ROOF RACK *what do ya think*

[AJ]

so... i do a lot of biking, and i want to take my bikes to school with me, and since i work at a bike store i get racks for like uber cheap. here's a link for what the rack looks like, anyone have pics of a rack on an s14? i know it will b sorta ugly.. But what else can i do, these damn cars have to trunk!

http://www.graberproducts.com/category/category_control.asp?nextForm=fDetailCategory&originForm=fDependentCategory&id=20&push=originForm%3DfDetailCategory%08nextForm%3DfDe pendentCategory%08id%3D5%08class%3D%08bctitle%3DAd ditional+Categories%08supplemental%3Dtrue

so thats what they kinda look like.. anyone have any experience.. any bikers out there? let me know what ya think.

[KiDyNomiTe]

There is an S14 around the area I used to live that has a bike rack on it.

The car still loks sexy as hell, but I love Zenki S14s especially in stock form.

[uiuc240]

bike racks on 240s suck. they have "frameless" windows, and the way the mounts work kinda tends to tweak the upper window "frame". I have a Yakima rack...I just use it for one day, then I take it off and put it away. Looks like crap if you leave it on. The shape of the window also forces the towers to be really close together so the bike MOUNT itself tends to flex on heavier bikes (no problem with my single-speed though!)

so, get the rack...but put it on and take it off when you need to. that's my $.02

Eric

[AJ]

thanks for the input, yeah.. the yakima ones (we carry their whole line where i work) use a much worse design than the saris racks, and i'm hoping it will make the on and off very quick and easy. I'll b carrying 2 bikes at the most, both around a 25lb mtb, and a 22lb or so road bike..

so what is this about tweaking the frame up there? thats a lil scary.. not a huge fan of tweaking anythign that will leave permament damage.. umm tell me more about what u mean by this please. that kinda scares me :-D

also, in the instructions they say to moutn the rear one 4" inside of the rear of the window.. umm,, like 4" toward the front of the car from the back of the window. which seams silly, why not mount it as close as u can to the back... any insight?

[AJ]

okay seriously,, no one else has anything to say... no flaming?.. no,,, OMG THAT WILL LOOK LIKE TRASSSH... i'm suprised :-D

[uiuc240]

The mount clamps onto the drip rail at the top of the window. That's the only thing there to clamp to. In some cars, like VWs, there is a drip rail in the roof that is designed for racks. We don't have this. So you smoosh the mount to the roof, and pinch the drip rail until it's tight. It's really no big deal, as it just springs back...but I would NOT want to leave it like that for more than a couple of days.

As for where to mount it...I mount my towers as far to the front and back of the main windows as possible. You can't mount anything above the rear windows...they don't work properly for that.

So, I say go for it...but just take it off when you're done. My best advice if you're going to bike A LOT? Buy a $500 Honda Civic hatch and drive that to the trails.

Eric

[S14Speed997]

I've seen it on a S14, and also an Eclipse in my complex...Doesn't look bad at all...


Eric