Roof mount Bike rack solutions with stock crossbars?

[Nomad]

I don't want to get a rack that mounts outside the car's existing roof rack.
I don't want a rack that adds additional crossbars on top of my OEM crossbars, that's just retarded.

I do want to use my stock rack as the factory installed it and then bolt on a fork mount bike unit onto those Mazda bars.

Has anyone done this successfully? I think it is just a money ploy that Thule uses to get you to mount another set of crossbars on top of OEM crossbars. What's the point of the OEM crossbars then!?!?

They do sell just the bike mount units and they also sell just the front fork mount units. Has anyone adapted these to clamp onto the Mazda bars?

 

[mountjonas]

rockymounts? worked on my p5.

http://rockymounts.com/noose

 

[Foolish]

I've worked in bike shops since 1995. I've yet to see a fork mount rack that isn't designed to clamp to a round (Yakima) or square (Thule) bar. If you want to use the factory bars, you're kind of stuck with upright mounts.

I think that with a fork mount, they're afraid that all the weight of the bike torquing on the fork tabs can't just be suspended out in front of the bars like the front of the tray is on an upright mount. An upright mount takes all of it's lateral stress on whatever member is used to hold the bike up, and that's usually centered over the mounting hardware.

Edit: Id forgotten completely about the RockyMounts. Go with them, they make good products. I have their tandem mount on our P5!

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Xport makes (made?) a 2 bike fork mount rack that mounts to the factory crossbars. Had to trim the back so the hatch didn't hit the trays & trimmed out a spot on both trays to allow for disc caliper clearance. It attaches with allen bolts to the oem crossbars. Also got their cargo box that attaches to the oem racks.

http://www.performancebike.com/help/pdf_files/xport_factory.pdf

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

I recently went to a sports store and priced out the stuff I'd need for the same thing. According to the rep and Yakima you would need:

You'll need one of these for the actual bike:
http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?Number=8002085

and then these to mount to the Raptor and too the stock P5 rack:
http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?Number=8003590

 

[sonofshin]

Yakima just came out with one called the fork lift, I just got one myself. You have to mount it in the middle though because of the slight bow of the factory cross bars. Its $140 plus $35 for lock cores. Check it out.

 

[oem plus]

i've got these. I love them. No need to remove the front tire. Full bike on, full bike off. I am anal about keeping my interior clean, so taking off a muddy front tire and putting in the car made no sense to me. Thule bought this company out if that makes any difference.

http://www.sportrack.com/abr611

* I'll post pics later

whoops....noticed you wanted fork mounts....well, let me know if you want a pic of these on the
p5, LOL

 

[Suomi]

I have two of the aforementioned RockyMounts racks on my P5. They work great. I took my bikes on a trip of a couple hundred miles on my roof without a hiccup.

 

[crackerkorean]

I have two older sport rack fork mounts like this
http://www.sportrack.com/abr622

and they work great.

It doenst look like the exact one that I have but very similar. I can post pics if you like.

Luckily i purchased the mazda clamps for the roof rack to fit an upright rack, but mow im looking for a trailer hitch rack so that I can go into a parking deck with bikes.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

I've worked in bike shops since 1995. I've yet to see a fork mount rack that isn't designed to clamp to a round (Yakima) or square (Thule) bar. If you want to use the factory bars, you're kind of stuck with upright mounts.

I think that with a fork mount, they're afraid that all the weight of the bike torquing on the fork tabs can't just be suspended out in front of the bars like the front of the tray is on an upright mount. An upright mount takes all of it's lateral stress on whatever member is used to hold the bike up, and that's usually centered over the mounting hardware.

Edit: Id forgotten completely about the RockyMounts. Go with them, they make good products. I have their tandem mount on our P5!

I agree as the factory cross bars are not meant to hold over 75 ftlbs of torque against them. They are not designed nor strong enough to hold a bike. They are meant for boxes. I would be careful!

 

[Nomad]

I like those rocky mounts! That's exactly what I am looking for. I think that would be a very firm mount and the factory crossbars are heavier than most car bars I've seem anywhere. It's really strong when bolted to the car, I'm not worried.

I'm going to go look at a Thule rack locally on CL that has 4 fork mount bike mounts on it. It is a rain gutter mount system so it should fit onto my BMW 30 and then I can take the other two Thule mounts and see if I can retrofit them to the P5 rack. If I can't then I may be able to sell them and get the rockymount.

 

[Mad Mike]

I have the sportrack nomad(?) as was posted above and it bolts to the stock bars using U bolts.

 

[Nomad]

Anyone make use of Thule fork mount bike bars with U-brackets from Home depot?

If I get Thule racks I'd like to mount the rack to my other car and retrofit the mounts to the P5 roof rails.



But if that doesn't work then the sportrack "Nomad" looks to be the best option, and i love the name too!

 

[stu4u3]

I used Raptors by Yakima. Go to rackattack.com for several options.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

I am anal about keeping my interior clean, so taking off a muddy front tire and putting in the car made no sense to me.

The oem cargo tray takes care of that but I don't like mud on the roof fallin off the bike so I run a saris bones bumper rack for those muddy trips or just take the truck.

 

[oem plus]

The oem cargo tray takes care of that but I don't like mud on the roof fallin off the bike so I run a saris bones bumper rack for those muddy trips or just take the truck.

yeah, the mud on the roof sometimes is a pain. I have a boom boom box in the trunk, so no space for the tray LOL. I'm torn between turboing the P5 or buying a truck for my outdoor adventures.haha

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

yeah, the mud on the roof sometimes is a pain. I have a boom boom box in the trunk, so no space for the tray LOL. I'm torn between turboing the P5 or buying a truck for my outdoor adventures.haha

Yeah, just got an 05 Tacoma Prerunner to handle all the nasty haulin. P5 is suddenly weekender garage ornament of sorts, lol. Well, more like the on road track type vehicle & the truck is for inclimate weather, curb hoppin traffic avoidance off road type vehicle. Balance.

 

[Nomad]

The oem cargo tray takes care of that but I don't like mud on the roof fallin off the bike so I run a saris bones bumper rack for those muddy trips or just take the truck.

Does the saris bones rear rack keep the hatch spoiler from getting pushed on by the mount straps?

 

[Nomad]

I used Raptors by Yakima. Go to rackattack.com for several options.

I like the raptor upright bike carriers, probably makes it much quicker to just mount and go. I have road bikes though, so no muddy rooftop for me.

do you use them with the universal factory roofrack mounts they sell for $40?
I think that looks like a good option for the P5 if it is fairly secure.
I'll be picking up a yak rack with two fork mounts and two upright mounts with a snowboard mount tomorrow. I'm trying to make it into two bike racks on two cars.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Does the saris bones rear rack keep the hatch spoiler from getting pushed on by the mount straps?

Straps go over edge of spoiler but I just wrap a piece of cloth around strap where near edge of spoiler. 2 mt bikes on it have never messed with it tho.