Those who have roof racks, how's your mpg? Did it change? if so, by how much?

 

Q-Towers and they'll know what clips you need

 

except I have yet to see the clips for them on the shelves... be ready to order them... I think the number was Q121... our local major sporting stores carry up to about Q110 or something... I mean places like REI don't even stock them...

 

I've been using Thule racks for over 15 years. I prefer the box section of the load bars. I use the Yakima accessories though, I feel they are of better design. I carry bikes, skis, kayaks (picture is of our sea kayaks with my wifes whitewater boat upside down on top. Rock solid at 65+) construction materials and more. Last purchase for the xB was from www.rackwarehouse.com ,excellent price and service. Just follow the fit guides.

 

Maybe better off as a different topic..
But anyone get the Yakima from a Scion dealership?
If so, how's the MPG, difficulty to get a mtn bike up there, need to detach the wheels, etc.?
Thanks.

 

I see a few MPG drop with the rack up there, also it is audible... there is a definite difference in wind noise...

as far as mounting bikes up there, it will almost always be easier and more secure to mount the bikes with the front wheel detached... it is easy to reach the bikes if they are mounted near the sides of the car, but if you put more than two and mount them towards the center it will be MUCH more difficult... I have my ski mounts in the center (to be replaced by kayak mount in summer) and the bike carriers are mounted outboard of the feet so it is REAL easy to get to everything...



this is a shot from Green Mountain just at the foothills of the Rockies on I-70 heading west from Denver... you can see downtown Denver in the background...

 

wow.. awesome shot. (and nice color choice on the xB)
if that's the Yakima Scion rack, it seems like it's worth it.. with or without the bike on.
I've finally jumped for it and bought a mountain bike.. just a starter, but I'll hopefully get addicted soon enough and buy a better one.

 

if you read up higher I explain what rack I picked and why... this is not the standard Scion rack...

I wish I had turned around and taken a shot... this trailhead is at 5300 or 5400 feet and the peak of the climbs are over 6000...

 

I just picked up a Trek 4500 (on sale) to get into the sport.
MTBR said it wasn't bad for the price, especially for starters.. so I figured what the hell. Maybe I'll check out the trails outside of Denver.

 

dude, I got the same bike... cool... oh, actually I got the 4600, but my gf has the 4500... 4600 is the 2005 model, I think... I bought it in June '04...

the 4500 had Shimano parts, which I would have preferred but they were out of stock of the normal sizes... the 4600 has SRAM parts... they work okay, but the shifters are up/down with thumb only... I would have liked the thumb/forefinger setup that you have...

 

Yeah. the Shimano parts, Judy TT fork, hardtail..
Thought the guys at the shop tried to screw me for a newbie, but didn't realize the seat was SUPPOSED to be a certain height.
(Damn road bikes.. heh.)

 

Looks silly going down the road... not sure how different the wheelbases is but the bike is BIG

 

That a touring bike or something?

 

so does anyone have the scion/yakima rack shown ont he website. scion.com??

 

I don't know anything about those racks so I asked the salesguy before I bought my Scion if the Yakima rack could hold my 8' surfboard. He said judging by the picture he doesn't think so. So, I ended up not getting the rack only to find out later it would work with the proper attachment. What the hell!!?? Oh well, the dealership lost out on some cash.

 

salesman dont know ____ nyway. Did you get the rack? If so do you have a picture of it?

 

I wouldnt recomend getting the yakima rack from your dealer its extremely overpriced. But i have the yakima rack and really like it for my snowboards, sorry no bikes

 

is there a link to the Yakima rack on scion.com? i cant find any pics of it.

 

No, I didn't get it. I'll look to get something by summer when the water warms up.

 

DYNO KRUISER


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