Looking for a bike rack for my 5th gen. Anyone have pics, suggestions, feedback, etc...

top vs trunk mounted?

I drive my car like i stole it so I need something sturdy and non-damaging to my cars paint and body...

PS pics would be nice...

 

there are a few floating around. 95greenlude has a 4th gen with a bike rack. and soon i'll probably have the same one he does. bike shops say there isn't enough length between where the crossbars woudl go to mount a bike safely, but I guess yakima makes an extender bar that helps out. i think 5th gens may be the same way.. browse through prelude pics before roughly page 130. i think I saw a 5th gen w/ a rack near there.. maybe 110

 

I went with a hitch rack on my 4th gen. I did it for the cheap price ($50 for hitch, $70 for rack), but its nice not having the constant drag from a roof rack, or the paint scratches from a trunk rack. The downside is that while I take my rack off when I'm not using it, you can still see the small hitch reciever from the back. Also when you load up a couple of bikes they are mounted sideways and cause quite a bit of drag, it drops my fuel economy by about 3-4 mpg. I'll see if I can scrounge up a pic.

 

Heres an old pic. Sorry for the crap quality but you get the idea. And before anyone comments, the chrome tip was a dare, its long gone...

 

thanks for the pic...how does the hitch mount?

 

bump

 

The hitch looks like a "T" approx 8" wide and 8" long. There are three mounting points, two on each end of the horizontal part of the T, and one on the top in the middle. Two bolts go through the rack into the bottom of the bumper through existing holes, and there is a U shaped bolt that hooks through the rear tow hook. Sorry that sounds confusing, I'll see if I can get a pic. The rack and hitch are made by Draw-Tite. Also the rack may mount differently on a fifth gen. If I recall I thought you had a white 5th gen with polished GABs at one point...

Pics:
Back view, those two bolts you see are part of the U bolt that mounts through the tow hook


Close up


Bottom View, back of car is bottom of image, you can see the bumper mounting bolts at the edges of the image


Rack Reciever




Modified by FadeToBlack at 1:06 PM 7/17/2006


Modified by FadeToBlack at 1:08 PM 7/17/2006

 

awesome pics bro..

really appreciate it..

i think i'm going w/ a roof rack...just don't want to pay 500 for a yakima rack..sigh

 

If you'll spend that kind of money, go for a Thule. A friend of mine that works in a bike shop recommended it over the Yakima because it is a better fit for 2dr cars. The Yakima is good quality, but it has a more generic design.

 

good info, i thought about that too...yakima you piece together there parts when i though they were car specific...

 

I have a thule roof mount for my 5th gen. I'll see if I have any pics floating around.

If installed properly, it shouldn't damage the paint.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tomakit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a thule roof mount for my 5th gen. I'll see if I have any pics floating around.

If installed properly, it shouldn't damage the paint.</TD></TR></TABLE>

sweet, pics would be great.....how much did you pay for it?

 

what kind of bike are you throwing up on yoru car? bmx, road, mountain? how much does it weigh? I'm looking to put a 30-35 lb bmx bike on mine. I think a 20" bmx woudl be safer even if it was slightly heavier because it's lower and woudl have less leverage taking corners right?

 

I use a roof rack on my 4th gen, fits well even though it doesnt have the perfect pads for my car, and thewy dont seem to stock or make those anymore so i stay as is. I am currently using a yakima, but had a thule on some older cars. the Thule was very strong, but the Yakima has held up very well, seems a tad quieter with the round bars, and is lighter. I also use a ski rack for snowboards in the winer, and I like that on the yakima I can roll the ski rack back for less drag when they arent in use. That said, I only put my rack on when needed, either one should be very fast to pull on or off when you have it set up right. Mine hangs in my garage ready to go when not on the car. Also to save on the bars and major stuff, look on ebay for used stuff, people sell racks all the time on there rather cheap.