No-tow-bar bike rack for sedan?

I bought a $50 one from pushys. Did a test fit and it seemed sturdy enough. Straps clip onto the bootlid at the top and side and then underneath the car. Keep the straps away from the exhaust and it should be fine.

Otherwise get roofracks.

Saris bone 2/3 should work a treat on there.

There pretty well priced as well and very well made.

I was waiting for that. I don't like them any more...

I just got back from a road trip around BC with a couple of mates. Depending on how "Heavy" your heavy bikes are, the Saris Bones-3 may be a good option. The "3" is a pretty funny term though... Quite tough to get 3 bikes on, especially these new-fangled swoopy tubed ones

We'd hired a Mini-van for the trip, and bought a Saris Bones-3 while we were there. While were are able to get 3 DH bikes on the rack, it took quite a bit of cunning to get them all on nicely, and the rack needed a slight "adjustment" every couple of hundred KMs (tightening up the top straps mainly, but giving each strap a test).

We had the wheels off the bikes as the weight limit for the rack is 47kg, but even still going over speed bumps and other road obstacles was a bit of a squeaky bum moment

Overall, they're an OK option, but if you're going to have the car for a decent term, you'll probably want to look into getting roof rails installed and then get some racks for them.

I'd be wary of those scratching or damaging my car and coming loose.

If you can get a reese hitch, get one of these...

http://www.swagman.net/products/single-arm-xp-ra...

Obviously it does make it a whole lot more expensive. Guess you have to figure out how long you will keep the car, and how often you ride.

Tough as nails. Can remove surplus carriers, and master carrier has a key lock which also makes it impossible to rattle loose.
The rack can fold down easily if you have a hatch/4wd etc for boot access, and the whole thing can also be removed quickly without tools.
I leave the bracket bolted into my hitch permanently, as a nice "rear end defence". If anyone tags me from behind, their car will certainly be fubar.

I think you summed it up exactly.

If you wipe down all contact surfaces you will definitely minimise it, but it's really just a matter of time I think.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I love this site. Invaluable help and advice within 24 hrs plus get to meet other like-minded people that collect things from the side of the road.

Starting to think I'll end up going with Option C: chuck rear end of bike in boot and leave front half hanging out the back with the boot lid ajar. Add old foam mattress underneath to prevent scratching, embrace bogan culture and ride.

One of the biggest issues with getting the bike on the Saris was getting the bikes tubing around the clamping spots on the rack. We had to mess about with moving the arms (you can shift them inwards/outwards pretty easily) for one bike, then holding that bike while we moved the arms again. Even with only two bikes, you may find it a challenge to get the first bike on cleanly and quickly!

As for marking the paint, the clips were OK. As long as they're installed on a relatively clean surface and you're careful to keep them static while tightening everything up, I reckon they'd keep your paint unmarked. Where you have to be careful is:

- Putting the rack on the car, the clips/hooks are a decent heavy steel, so an errant swinging strap may do a bit of paint removal.

- Handlebars on the first bike. We had to cover the bars of my bike (easiest to be the first bike) with socks/rags/bubble wrap/whatever the heck we had, to make sure it didn't scratch the back of the van (as without loosening the stem, which is really hard on a direct mount , the bars are always going to touch the car). My bars are 762mm wide, so wide, but not Ape Like

To be honest, I wouldn't go with the Saris again for DH bike carrying. It'd be fine if you had 3x straight top-tubed XC (or pub/bash/punter) bikes, but for anything heavy and/or curvy, they're a bit much of a hassle. We went with them as it was both cheaper and had a larger total weight capacity than anything else MEC had.

Good luck with your search!

Are the easiest option for throwing the bikes on and going. Least farting about with trying to get bikes on without scratching paint on car or bikes.

With towbar mounted racks - even very good ones like Thule - we'd still waste 30 minutes or so fluffing around trying to avoid frames, bars and forks rubbing and scratching on each other, often skewing bars and removing seatposts and then praying it doesn't rain at the start of the trip. Then when you get there you need to straighten everything and reset seat heights, before repeating the whole shenanigans to come home.

Bah!

The downside of roof racks is of course forgetting and driving under something you shouldn't, and you do burn more fuel.

Roof racks no good for big bikes...I don't want to take any wheels off (they're not QR). Lifting 17 kg above your head and the paintwork is also a bad move...

hahah. fair play.

(I actually did think 90% of roof rack mounts required you to take the front wheel off, no?)

Also, while we're at it, is there something wrong with having your seat post off in the rain? Drain holes in the frame, no? And aluminium frames are no-rust, so what's the idea there??

... don't rust but they do corrode. That's what killed my Six13 roadie.

hahaha, yeah now I'm thinking - sell the car and spend the money combined with what I would have paid for tow bar and rack on new car with a big interior or a nice ute!

Hmm ISI almost identical to Grip Sport the Aussie made carrier
http://www.gripsport.com.au/products - got one - love it - 30 seconds to load bikes