.seasucker.com/

Thanks,
Frank

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Thanks,
Frank

http://www.morf-tech.com

Done this twice - once was low speed and thankfully the rack failed before the bike (hotel parking area). Second time was was pulling into my own garage - picture tired, 3 hour road trip, screaming baby in the back of the Element and CRACK. Bye bye front fork and head tube.

On the upside, this is a great way to get a new bike if you have great insurance like USAA. Once they sorted out if it was the car insurance or the home insurance that covered it, I had a pretty large check (less deductible) pretty quickly.

Oh and for the record I use a Yakima mount - can't remember which one but it's fork mounted.

I've only had roof racks for at least 10 years now on honda civic and subaru impreza hatchback. In fact it's the same thule rack, and I love it. I'm careful not to drive in my garage and usually put something on my dashboard to remind me. I do have the thule trunk hitch on our minivan with the tilt away function so the rear door can open without removing the rack. Overall, I think thule is a tad expensive, but once fit and settled I've never had to worry about it, no matter the speed.

Thought I resurrect this. Still thinking about racks. I'd like something cheap otherwise I'll be going the put the seat down method until the off season.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

without out a doubt 1up racks. two years later and I am still happy. best rack I've ever owned.

I've been really happy with my saris bones 3 bike rack for the past 18-24 months, though I do not think it is compatible with your car (at least not according to saris calculator). Etrailer might have some good videos on youtube for you to look over. One thing to consider is whatever you settle on is to make sure it has some good anti-sway to prevent the bike from damaging the car or vice versa. I personally am a fan of the bones bike rack because it has adjustable arms which are useful for TT bikes (smaller triangles than road bikes), so I'd recommend trying to find a bike rack that you know will work with both your car and your bike. That means testing it out or making sure it has adjustable arms. Short of that then I'd wait it out and save for the hitch over the next season and if it's still something you want next year then go that route.

I recommend a hitch rack. Get a hitch on etrailer.com, either install it yourself or take it to a local shop and they will install it for the hourly rate. I paid about $100. I would say go with a 2 inch receiver.

Then I bought a Thule rack where the bike rack swings out to the side so you can get to the trunk.

A cheap rack isn't worth it, you are better off keeping it in the car for now, and saving up for a good rack.
I had a hitch installed and use a Swagmen Semi 2.0 rack, I am very happy with it, takes all of 5 seconds to put the bike on.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

https://www.rei.com/product/783751/yakima-universal-forklift-bike-rack?CAWELAID=120217890000861698&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=16032976240&CATCI=aud-87986796984:pla-264170089171&cm_mmc=PLA_Google|404_24462|7837510010|none|329f370c-c691-41d0-829c-1c1304806eef|aud-87986796984:pla-264170089171&lsft=cm_mmc:PLA_Google_LIA|404_24462|7837510010|none|329f370c-c691-41d0-829c-1c1304806eef|aud-87986796984:pla-264170089171&gclid=CjwKEAjw5_vHBRCBtt2NqqCDjiESJABD5rCJd498snKW-9iORrSfDs0ZWPcXv3JbhFH1AATGWuMePxoCPqnw_wcB


Just bought this. Could be happier. Depending on how you want to go, it might be cheaper to by rails for the top of your car compared to the hitch.

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