How Do Roof Mounted Bike Racks Work

Hanging racks sling the bikes by their frame and hold them in place with rubber or velcro straps.

How do roof mounted bike racks work.

Arms and cradles support the bike to keep it securely in place. Roof mounted bike racks that mount to crossbars are built either with clamps that can attach to most shapes of crossbars or with mounting plates that slide into crossbars that have a channel. Some come pre assembled while others require some work. After all you might just want to enjoy an impromptu bike ride in the park not inflict an afternoon of work on yourself.

Roof mount bike racks. The roof mounted bike rack has the advantage of keeping your rear window clear so you can see what s behind you. Typically the most inexpensive of the bike rack systems 50 200 trunk mounted racks are designed to rest on the back of a car trunk while straps secure it in place. Clamps and mounting plates usually can slide along the rack to allow the rack to fit a range of crossbar spreads.

Most models have security features as standard or optional. With platform racks the bike tires sit in a tray similar to a upright roof rack and are held in place with a hooked arm over the frame or front tire. For hitch and roof mounted bike racks you either need a lot of roof space or the right hitch receiver to make the setup work. Most of these racks require an existing base rack system or factory issued roof rack which a roof mount bike rack simply latches onto.

One of the most popular ways of transporting bikes by car is vertically mounting them right on top of your vehicle s roof. Roof mounted bike racks most roof mounted car bike racks attach to the crossbars that either came with your car or which you installed to carry your surfboard or whatever. Smaller compact cars on the other hand often lack the necessary. Though this might not be a big deal to most cyclists it creates the hassle of having to stash your bike s front wheel in your car or even worse forgetting it somewhere.

Yakima is the world s leading brand of car racks including roof racks bike racks hitch racks and many more for all of life s adventures. Rockymounts is located in grand junction colorado and makes premium car and bike rack accessories in the form of racks mounts and locks.