Roof Rack hitch rear bike rack Not sure what to get

[alex16]

I am working on a tight budget as always but I've been over weight for a long time and trying to change that, I made a personal goal to get a bicycle at 300 lbs and since starting in June 2014 I've gone from 349 to 298lbs. Now I am getting ready for spring and getting back into cycling which I haven't done regularly in over 10 years. I don't want to ride just locally, I want to go to different venues to motivate me to keep pushing myself and throwing a muddy bike in my Jeep is fine but the 16 mpg isn't, and a muddy bike will not be going into my new mirage.


So my options. A rear single bike carrier $45 from amazon.

Allen Sports Aluminum Folding 1-Bike Rack

Or a curt hitch 130 + hitch bike rack $30 both on ebay. ($160 total ouch!)

Last a used roof rack, I found this one

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pts/4872847728.html

for $100 which would allow me to have another future goal of getting a kayak when I get to 220lbs (maybe by next black friday would be helpful for my budget)

I like the hitch because as soon as my warranty expires I'll do as I wish with my Mirage including towing small trailers, and for now I can use a cheap aluminum cargo hitch extension for extra cargo. I don't like that it blocks the license plate, the cost, installation.

The trunk rack seems like the logical choice for now because it is cheap, wont cause much wind drag hurting mpgs, 3 lbs, easy installation. I don't like that it keeps bikes so close to the bodywork, limited to only one purpose, could potentially cause damage to the body work, potentially difficult to load the bike.

The roof rack looks cool and has lots of extra purposes, the roof storage carriers, long light objects, future kayak can be transported maybe even skies, bike expansion available, easy to install, easy to remove and resell. The mpg loss is a concern but I am not sure how much it will take away, the cost is a bit high but does offer a lot of usefulness for the price, the loading of bikes might be difficult, I've never used a roof bike carrier.


Anybody have any advise?

Thank you

[Donut]

I would go for the hitch as I believe it is more versatile. My first attempt was buying a roof rack from advance autoparts, but this turned out to be pure junk and I was not able to mount it. I then figured that the roof carrier would also result in a major MPG penalty, especially for large cross section items.

Then I got the hitch installed at a uhaul location for around USD 250,-

I also bought a cargo rack from etrailer.com for the small receiver. You have to get one with some ground clearance or you might scrape the ground from time to time. On my roadtrip, I had a payload of about 700 pounds which lowered my Mirage by almost two inches, see report here: Road Trip in Fully loaded Mirage around Lake Erie.
I moved the number plate to the carrier and added some light for the number plate illumination.

As to the payload. You have to take special care to put the cargo rack as close as possible to the hitch, since you will otherwise lose through the lever effect from the maximal payload rating, which is about 200 pounds. My rack is unfortunately quite heavy and it will therefore reduce the useful payload to ~150 pounds.

A Kayak will, however, be challenging to carry with the cargo rack... :-)

Good luck with your projects.

[oldopelguy]

That particular roof rack looks to be a gutter mount one that won't mount on your Mirage. Yakima doesn't have a fit for our cars yet, though the last time I called they thought it would be ready this spring.

I have both the hitch and the Mitsubishi roof rack, and the roof rack will cost you a bit in mileage, particularly when loaded. It does open up the ability to bring home long stuff that you can't get any other way though.

For a single bike I would spend your money getting a quick release front wheel and a tarp to toss in the back. For multiple bikes the hitch and rack is easier to load than the roof and easier to get ready to go quickly than the roof rack.

The bike only options for the rear hatch all suffer from having to attach to the car around or over the plastic rear spoiler, and I haven't seen one mounted up in a way I'd be comfortable using.

[alex16]

Thank you for the advise

I think I'll go the tarp method for now, its a little inconvenient but so is the hatch bike rack, the hitch rack seems secure and easy, plus allows for me to use other accessories with the hitch and tow once my warranty expires. I'll just save up for the hitch, it might also stiffen the rear sub frame a little as well.