wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (03/24/85)
O.K., folks, the bike rack results are in. The extrememly concise summary: Thule > Yakima > LaPrealpina The concise summary: Thule: 4 votes Yakima: 2 votes L.P.: 1 vote for, 2 votes AGAINST The lengthy summary: (Note: I will post the full text of comments that were sent to me in another message. Those of you who are not in the market for a rack probably shouldn't bother to read them; those of you who are should definitely read all of the comments.) Whereas all votes for Thule and Yakima were positive, there seem to be some dissatisfied L.P. owners out there. (Note: one of the Thule owners said that, if he could do it all over again, he would buy L.P., but only because they are cheaper.) The general feeling towards Yakima racks is that there are very sturdy, but also very expensive. They are also hard to find on the east coast. The Thule owners were also pleased by their racks' sturdiness, and the fact that they are cheaper than Yakima! With all this in mind, I proceeded to purchase a Thule rack. I learned several interesting things by doing this. First of all, the rack didn't fit my car very well (I have a 1982 Celica, with really wimpy rain gutters). Have no fear: it turns out that Thule manufactures a complete line of "custom" rack feet for hard to fit cars. (So does Yakima.) Theoretically, you should be able to mount a Thule rack on just about anything if you have the right rack feet, including cars with "aerodynamic" windows. (Especially those exotic European sports sedans - remember that Thule is manufactured in Sweden.) Mine are on order; I'll post the results when I receive them. (Other tidbits are included in the remainder of this summary.) All three brands have many types of fittings available, including bikes (upside-down and right-side-up with front wheel removed; Yakima and Thule also have a right-side-up without front wheel removed mount, for bikes that don't have quick-release front wheels), canoes, kayaks, sailboards, and skis. All three have a means to lock bikes to the rack; however, only Yakima and Thule also lock the rack to the car (after all, the rack could be worth more than the bikes! :-)). Thule even has a spoiler (similar to the ones you see mounted on truck cabs) to be used when pulling a trailer! Note that Yakima's upright-without-wheel-removal mount (called the "Load Warrior") is specifically designed for mountain bikes. On the other hand, the wheel channels on the Thule are not wide enough for a good fit on 2.125" tires. Thule recommends the upside-down mount for mountain bikes. However, I discovered that the handlebar clamp doesn't fit a mountain bike equipped with a two-point stem such as the SR (one piece stem-bar combinations should work okay). Solution: either use the Thule fully-upright mount and strap the wheels to the channels (a solution used by one respondant) or use the Thule upright-with -wheel-removed mount (which has a rear-wheel well that should fit a mtn. tire). This latter mount is brand new and hard to find at present. By the way, the Thule front-wheel carrier is a separately priced item, so that you can save a couple of bucks by not buying it and carrying the front wheels inside the car. Also note that one comment about the Load Warrior was that it seemed "flimsy", whereas the Thule is reported to be very stable. Here are some sources and prices for all three racks: Thule: Performance Bicycle Shop, P.O. Box 2741, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Standard rails cost $50, gutterless rails cost $60. Locks available at extra cost. Thule also offers "custom" clamps for hard to fit cars, $85 (locks included). Bike mounts: upright, semi-upright, upside down, $30-$50 Locks available at extra cost. Yakima: REI, P.O. Box C-88125, Seattle, WA 98188 Standard rails cost $64-$69. Locks available. Yakima also offers "custom" clamps for hard to fit cars, >= $78 (locks not included). Bike mounts: upright, semi-upright, low-rider semi-upright, $37-$49. Locks available. L.P.: Also from Performance. Rails $28-$33. No locks (but a quick-release mount is available). Bike mounts: semi-upright, upside down. Locks available.