Has anyone had any experience with the Toyota Prius bike rack made by Bird Automotive? Toyota Prius Racks In general, I'm not interested in a hitch rack. I was in a bike shop today and they said the Saris Porter (somewhat new model) would work well for the Prius. Has anybody had any experience with this as well? I will need to transport 3 bikes, and will be driving at highway speed. At this point I'm not interested in a hitch, but maybe I can get talked into it. I won't be needing to transport bikes that often, though, so the trunk mount seems the most convenient way to go. Thoughts, opinions? I've already scoured previous posts, so I'm not interested in rehashing things that have already been discussed.
$389 for that thing?? Pfft. My Curt hitch + OSI 3-bike rack cost $250. And it's a heck of a lot stronger than that flimsy-looking $389 Bird rack.
That's what the local bike shop said, too! I decided in the absence of other info to trust the advice of the store. I ended up buying the Saris Porter, and it is attached to my car now. It is the only Saris model which is recommended for use with the Prius. The bike personnel at 2 different shops were confidant that Saris was the best, and that Saris' recommendations should be followed. Therefore, I didn't buy the Saris Bones which isn't recommended for the Prius. I will be bringing 2 bikes back with me from my parents' house, a 4 hour trip. I'll post later on how that goes. So far I think the Saris Porter is pretty good. It took me a little time to figure out how it mounts, but I've never used a bike carrier before. I went back to the store to make sure I installed it correctly, and now it is very sturdy on the car. We'll see how it holds up with the weight of 2 bikes on the 4 hour trip home! I'll post again after my trip. I considered buying a hitch mount, but I think the trunk mount is a better solution for me right now. It is less money, and I don't think I will be using a carrier that often. However, if I end up using the carrier a lot I'll probably eventually get a hitch mount. We'll see. Chuck
Well, I made it home safely with the 2 bikes! The Saris Porter carrier did its job. It took a little time to figure everything out, but the next time I use it will probably go a lot quicker. After successfully loading the bikes I had no issues in driving a 4 hour trip traveling at about 65-70 mph most of the way. Actually, come to think of it, I did have one small problem. It was rainy the whole way, and out of habit I accidentally turned the rear wiper on. With this carrier, the rear wiper blade cannot be used; and even though I knew this, I wasn't able to prevent myself from doing it. It was not a good thing to do, but after pulling over and relocating the wiper blade on the glass, it was ok! In terms of everything else, I used some bungee cords to secure the front wheels of both bikes, and some foam blocks between the bike and the car. After I got home, I looked the car over to see if I there were any marks in the paint from the carrier, bike, or clips. I did notice one small little mar in the paint on the bottom of the hatch, but it was about the size of a period, and may have been there before; I'm not sure. Other than that, nothing! Overall, I'm pleased with how well the bike carrier worked!
We just bought a 2010 Prius and bought the Saris Porter and the straps rub on the spoiler. The directions say that they shouldn't. How have you placed yours so this doesn't happen. Also any problems since you posted this. I feel like I may need to return it, but it was on clearance so that may not be possible. Sue A.
I haven't used the Saris Porter since my last posting. However, when I was at the bike store, the 2 things the salesman told me were 1)make sure there is no wiggling, that the straps are as tight as possible 2)tie off the loose ends of the straps so that they don't flap in the breeze (and also flap against any painted surface of the car, removing paint if they do so.) Hope this helps!
None of these issues exist with a hitch-mounted carrier... and said carriers are a dime a dozen on Craigslist. Why do folks prefer the strappy, flappy, wiggly carriers?
That rack looks terrible, I wouldn't trust anything on that. Hitch racks are the way to go. Love my Thule Helium 3 bike rack.
Well, to each his own! Since I don't take my bike with the car very much, I didn't want to pay more money plus alter the car by installing a hitch. The Saris Porter worked fine for me, and was less money. However, if I was using the car to transport the bike a lot I would definitely consider the hitch for the reasons that have been already mentioned.
The Sarris are good racks, I was referring to the one in you first post. I would trust that rack with anything.
