Bike Rack (trunk Mount)

[Justy311]

So as I am going to school down in Mankato MN, my g/f and I are getting into biking and with all of the hills near there, I want to buy a bike rack to bring the bike to trails and what not. I dont want to buy a bigger car to haul these around, so I am thinking about a trunk mount, but never seen them on an alero, or even know how they work.

My question is does anyone have one, and is it a good idea? Or should I just not worry about bringing my bike anywhere and drive it around campus? Thanks in advance for the info and feedback.

[eag182]

Mine basically looks like this:

http://www.bikebits.ie/productImages/Hwood%20R%202.gif

Ill let you know tomrrow the name, I'm too lazy to go outside at the moment. It is connected to the car at six point with these V shaped metal things that fit in the hole say between the trunk and back windshield (this is just one point as an example) and these V things dont hold on too well at all. Maybe I'm connecting it wrong. But if you want I'll take some pic's later.

[No53Alero]

i was wanting to get one too , but i have the factory spoiler and I am afraid that it will mess it up

[coredump]

I looked into the trunk mount as well... Bought one, and returned it right away. I've got the stock spoiler and although the box said it was compatible with cars with spoilers, it really isnt.

If I had left the thing on it would've scratched the paint off of the spoiler.

[mfuller]

Get a roof rack. It's much more stable and you won't scratch the bejezus out of your paint. Oh, and you still have full access to your trunk.
I recommend Yakima roof racks.

I can post a pic of my roof rack on the car if you want.

[eag182]

I have the Yakima too and it doesn't hit the spoiler:

[Justy311]

I was thinking about a roof rack, but dont want to have it there all the time, just something I can put up and not worry about and take down if i need to. mfuller go ahead and post a picture, that would be great! Thanks a bunch for the info, eag182 - what is the model number of that one? and how many bikes does it carry? Thanks

[mfuller]

I'll post a pic tonight; I don't have the rack on the car right now. It takes a while to set up when you first assemble it (the bike shop you purchase it from can usually help you with this), but once that is done, installation and removal is a snap, and can be done in 5 minutes or so. Bonus: you can lock it to your car so would-be theives can't steal it. Bonus #2: roof racks are very versatile - you can also carry snowboards, skis, kayaks, canoes, lumber....or just throw a big 'ol cargo box up there for extra storage capacity.

[Voodosoup]

I've got a Saris bones two bike trunk rack that works well with the Alero, and I also have a Saris roof rack and two upright bike mounts for the Alero.
I need to sell both of them since neither will fit on new car......

Here's the trunk rack
http://www.saris.com/products/bones2.htm
And the roof rack can be seen on my Alero in this thread
http://invision.aleromod.com/index.php?showtopic=5226&st=100

If you scroll down theres a nice shot of it outside of Lambeau field........

[Justy311]

Thanks all. So what would be more sturdy, roof or trunk mount, and which would be my best bet as a simple quick and take down? I dont want to spend too much, but dont want anything cheap, maybe I can hit up ebay or something.

[eag182]

After taking a look at that Saris site, I must say I'm impressed. Buy that, not the Yakima. IMHO its not very sturdy, probably made in china.

[Voodosoup]

Originally posted by Justy311@Jul 7 2005, 12:57 AM
Thanks all.Â;-) So what would be more sturdy, roof or trunk mount, and which would be my best bet as a simple quick and take down?Â;-) I dont want to spend too much, but dont want anything cheap, maybe I can hit up ebay or something.
Quoted post


The trunk rack I have is very sturdy, but it's not as easy to set up and it limits access to your trunk. I went to the roof rack because the top tube on my mountain bike is not straight and I had to use a special bar that attached around the seatpost and headset. It just wasn't as secure as I would have liked. If you have a straight top tube on your bike, it works great.

The roof rack, once you do the initial set-up to get it to the correct width, can be taken on or off the car in less than 5 minutes. With the upright bike mounts you can have a bike on your car and locked in place in 30 seconds.

The roof rack did cost roughly 3.5-4X what the trunk rack cost, so it's just a matter of cost and convenience. They both get the job done.......