I have a pair of older (2006 model) Yakima Viper fork mounted roof racks on my car; I’m also using Yakima Q-towers and crossbars. We recently purchased a car that has some very wide OME wing profile corssbars - the type with the black rubber strip running down the middle.
My question is about compatibility. Can I use my racks with these crossbars? I can tell right away that the clamps will not fit around these crossbars but I think the middle grove down the middle of these bars offers a mounting option but I’m not sure.
Without knowing what your OEM crossbars look like, I’m not sure if you can rig up the round clamps to work. I had the same problem with our RAV. Yakima makes a universal clamp which I ended up buying. It is elliptical and much longer. Should work with just about any crossbar I’ve seen.
Check directly with Yakima or your local Yakima dealer. They make a mount for just about every combination, style and design of OEM rack out there.
You should also check with your car manufacturer about what the restrictions are on the OEM racks that are on the vehicle. Some have fairly light load restrictions and depending on what you want to carry on the roof, you may need to forgo them completely and mount Yakima Cross Bars via the compatible and apropriate Q-Towers at the door/roof junction.
You are describing Thule’s (they make many OEM racks for Honda, Volvo, etc.) method for their quick mounting style (the wide, “aero” bars: remove the black rubber and a channel will be beneath it). You slide a T type bolt in their. You can buy a Thule bike rack, or some have just purchased their aero mounting kit and made it work with Yakima racks.
The oem bar adapters will look weird on a fork mount tray. The mighty mount adapters will go under the tray, but there will be an empty mounting hole up near the QR. I went with one of the rockymounts and am very happy with it. I confess that I switched out a yakima QR so that all my locks were the same though.
I apologize for the douchiness of this response, but I wish you would reconsider the rooftop rack and go for a hidden hitch + rack. This really won’t cost a lot (particularly if you get a medium end rack off ebay) and it’s way better. Rooftop racks f-up your roof, make your car look dumb, and reduce gas mileage. Plus, you have to lug your bike up on top of your roof. That, alone, is not a fun endeavor after you finish a big race.
I drive a sport sedan and I put a hidden hitch on it–best purchase I’ve made! It’s (the bike rack) so easy to remove when not in use and it’s so easy to use when I need it. I LOVE IT!!!
I drive a sport sedan and I put a hidden hitch on it–best purchase I’ve made! It’s so easy to remove when not in use and it’s so easy to use when I need it. I LOVE IT!!!
Granted my experience with these sorts of racks is limited( I use Yakima Roof Racks), but the two times that I have traveled with friends with these sorts of racks have not been good. One time, it was raining and the roads where dirty, but the bikes out the back got really dirty. Not say that they would not have been dirty on the roof - it was just exponentially more dirty from being on the rear mount. The other time, someone in another car backed into the bikes in a parking lot while the bikes were on the car and bent the wheel of the bike outermost-mounted - fortunately not my bike!
what is the car?
G35. I got a Softride Elite bike rack which is close in color to my silver car. It actually looks kind of cool–something I never thought I’d say about a bike rack. To hide the hidden hitch, I got a little add on that makes it look like a shadow underneath.
I drive a sport sedan and I put a hidden hitch on it–best purchase I’ve made! It’s so easy to remove when not in use and it’s so easy to use when I need it. I LOVE IT!!!
Granted my experience with these sorts of racks is limited( I use Yakima Roof Racks), but the two times that I have traveled with friends with these sorts of racks have not been good. One time, it was raining and the roads where dirty, but the bikes out the back got really dirty. Not say that they would not have been dirty on the roof - it was just exponentially more dirty from being on the rear mount. The other time, someone in another car backed into the bikes in a parking lot while the bikes were on the car and bent the wheel of the bike outermost-mounted - fortunately not my bike!
I know what you mean, but you have to be somewhat intelligent about this. I mean, if you stick bikes on your roof you can decapitate them in low parking garages or a drive through at Starbucks. That’s not much better than simply not driving through mud when you have an unprotected bike on the rear of your vehicle. Judging from the mud spray that I do have from time to time, my bikes are safe (and so far I’ve not had a problem despite not considering this could become a problem for me.)
While I don’t take my G35 off-roading too often, I guess I’m worried about some dummy running into me. In parking lots I always back my car in so that the bikes are on the inside, protected from people driving around. I’m also litigious enough to sue someone for damaging my bikes/car/hitch to recover damages. Regardless of these potential problems, I am LOVING my hitch rack and STRONGLY recommend them to anyone who is within earshot!
Ok guys, I just spent some time with the folks at REI. Bottom line is that the Yakima racks do not install into the center grove running down the middle of the crossbars; additionally, they do not make clamps wide enough to fit the wing profile crossbars.
