Show Us Your Rack!

Yes, the Roubaix does have a taller headtube, which they "endurance" geometry. I tested many bikes, but that one fit like a glove and was a blast to ride.

 

I weigh 130 lbs. rack weighs about 50 lbs. box weighs 15-20 lbs I would guess.

 

I use to have a roof rack system on my 2009, stopped using it and sold it because of how much it affected my MPG

 

Coastal Tech 2 inch hitch and Thule T2 rack.

 

I wouldn't worry, the specified tongue weight is probably much lower than what it can actually handle. However, for safety sake (and the reason I've outlined below) I plan on putting anything heavy inside the car and keeping lighter items on the rack and not going over (or near) 100lbs of gear. After the rack and the box. When you think about it, 100lbs of gear is actually quite a bit (two full size suitcases for example).

If you really want to get technical, the best place for your heaviest gear is as far inside the car as possible (Preferably in front of, or over the rear axle). When you add on a rack like this, especially with a lot of weight, you're increasing the torque on the rear axle, so when you accelerate, the front end will rise up more than it normally does, thus affecting your mpg. I suppose I could reach back to all the physics classes I took in high school to produce a diagram of how this works if someone wants it, but if you think about it I think you'll come to the same conclusion.

 

A wheelie bar will fix the problem.

Generally speaking the load on tongue, it's just that and not cantilever out 2 feet. There is definitely a safety calculated with that. That cantilever load, though not at the extreme end, is no longer 200lbs but multiplied.

Also generally speaking, heavy loads should never be at the extreme ends of the car and centered as best as possible. So cargo boxes in general are to load large light items.

 

I have a thule setup. I prefer thule racks over yakima. They are bomb proof. Yakima's fit kits are crap, I have one on a Honda fit and it moved around. But Yakima's bike racks are better.





Highroller bike rack is awesome and barely fits. Hatch comes within a quarter of an inch.



Let me know if you want to see anything else.

 

I bought the Thule Raceway 9002 (3 bikes). I found the setting of "7" and placing the bottom arm in the number plate area wasn't ideal. Australian number plates are much wider than USA plates [372 by 135 mm (14.6 by 5.3 inches) c.f. 305 by 152 mm (12.0 by 6.0 inches)] so I had to position drop the the arm down to the curved metal at the bottom of the number plate area to avoid sitting on the plate frame. This left the top arm in the middle of the spoiler, which I wasn't happy about either.

To resolve this I changed the angle to position 8 and rested the bottom arm on the bumper. The top arm sits nicely on the join of the backlight (rear glass) and the spoiler. There's not much weight on the bumper and with a little effort I can still open the hatch if there is something really important inside.
The bottom arm sits on the bumper.

and the top arm sits at the interface between spoiler and glass.

I used to put my MTB in the back. Since removing the front wheel is a bit of any operation, I removed the seat post. This gave just enough room to put the XL frame inside. Not great for dirt and mud. So I bought the rack for Winter.
Then I bought a new Trek Domane 4.5. (Sublime, since you ask.) Now I can take both bikes to Sydney and go riding with my brother-in-law on- or off-road.

 

I hat to go off topic but your bike is awesome. Are 'Dales really pricey down under since they're all American made?

 

OT was bound to happen.
I bought The Black Maria in 2002 for AUD 3400. If that sounds pricey, it was old 2001 stock reduced from AUD 4800!
Since the AUD and USD have been at parity recently, prices have been not too bad.
Generally Cannondale are more expensive, but you can see where the money went. I was considering buying a Synapse 3 (Ultegra) reduced 20% to about $2950 but bought the Trek Domane 4.5 (105/Ultegra) reduced 20% to about $2250.
Cannondale Bikes for Sale in Australia
As for The Black Maria, I often get asked about it. They don't make 'em like that anymore. For a start it has a 4 bolt disc at the front (6 bolt is the standard now) and a hydraulic rim brake at the rear. I'm keeping the original parts as I replace or upgrade so I can put them back on and hang the bike on the wall when I finally buy a new 29er.

 

Can some people that have the hitch mount bike racks take a couple pictures with the bike racks on and folded up. I want to see what it would look like if I buy one and keep it on at all times.

 

This is my older Yakima Hold Up with 1 1/4 to 2" adapter so it's about 6" further out than it should.

I don't have a photo of my 2013 Hold Up folded up. It extends out about a foot. I leave it on all the time as I use it frequently. It does block the license plate. MPG impact seems minimal.

 

Just did my first roadtrip to Florida with my Prius V and Yakima cargo carrier. Yakima finally okay'd the hardware for the 2013 V so I got the Q Towers and clips specified. I also put on my shark fin antenna. From the picture it seems that maybe I didn't need to change the antenna - but at least it makes getting the carrier on top of the car easier and less likely to break antenna off.
Having the carrier was great because it made a lot of available space in the car so that Lola (the Lab) could be comfortable. There was a significant reduction in gas mileage but I expected that. My usual 45 mpg was dropped down to 35 mpg. However, driving with the carrier didn't really feel any different than driving without it and it didn't seem to create any noticeable noise (driving with the windows closed). I did drive around one day with the bars on the car but no cargo carrier and I really could hear some noise from the wind on the bars. I've had this carrier for probably around 20 years and it seems I'm using it much more lately.
Anyone recognize the stickers?
Regards,
Allen

 

Like your setup! Looking into some for myself. Kinda paranoid about those clamps though, do they scratch the paint at all? I'm sure they have pads but rather have them attach straight to the black raceway like the 753's do. Yours are 754's correct?

 

I have the Thule Rapid System 754 with the Aerobar and Motion 800 LE.
Just came back from a trip.
There's no padding @ the clamps, but when you install them as you should there's nothing happening.
There's a lot of space in that Motion 800!!
We went on a trip with the family: 5 persons and 4 of them are women...lots of luggage....but all the bags fitted in the box. No noise....I didn't notice the box while driving.

 

Awesome, yeah I like the look of those bars, thanks for the input! Gotta go get some now!

 

Yakima Whispbar Hd.

 

View attachment 56925

 

hi - I bought this rack and have just learned it is nearly impossible to find a class 2 hitch for a 2011 Prius. (Which supposedly is required) Did you install this on a Class 1? Any issues at all related to hitch and weight? Yakima tells me they know of NO ONE who has EVER installed a Holdup on a Prius. :-P Just trying to cover all the bases. Thank you!
p.s. I am having a 1.25 receiver installed, which matches the rack.​