We Examined the Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Racks of 2024

The very best roof bike racks are among the many most inexpensive methods to securely transport your bike, particularly if you have already got a roof rack in your automobile. Most roof-mounted carriers clamp securely to your automobile’s manufacturing facility rack or aftermarket crossbars, so that they’re straightforward to arrange. And most are comparatively mild, so that they received’t crush smaller vehicles like a hitch bike rack can. As a result of bikes are on particular person mounts on a rooftop rack, there’s much less of an opportunity bikes will bang into one another whereas driving, decreasing the prospect of harm to your bikes and, in some instances, your automobile, which is why we love a superb roof-mounted bike rack.

Roof-mounted bike carriers maintain bikes securely, and so they do it with out blocking your hatch, license plate, or obackup digital camera. However you do want to recollect that you’ve got a motorbike or bikes on the roof, which if forgotten, can have disastrous penalties. You may wish to avoid any low-hanging obstacles like tree branches and low bridges, plus all the time keep away from parking garages, most of that are too low for a automobile with a motorbike on prime to enter.

There are loads of roof-mounted bike racks available on the market, so we examined out among the prime choices to search out out which racks work finest for many conditions. Listed here are out prime six picks of the very best roof racks for bikes you should purchase.

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Finest Roof Bike Racks at a Look

Finest Roof Bike Rack Total: Kuat Piston SRBest Roof Bike Rack for Smaller Vehicles: Yakima HighRoadBest Roof Bike Rack for Households: Thule UprideBest Light-weight Roof Bike Rack: Yakima HighSpeedBest RoofBike Rack for Vehicles With out Crossbars: SeaSucker TalonBest Roof Bike Rack for Entrance Skewer Bikes: Inno INA391 Fork Lock III

Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Racks of 2024

Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Rack Total: Kuat Piston SR

What It Is

A roof rack that may be transformed to a hitch rack, Kuat’s Piston SR takes the smooth-operating, easy-loading design of the model’s acclaimed Piston Professional and turns it right into a rack that mounts onto most bars together with manufacturing facility, aftermarket, T-channel crossbars, and overlanding bars that may carry as much as 67 kilos. You possibly can even get a spherical bar adapter if wanted. I take advantage of this rack on a Toyota Rav 4 Prime each on the roof and on the hitch.

Find out how to Use It

To Load:

Open the wheel trays.Place the bike within the tray. Shut every wheel holder with one hand whereas holding the bike with the opposite. 

To Launch:

The discharge mechanism for the wheel trays is close to the bottom of the rack, not on the prime of the wheel holder as in another roof racks, and is one-hand operable. Squeeze the discharge on every hydro-pneumatic tire arm.Place the bike’s wheels within the trays. Press the arms, which have smooth-operating kashima-coated struts, on the tires to carry the bike securely with no body contact. 

Why We Like It

The Piston SR is likely one of the most user-friendly racks you should purchase, as a result of each wheels keep on the bike when loaded, and there are not any further components and items required to hold fats bikes as much as 5 inches, lengthy wheel-base bikes as much as 53 inches, or anything. It’s my favourite rack general, as a result of it carries normal highway, gravel, mountain, e-bike, and youngsters’ bikes with out touching the body. And, in practically all instances, with out adapters. 

The Kashima-coated struts are sharp-looking and I like the blingy look, which matches my Kashima-coated Fox Shocks mountain bike fork. I’ve been utilizing this rack for greater than a 12 months, and the all-metal building means this bike rack lasts. It’s additionally lined by Kuat’s No Worries Guarantee.

The rack comes with a legit cable lock that shops individually inside your automobile. It locks into a particular cable portal on the physique of the rack, lending peace of thoughts. It is a lot thicker and, due to this fact, tougher to chop than most different theft-deterring rack locks. The rack mounts and dismounts rapidly and simply with Kuat’s proprietary hex-wrench-style device. 

The opposite cause I like this rack: I can apply it to my roof or, with an adapter, on my hitch. On my roof, it makes accessing my trunk simpler. On my hitch, it saves me from schlepping a heavy e-bike overhead and onto my automobile roof. Bonus: the rack comes totally assembled, and could be mounted on both the driving force or passenger aspect with no modifications. Kuat features a jute carrying bag with each rack that makes it straightforward to maintain observe of the device, further keys, and extra.

Specs

Weight: 26.8 poundsCapacity: For hitch use, 1 bike as much as 67 kilos with a 1¼-inch hitch adapter, or as much as 100 kilos with a 2-inch hitch adapterMax wheelbase: 53 inchesCrossbar unfold: 25 to 51 inches

Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Rack for Small Vehicles: Yakima HighRoad

What It Is

Yakima HighRoad is a roof bike rack that makes use of common mounting {hardware} to suit most crossbars, in addition to T-slot roof methods, which is what I’ve on my automobile. The rack has a welded steel loop on the bottom of the entrance wheel tray for an aftermarket cable lock or U-Lock, which is what I take advantage of to lock the bike to my roof. It additionally has a built-in locking cable. Whereas it’s a theft deterrent, it has a slender gauge and appears straightforward to chop. Yakima sells SKS lock cores for the built-in lock individually. The HighRoad holds bikes with wheels from 26 to 29 inches and as much as 4-inches large. I take advantage of it to hold a mud jumper, mountain bike, and a plus-size tire bike, although it is too slender to hold fats bikes with 5-inch tires.

Find out how to Use It

HighRoad has a entrance wheel receiver that tilts again for loading, then tilts ahead to cradle the bike’s entrance wheel, which frees your arms to strap down the again wheel with the ratcheting rear wheel strap and lock the entrance with a twist-to-tighten knob. 

Why We Like It

Straightforward to put in and function, Yakima HighRoad mounted to my roof rack with out instruments. As soon as in place, it is easy to load my bike and lock down. No matter which bike I’ve on my roof, it feels safe and secure. And after I’m not bringing my bike alongside and wish to pull the rack off my automobile, it solely takes a minute or so—and solely requires a step stool. Except I am doing an extended journey with out my bike, I principally go away the rack on my roof. When the entrance wheel holder is folded down, the rack is low-profile.

Specs

Weight: 18 poundsCapacity: 45 poundsWheelbase: As much as 48 inchesCrossbar unfold: 18 to 35 inches

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Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Rack for Households: Thule Upride

What It Is

With a trim profile and an articulated tray, Thule Upride is a streamlined, low-drag roof-mounted bike rack that’s straightforward to put in. It holds bikes with 20- to 29-inch wheels securely on the roof of most vehicles. In reality, that is my favourite characteristic: It holds children’ bikes in addition to grownup bikes, and it does so with no body contact. To hold a fats bike, I needed to get an adapter that accommodates 5-inch tires, which is offered individually, however the rack holds each different bike I load onto it with none further components or items.

Find out how to Use It

So as to add or swap the rack to totally different sides of your automobile, unscrew and re-screw the plates at the back and front of the rack. As soon as locked to your automobile, use the built-in cable lock to lock the bike to the rack (simply be aware it is slender gauge). (After I plan to go away a motorbike unattended on the roof for any size of time, I take advantage of my very own cable lock or U-lock for peace of thoughts.) Lock cores to safe the rack on the automobile and to lock the built-in cable lock are each offered individually. 

Why We Like It

Thule Upride seems to be mild and aerodynamic. The total-length tray has undulations to maintain it as quiet and fuel-efficient as doable. Thule places the locking mechanism on the base of the rack as an alternative of excessive up on the rack to make it simpler to lock bikes. If there’s one nitpick, it is simply that I used to be a bit confused by the locking mechanism at first, which seems to be open even when it’s shut.

Specs

Weight: 17 poundsCapacity: 44 poundsWheelbase: 51.2 inchesCrossbar unfold: 24 to 43 inches

Finest Light-weight Roof-Mounted Bike Rack: Yakima HighSpeed

What It Is

When you’re on the lookout for a rack that hardly provides weight to your automobile, and is fast to get on and off your roof, Yakima HighSpeed is the one. The roof bike rack can carry quite a lot of totally different bikes, from gravel to mountain to fats bikes. Nonetheless, to hold my fats bike, I take advantage of an extra-long Voile strap to safe my again wheel, as a result of the ratcheting strap that comes with the rack isn’t lengthy sufficient. The Excessive Velocity is finest for contemporary crossbars. Whereas Yakima says the rack has common mounting {hardware}, it’s common to aerodynamic crossbars, not old-style sq. or spherical ones. In case your bars have T-slots and also you’d choose to mount the rack that approach, purchase Yakima’s SmarT-Slot Equipment.

Find out how to Use It

It is tool-free to put in the rack. 

To Load: 

Take away the entrance wheel. Exchange the via axle into the body or set the bike on Yakima’s skewer adapter. I place the bike fork onto the rack, then safe the quick-release/skewer with the twisting knob that secures the fork onto the rack. 

Yakima doesn’t embrace its SKS locks with the rack; SKS locks are offered individually. I plan to get a set so I can lock the knob shut to stop theft and lock the rack onto my roof bars. I’ll additionally get a core and key for the TailWhip cable. It might deter theft, but it surely’s not a full-fledged cable lock.

Why We Like It

This rack hooked up simply to my crossbars and has glorious hatch clearance on my Toyota Rav 4 Prime. Yakima says the provider matches most roof racks, however it’s best to go to Yakima’s web site and use the helpful match calculator to verify this mount will suit your automobile before you purchase.

Many roof-mounted bike carriers are sophisticated if you wish to carry bikes with totally different dimension skewers/via axles. This one has a common clamp in entrance that may maintain 9mm fast releases sometimes discovered on highway bikes and older bikes, in addition to 12-, 15-, and 20-mm via axles, discovered on mountain, gravel, and fats bikes. It’s straightforward to toggle between carrying totally different bikes with out stress or complications.

Specs

Weight: 9.6 poundsCapacity: 40 poundsWheelbase: As much as 48 inchesCrossbar unfold: 18 to 36 inches

Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Rack for Vehicles With out Crossbars: SeaSucker Talon

What It Is

This two-piece roof bike rack from SeaSucker makes use of suction to connect to the roof of a automobile. The entrance piece, which holds the bike’s fork, has three suction cups—every with its personal built-in pump. It is a bit unnerving to load a really costly mountain bike onto a automobile roof with suction cups, then go hurtling down the freeway, however I did it again and again with no points.

SeaSucker sells Huske plugs for a 9mm skewer and via axles as much as 20mm, together with skewers for bikes with increase spacing. For the needs of this evaluate, I primarily loaded this rack onto my automobile roof, but it surely simply as simply masses onto a again window or trunk. And you’ll load any single-rider bike with this rack. There are not any quick or lengthy limits to a wheelbase as long as the bike isn’t longer than your automobile. The rack comes with a spare sea sucker pump, crank arm straps to stop pedal contact with the roof, and a Lube Tube for vacuum pump upkeep.

I didn’t get cable anchors from SeaSucker, however the firm does promote a steel piece that goes into the automobile window that permits you to string a cable lock by way of the bike and the steel piece as a theft deterrent. Having been robbed by thieves who popped out my automobile window, this method doesn’t give me loads of confidence. It must be considered a deterrent solely.

Find out how to Use It

To Set up

Wipe your roof with a clear rag. Place the suction cup wheel holder on the roof.Pump every pump button till the orange line disappears, indicating the suction cup is firmly hooked up. Repeat on the opposite suction cups. To launch the rack, slide a finger below the entrance of every suction cup to launch the strain. The pressurized suction cups every have a 210-pound pull energy score.

To Load:

Verify what dimension via axle your bike has. The entrance fork holder makes use of devoted Huske Plugs (offered individually for $20 to $35) for each dimension axle or skewer. As a result of I carry totally different kinds of bikes with different-sized thru-axles, I purchased holders for each a skewer and a number of thru-axles. 

To mount a motorbike with a 12mm entrance thru-axle, slide the corresponding Huske plugs into the entrance wheel holder.Take away the entrance wheel.Place the fork on the mount. Slide the via axle by way of the entrance fork of the bike on the mount, screwing it down as you’d with the entrance wheel in its fork. To mount the again wheel on the rack, place it on the rear-wheel holder.Safe with the included 22-inch-long hook and loop strap.

Why We Like It

The tried-and-true SeaSucker held agency and the bike rode as securely on this rack as every other. Whereas it is barely inconvenient to maintain observe of additional components, the rack’s compact dimension makes it straightforward to move and mount on any roof. That outweighs any minor inconveniences. I like to journey with my bike, however meaning as soon as I get to my vacation spot I’ve to lease a automobile that’s large enough to carry my bike, or a number of bikes if I am touring with a buddy. That is so small and compact, I now throw it in my suitcase so I can carry my bike on the roof anyplace I’m going.

Specs

Weight: 6 poundsCapacity: 45 poundsWheelbase: N/ACrossbar unfold: N/A

Finest Roof-Mounted Bike Rack for Entrance Skewer Bikes: Inno INA391 Fork Lock III

What It Is

Inno INA391 Fork Lock III is a no-tools-required roof-mounted bike rack that clamps onto most roof bars, together with sq. bars, spherical bars, and teardrop-shaped bars. When you’re on the lookout for a rack for the bike you’ve gotten now, not one you might have sooner or later, this is likely one of the most inexpensive choices. Whereas many high-end trendy mountain bikes and gravel bikes now use entrance via axles, simply as many bikes nonetheless use 9mm quick-release skewers. This rack is for 100mm fork-width solely, which is the spacing and spec that almost all bikes traditionally have. If that’s your bike, this rack is appropriate. The rack matches bikes with 20- to 29-inch wheels and tires as much as 2.7 inches. 

How It Works

It took me lower than 5 minutes to mount the rack on my teardrop-shaped roof bars. 

To Set up:

Launch the under-rack clamp and thread it below the bars. Slot it again into the retainer and twist the rack’s clutch-tightening adjuster to safe the rack to your roof. 

To Load:

Take away the bike’s entrance wheel.Set my bike’s fork on the 9mm skewer on the entrance of the rack. Safe utilizing the outsized, ergonomic fast launch. Lock down the rear wheel with the rack’s rear-ratcheting mechanism. Retailer your entrance wheel in your automobile.

Why We Like It

It’s additionally well-made, mild, inexpensive, and fast to put in. The mount is appropriate with disc brakes. And, I used to be psyched the rack comes with a lock core and keys to lock the bike onto the rack (most are offered individually). 

Nitpick: Sadly, whereas the bike locks to the rack, the rack doesn’t lock onto the automobile. After I go away my bike on the roof for any size of time, I take advantage of a cable lock wrapped round my automobile’s locked crossbars and thru the body of my bike to discourage theft. 

Specs

Weight: 7.9 poundsCapacity: 50 poundsWheelbase: N/ACrossbar unfold: 20 to 32 inches

What to Search for in Roof-Mounted Bike Racks

Virtually all roof-mounted bike carriers connect to a roof rack system that features both front-to-back manufacturing facility rails, side-to-side manufacturing facility crossbars that connect to these rails, or an aftermarket rail and/or crossbar system. Some trendy roof-top bike mounts can connect to quite a lot of crossbar shapes. Make sure that the mount you’re contemplating is appropriate along with your crossbar. In case you have an older roof rack system, you possibly can have spherical or sq. bars as an alternative of extra trendy teardrop-shaped crossbars which might be quieter and have much less drag. Some firms promote adapter kits to suit their roof mounts to older crossbars.

Some roof-mounted bike carriers maintain your bike with each back and front wheels on. Some maintain the bike with the entrance wheel eliminated. Wheel-off mounts are often essentially the most inexpensive. Most individuals who use wheel-off bike mounts retailer the entrance wheel contained in the automobile, although some manufacturers promote a roof-mounted entrance wheel provider.

Many racks ship arrange for both driver or passenger aspect mounting. Most could be modified over for set up on the other aspect of the automobile.

Downsides to Roof-Mounted Bike Racks

Relying on the load of your bike and your energy, hoisting a motorbike overhead onto the roof of a automobile could be awkward. Carrying a motorbike on a roof-mounted provider will probably have some unfavorable affect in your fuel mileage or your vary. Roof-mounted bike carriers will also be loud, significantly on vehicles with a moonroof.

Rooftop carriers should not suited to most e-bikes as a result of their weight. In case your e-bike is of the SL, or super-light, selection and corresponding to a pure pedal bike, a rooftop provider may very well be appropriate. Verify the load score of any provider earlier than loading it with an e-bike.

Why You Ought to Belief Me

I am a Vermont-based author, photographer, and outside adventurer, who studies on gear, journey journey, and environmental points. I additionally serve on the board of Richmond Mountain Trails, Vermont Mountain Bike Affiliation, and Vermont Huts. I’ve developed and guided climbing and biking journeys within the U.S. and South America, and biked throughout the U.S. I trip bikes most days and I’ve reviewed dozens of motorcycle racks available on the market with highway, gravel, mountain, fats, touring, commuter, e-, and youngsters’ bikes. Not solely do I evaluate gear for Males’s Journal, however for a number of endemic bike magazines.

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