Howdy, I have a Yakima roof rack set for MTB that I’m thinking to switching to the Yakima Copperheads (fork mount). Also looking to get a box for between the bikes. Any feedback on these racks and any suggestions for a box?
Thanks in advance!
AP
I have the Yakima Viper, which was at the time their top fork rack. They’ve since come out with the very swanky SprocketRocket, which is very fancy. I have been very happy with my Viper. It’s performed admirably for three years. Get’s tons of abuse from weather, but still works just fine. No complaints. I have the SpaceBox 12 (12 cu-ft) and a wheel carrier as well on mine, though I don’t use the SpaceBox except for when doing longer trips. Overall, very pleased with how easy the SpaceBox was to mount. It’s also narrow enough that I could put another Viper and another wheel carrier on (I have a Honda CRV) if I wanted to. I found the Yakima set-ups to be much more reasonable than Thule, which is why I went with them. I couldn’t be happier.
Oh, thanks Jordan, this is great to know, I was a bit worried that the box & two bikes might be a bit of a stretch… We already have the Yakima base bars, so no point in switching to Thule…
On your Viper, how did you find the rear cup for holding the bike steady? The MTB rack we have now has very wide cups and a crank arm lock (similar to the Raptor model they sell now), so the bikes tend to wobble a lot when driving. Did you retrofit the cup at all to handle the narrow wheels?
J/curious.
AP
I use the steelheads for my road bikes and they work great. Fork mounts are way more stable anyway. I jsut got back from a 3000 mile drive to CO and back with my two bikes on the roof and no worries. Get the viper if you have bikes with disc brakes, but otherwise the Steelhead is fine.
On your Viper, how did you find the rear cup for holding the bike steady? The MTB rack we have now has very wide cups and a crank arm lock (similar to the Raptor model they sell now), so the bikes tend to wobble a lot when driving. Did you retrofit the cup at all to handle the narrow wheels?
I’ve got Vipers as well, and the fork mount is rock solid. I’ve actually forgotten to secure the strap that holds the rear wheel on more than one occasion, and have never had any discernible movement (and you know how I drive). The fork clamp is BEEFY. All the strap in the back does is prevent your wheel from hopping out of the tray - and unless you’re bombing down San Franciscan stairstep hills like they do in the movies, I really don’t think it’s moving anyway.
excellent… and some day we may well end up flying thru SF with bikes on the roof, right? 
AP
If you let me take that detour next time, then yes - definitely!
Another vote for the Yakima, carry our 2 bikes around on top of our little Toyota all the time. We recently added a cargo carrier that goes between the 2 bikes for camping stuff. Only thing I wish it had…an alarm or some kind of warning device to tell my husband not to drive into the garage with my bike on top of the car!!! LOL
Howdy, I have a Yakima roof rack set for MTB that I’m thinking to switching to the Yakima Copperheads (fork mount). Also looking to get a box for between the bikes. Any feedback on these racks and any suggestions for a box?
Thanks in advance!
AP
I have a set of Copperheads, they work quite well and after a few test runs I’m pretty confident in their ability to safely get our bikes from A to B at highway speeds. The locks don’t look to be the most secure in the world - they’re fine for running into the store to grab something but I wouldn’t bee too comfortable going for a long dinner or leaving them overnight. Bike thieves can be amazingly resourceful and persistent.
Overall I’ve found them to be really good value, they’ll get some use tomorrow morning when we leave for Penticton, can’t wait.
I have the ‘swanky’ SprocketRockets on my Outback. With two road/tri bikes on there, I think a box would be a very snug fit, but could work. I don’t have anything to compare them with and have only had them mounted for a few months but I really like them, especially the locking skewers. The trays are pretty wide but probably only wide enough to hold a 2.0 or 2.1 mtb tire.
Oh, thanks Jordan, this is great to know, I was a bit worried that the box & two bikes might be a bit of a stretch… We already have the Yakima base bars, so no point in switching to Thule…
On your Viper, how did you find the rear cup for holding the bike steady? The MTB rack we have now has very wide cups and a crank arm lock (similar to the Raptor model they sell now), so the bikes tend to wobble a lot when driving. Did you retrofit the cup at all to handle the narrow wheels?
J/curious.
AP
I got a piece of small piece pipe foam (the cylindrical stuff) and cut it in half. Then I loop that across the hoop of my wheel UNDER the strap. That seems to do a very good job of holding it in place. As a result, the strap can distribute its holding force over much more of the wheel, which is why I think it improves things. Overall, my bike seems very solid in there. I had to come up with this system, as I was nervous about strapping down on my Zipp 404s, which is what is normally on my bike. But I think it’s the way I’d do it now for any wheels.