How to use my 'Roof-Rack' to transport my Road Bike?

Question

I have Trek Road Bike and the vehicle I have is Mercury / Mariner

http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/mariner/exterior.asp

Please see the picture and the 'Roof-Rack' (mine is identical). Owner's Manual says I can transport Bike but don't know what kind of adapter I need to use. Please reply with the Web Link (URL) so that I can shop from there.

Please suggest something economic equipment.

Answer 1

For factory racks you can to order the bike rack adapters from the dealer. I have racks on my Explorer, was going to buy the factry adaptor but I just keep the bike(s) in the car.

Answer 2

Yakima has a variety of products that will work with the Mariner's rack system.  No doubt, Thule does, as well.  How economical the system winds up being is a bit of a different matter!  Part of it depends on whether you already have the factory cross bars or just the side rails.

With a Yakima system, if you only have side rails, you purchase low rider clamps, a set of crossbars and the bicycle mounts you like.  For a road bike, the steelhead and viper mounts are great.



I'd suggest using the configurators that both Thule and Yakima offer on their websites.

The good folks at your local REI are pretty helpful with rack systems, as well.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Definitely agree with what has been said so far and you'll be hard pressed to find any good alternatives to the Thule and Yakima units. For a quick comparison of both: http://www.discountramps.com/roof-top-bi... . On a personal note I would prefer a hitch mounted as it will most likely cause less drag on the vehicle which means better fuel economy especially for an SUV. However, that's just my 2cents on the matter. Goodluck!

Answer 4

Yakima ( http://www.yakima.com ) and Thule ( http://www.thuleracks.com ) both carry lines of rooftop carriers for your car.

Personally, for a tall car like an SUV, I prefer hitch-mounted racks..  I used to use a Yakima roof rack on my old '96 Jeep Cherokee and I didn't really like it..  I've had the inevitable accidental drops while loading the rack and it scuffed up the paint of my then-new car, though I've never had the "oops" of driving my car into the garage while my bike is on the rack (many others have though).  It was kind of hard on my back to load the bike onto the roof rack too.

If your '08 Mariner is a lease, you probably don't want to use the roof rack unless you are sure you will be REAL careful.  Lease return will mean you'd have to pay mucho dinero to fix up the dings and scratches on the car from a dropped bike.