wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (03/24/85)
Here is the complete text of the comments I received about car-top racks.
This is required reading for anyone about to shell out $100 for a rack!
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From: tekecs!ihnp4!tektronix!barrys@uw-beaver
I lost some of the parts to my (Thule) bicycle rack and was able to order
them from my local dealer. I find that our mountain bikes don't
fit into the channel made for the tires as well as I would like, however,
I just use some nylon webbing with a Fastex buckle (no scratch) to
go around the wheels. This is quite easy to use (I prefer this to their
wheel hold-downs). We drove from Illinois to Oregon with two bikes on top
with NO hint of any problem. A friend who has the same rack says he can
hear wind noise from the rack with his sun roof open, I have never heard
any noise from the rack (I also have no sun roof!).
Make sure the rack will fit into your rain gutter before buying, it
can be a close fit.
barry steel
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From: georgeh%mcc-db@mcc.arpa (George Hetrick)
I've had a LaPrealpina for years, and I've been very satisfied with it.
Frankly, I'd expect it to have better parts availability then the Yakima,
since I've seen it in a lot more places -- you should be able to get
special stuff from the importer (Mel Pinto).
One word of warning, though. The rear wheel holder doesn't fit a
mountain bike tire. You can either strap the tire down to the holder
(which may eventually break the holder), or use an upside down mount.
I bought an upside-down mount anyway, since I own a tandem, so I figure
I'll carry the ATB that way.
-George Hetrick
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From: mink%cfa.UUCP@harvard.ARPA
I have a Yakima which, to date, has been used to carry a canoe and skis.
I intend to get their "Loadwarrior" mountain bike rack this spring.
Though more expensive than the Thule and LaPrealpina racks, it is sturdier;
the thinner square-cross-section bars on the other racks do tend to sag a
bit with age. I spent the money because it was only 10% of the cost of my
canoe and seemed to have the best mounting system. It locks securely to
the rain gutters and has served satisfactorily for almost two years. I
think Yakima is the only company to make a rack wide enough to hold
mountain bike tires. Around Boston, anyway, it is harder to find fittings
for the Yakima; all the bike shops seem to carry the other two brands.
I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your survey.
--
-Doug Mink
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
(also Boston Area Bicycle Coalition)
{harvard|genrad|allegra|ihpn4}!wjh12!cfa!mink
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From: cornell!vax135!hoxna!kfl@uw-beaver
I have a Thule rack which is very well built and has all kinds of
neat little attachments for bikes, skiis, canoes, etc. The rack and
attachments are sold in several of the local sporting goods and
bike stores around here, so spare parts should be no problems. One
of the main reasons I chose this brand of Prealpina is the locking
system. They lock both rack-car and rack-bike. Unfortunately, the
locks aren't that secure, so I wouldn't trust them, except in rural
areas.
If I were to buy over again, I'd probably go with the Prealpina,
which costs half as much as the Thule (if you leave out the locks).
Prealpina is sold a few local stores and several mail-order houses,
so parts probably won't be a problem.
One more thing, I have the right-side-up bike mounts. A friend of
mine has the up-side-down model. Both are very stable, although
the up-side-down model is slightly more compact.
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From: cornell!vax135!ariel!houti!ges@uw-beaver
I have a Thule rack system and have been very happy with it.
I currently have attachments for ski, bikes, and a windsurfer and
have been satisfied with the functionality of all. (I also have
the locking option on all including the rack feet.)
You are right, it is expensive, but from what I've seen I fully
expect this rack system to last a lifetime.
As to spare parts, what you need to do is find out who carries
the particular brand of rack that you have and use them. If
it breaks on the road and you need replacements, .... well
you could be in a tough spot. For Thule, at least, there do not
seem to be that many retail outlets. In my area, I have found three
within about a twenty mile radius, mostly in ski and windsurf shops.
You can now get Thule through mail order at cheaper prices from
Performance Triathlete Shop, I think. Good luck.
Gary Smith
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From: mako!tektronix!seifert@uw-beaver
I've seen parts listings for Thule, and at least some of the parts are
available seperately. They have locking versions, versions that fold up
to stick in the trunk when you don't need it. (aerodynamics, ya know)
Attachments for all sorts of things, even a big wing for when you
pull a trailer. (sorta like what they put on top of semi-truck cabs)
I don't know anything about the other two brands you mentioned.
Snoopy
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From: tektronix!tekigm!postmaster@uw-beaver
I have experience with the La Prealpina and the Yakima
system with regular touring bike and mountain bike.
My advice, don't waste your money on the LP. It's not
very sturdy(I have several long deep scratches on my
car top from it) and somewhat difficult to use(small
grips).
The Yakima system was of excellent quality. I initially
bought their mountain bike mount, but exchanged it
for a standard mount. The ATB mount seemed flimsy
and unreliable. Although I have to take off the
front wheel every time, it's worth it.
Joe Ludwig
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From: Felix `mr. aa' Yen <ihnp4!brunix!fwy@uw-beaver>
I had some first-hand experience with La Prealpina racks, which are
Italian. I bought them about two years ago for my VW Scirocco for the
following reasons:
1) Price --
I was interested in getting racks of the highest
quality and hadn't heard of Thule at the time.
(In fact, I just heard of them a couple weeks ago.)
Anyway, LPs were cheaper than Yakimas.
2) Availability --
Not only were LPs cheaper, I could get them locally.
I would have had to mail order Yakimas.
If I had to do it all over again, I think I might buy Thules. I think
they are cheaper than Yakimas and I wasn't very happy with the LPs for
the following reasons:
1) Finish --
The racks were electrostatically painted. The paint
was a bit thick in places making assembly non-trivial.
2) Durability --
The racks contain a fair amount of plastic. (I can't
attest as to whether this is a problem. My racks were
stolen along with my car about a year ago.)
Felix
fwy.brown@csnet-relay (arpanet)
fwy@brown (csnet)
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From: tektronix!azure!postmaster@uw-beaver
I just assembled my Thule Bike-carrier attachments for my Thule rack
(that still has the Ski-carrier attachments on it) but I haven't
tried it out yet. The thing I like about the Thule is that it
is built like a tank. I wish my car had so much metal in it. The
particular Bike attachments I bought are the ones that hold the bikes
upright (Thule also has a thriftier model that holds them upside down).
My only reservation so far is that if I wanted to switch back and forth
between skiing and biking (with two bike racks) it would be somewhat
of a pain. I can fit both the ski attachment (for 3 pairs of skis) and
only one bike attachment on the rack at one time. If I get the
smaller ski attachment (2 pr of skis) I should be able to get both bike
attachments on there at the same time as the ski one(s).
This Thule bike rack should be able to accept two different bikes
(of widely different length/size, etc) at the same time, the crossbars
don't have to be "tuned" the the handlbar/seat separation distance).
This is a possible advantage.
Mike Kersenbrock
Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products
Aloha, Oregon