4 Reasons to Carry Bikes on a Roof Rack Instead of a Rear Rack

If you want to take a bike or a couple of bikes further than you can pedal yourself, you'll need to look into buying a carrier for your car. You'll then be able to load your bikes up and drive to new trails. At the end of the day, you don't need to worry about staining your vehicle's interior with the mud your bike picked up.

Of course, choosing the right bike carrier isn't always easy. You have two main choices: roof rack or rear rack. There are pros and cons on both sides, but here are just four reasons you should choose a roof rack.

1. No Trouble Reaching the Boot 

One of the biggest annoyances that comes with fitting a bike carrier at the rear of your vehicle is not being able to reach the cargo area. If you're taking your bikes somewhere for a day out, you'll often want to bring along food, cycle clothing, body protection and other such items. If you have a roof rack, you can access the boot without issue. If you have a rear rack, that's not an option.

2. Stays on When Not in Use

Roof racks are pretty unobtrusive when they're not carrying anything. Take down your bikes, and all that's left is the bars and crossbeams, which make absolutely no difference to your driving. This means roof racks can be left on until you sell the vehicle. In contrast, you'll need to take a rear rack on and off – it's just not practical to leave one on all the time. That might not sound like a big deal, but having to constantly put it on and off can quickly become annoying.  

3. Free from Road Grime

You want to arrive and have your bikes looking and running as good as they did when you left, which means keeping them free of road grime. Since the bikes in a rear rack sit quite close to the ground, the mud, dust, and other debris that gets kicked up by your back tires can cake up over them. This isn't always an issue, but you'll be surprised at how dirty they get when it's raining or muddy.

4. Easier Manoeuvring

Finally, keep in mind how much easier it is to manoeuvre when you have a roof rack instead of a rear rack. The rack and your bikes will add to the length of your vehicle, and parking sensors will be useless. With a roof rack, the size of your vehicle's footprint doesn't change at all.  


Share