roof rack help

MEAN IRISH GUY

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
i drive a honda civic hatchback that i can easily fit my bike into, but im looking to do some trips this summer where im going to need that space that my bike sits in. now ive gone and looked and priced out a thule rack and a yakima rack and they are both VERY expensive and way out of my price range. roof racks are the only option for my car. now my question is... are there any more economical companies out there selling roof racks?
 
go to perfomance.com, there is an "off" brand that they carry. it looks decent and it looks to be about 1/2 the price. the other option is craigs list. there are always people looking to unload racks. if you are looking at the velovise, be sure to know whether or not you need a disc specific tray. good luck
 
Look at a hitch kit at Etrailer.com and then a hitch mouted rack.
Not sure if it will fit, but the price even with the kit may be alot less then a roof kit.

I just ordered mine the other day.
 
j_short said:
Look at a hitch kit at Etrailer.com and then a hitch mouted rack.
Not sure if it will fit, but the price even with the kit may be alot less then a roof kit.

I just ordered mine the other day.
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I'd go trailer hitch as well..
You'll have to drill two holes in the trunk pan, not a big deal.

Hitch: 2003 - 2005 Honda Civic Si Models Only
check it out.. $106.15 shipped to your door.

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-H~24719.htm?vehicleid=20053803

Btw,
you can check out videos on installation.
Here's a Honda Element, basically the same type of hitch for your car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV49sJpbby8
 
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TonyC said:
I'd go trailer hitch as well..
You'll have to drill two holes in the trunk pan, not a big deal.

Hitch: 2003 - 2005 Honda Civic Si Models Only
check it out.. $106.15 shipped to your door.

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-H~24719.htm?vehicleid=20053803

Btw,
you can check out videos on installation.
Here's a Honda Element, basically the same type of hitch for your car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV49sJpbby8
Click to expand...

Which specific year and model Civic do you drive? I bring it up since these etrailer (and hidden hitch) hitches for some years and vehicle types can do some damage. We put one onto a ~2004 Honda CRV, it U-bolts to the tow loop and then the arm bolts up on the spare tire well. With three bikes on it, the weight (which did not exceed the tongue weight rating) rotates on the tow loop using it as a fulcrum and the force on the spare tire well pushes up and damages the metal well. It also lowers the rack closer and closer to the ground as the whole thing pivoted on that towing loop. We ended up driving home from Ringwood with the bikes on the rack and a strap around them up to the roof rack to bear some of the weight. The hitch was uninstalled and sent back.

I use the one for the Element which bolts to the box rails either side as well as having the tow loop connection. It works well with two bikes and will support three although it makes me nervous watching them bounce around on the back.
 
i like the hitch idea but im worried my car might be too low. im lowered about 2.25 inches so im thinking that it might scrape.
 
MEAN IRISH GUY said:
i like the hitch idea but im worried my car might be too low. im lowered about 2.25 inches so im thinking that it might scrape.
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Oh! that may be a problem especially entering/exiting steeper driveways. Do you scrape speed bumps now?

I've seen a Lexus IS w/hitch that's really low to the ground. Had a double stand up bike type hitch on it.
MTBnj resident? Kittatinny lot (Goodale rd) last w/e Sunday.
Perhaps him/her can give some insight.
 
IMG_1290.jpg


heres an idea of how low it is. thats when i first bought my bike. pre clipless and disposal of reflectors.
 
Nice ride by the way!!reminds me of back in the day when I worked on and drove those "rice burner/sport compacts".Anyway, I had a buddy who also dropped his civic about a good 2-2.5" and eventually put a hitch on it and whenever he had his bikes mounted to the hitch rack it was ok till he came up on an incline like driveways/speedbumps,etc...Just have to go slower than usual on such roads or you can possibly scrape the rack or worse your bike.Unless you have adjustable coilovers and can raise your cars height up when youre transporting your bike.:hmmm:
 
Liv2Ride said:
Nice ride by the way!!reminds me of back in the day when I worked on and drove those "rice burner/sport compacts".Anyway, I had a buddy who also dropped his civic about a good 2-2.5" and eventually put a hitch on it and whenever he had his bikes mounted to the hitch rack it was ok till he came up on an incline like driveways/speedbumps,etc...Just have to go slower than usual on such roads or you can possibly scrape the rack or worse your bike.Unless you have adjustable coilovers and can raise your cars height up when youre transporting your bike.:hmmm:
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unfortunately im not on coilovers yet. just progress springs. i think i may just drop the money and go roofrack
 
you should just take that backwards baseball cap off your car and get a trunk carrier, they work on hatchbacks too.
you can get one for like fiftey bucks as well.
 
ima do some research. i MAY be able to get the trunk mount one with the cf wing still on it. it looks like the only thing that goes up that high are the straps and that wont be a problem because there is a space in the wing.
 
yeah as long as you can get the hooks over the top of the hatch under the wing, and the strp angle isn't too bad it will fit. i've seen them on wagons so it'll definately fit on your hatch, just with or without the wing is the question.
 
well the wing is two pieces. its made to be adjustable for different angles of downforce. either way the part thats phyically attached to the car is no bigger than the factory wing, so i think i might be able to pull it off. im going to stop by the EMS and have the guy there look at my car and see if it will work.
 
MEAN IRISH GUY said:
well the wing is two pieces. its made to be adjustable for different angles of downforce. either way the part thats phyically attached to the car is no bigger than the factory wing, so i think i might be able to pull it off. im going to stop by the EMS and have the guy there look at my car and see if it will work.
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If you're able to slide the two straps up under you wing you have options now.

check out the Saris Bones Rs model.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cYm23C3X5Jc

Looks pretty stable in the video. And it works with your car. Also, once installed it locks to the car unlike other trunk mounted racks.

My friend bought the Yakima King Joe and I have to be honest I don't feel they bikes are super secure. The rubber straps stretch and bikes move a bit at highway speeds.
 
look for used racks on craisglist/ebay. I got my yakima setup, some new some used, with 2 fork mounts/1 raptor tray, fairing 12 sks locks, stretch kit, towers and qclips and crossbars for about $350. It was around $700 worth of stuff.

I see crazy cheap thule racks on craigslist every week.

After that, the clips to fit it to your specific car are $50-$100 and then you're set.
 
I use the Thule Side Arm and I love it. I would say it takes me less than 30 seconds to rack up my bike.
 
My wife tried to be nice and bought me a bell 2-bike rack, it sucked.... returning it, I think I am going to go for the Saris Bones, it seams to be a good bike rack. (Going on a Prius).

Kenny
 
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