[Beau]

Scotland is the one non-north america place that I have a huge desire to visit. My wife's ancestors are (we believe) Scottish. Mine are Italian but I really don't see any reason to visit Italy in today's political environment.

I'm quite jealous that you can ride from your door like that. But at least I already have my Cooper!

And I know -- tell me about it. I was only 39 with that blockage!

[santacruz]

Yeh you just never can tell what hand you've been dealt, all the more reason for having a blast while you can. Scotland's to be recommended especially if you like driving... lots of isolated, deserted roads (with few cops but plenty of cameras mind you)to throw the cooper at (just don't throw it off the road or you could be stuck for days) and biking ... well its all so close at hand anything you want high level mountainous, woods, single track, quiet long distance roads for the tandem (I should get a job with the tourist board!!) ... just don't tell too many people we like to keep it exclusive.

We're reconsidering a MINI expedition to Italy this September too because of the likely political unrest...Italy is fabulous... but nowhere's good if there are strikes or the likelihood of them especially if you're on holiday.

I am jealous...I want my S now!

[Ottawa Guy]

Instead of a roof rack, you could buy a folding BMW Mountain Bike.

Cheap, at half the price.

[chiph]

Quote:

Originally posted by santacruz
Scotland is absolutly teaming with ace biking. I have good training runs right from the back door and can easily put an all day epic in locally with lung busting ups and very fast landrover track descents (usually with walkers on a couple of whom caused me to come off at v high speed last summer......very sore for a few weeks).

I'm still stuck with a Trek hardtail - After I buy the Cooper S, I'll start saving for a FS bike. I like the looks of the NRS-1, but haven't ridden one yet.

I've had dreams in the past of going bike touring in Ireland or maybe Denmark. Not as much up & down as in Scotland! (which is important when you're loaded down with clothing & stuff). Maybe next year...

Chip H.

[MINIAC]

1997 Santa Cruz Tazmon owner

[Beau]

So how are y'all carrying your bikes?
I can get mine in the back if I lay the seats down, scoot the passenger seat forward, and remove both wheels (from the bike ).
That's such a hassle that I'll only do it if I'm going out to Charlottesville to ride, because the last 7 miles to the trail head are _perfect_ for the MINI.

[MINIAC]

Won't have my 'S' until August, so I either use a Yakima roof rack on my '73 2002 or just jump on my bike and ride 30 minutes, through the Presidio, across the Golden Gate Bridge and up to trails in the Marin Headlands.

[santacruz]

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh Marin county......the cradle of mountainbiking! Oh so lucky

[Aurel]

Beau:

So how do you like the NRS1. I was looking to upgrade my Raleigh M80 which is 4 years old to a NRS2 to go with the MINI I have on order ... want to hit a lot of Mountain Biking this summer!

I am 6'6" / 230lbs. and the Giant looks like it can handle by weight!

So many toys so little time!

Looking for the Bones rack too!

[Beau]

Without a doubt, the NRS1 has made me a faster & better rider. It is _sooooo_ tunable. That rear shock is really incredible. If you get one, set it up like the book says. When I got mine I read that & said no way -- I know that's not the best way. So I set it up like I thought it should be. Not good. The way they tell you to is very counter-intuitive but out on the trail it works. You have to look at it to tell its working. There is no bob when you are climbing. Yet somehow it still soaks up the hits.

I weigh 230 & bought it because it seemed like the only FS beefy enough to handle that. So far no trouble at all with it. It's very quiet and works as advertised. Those Renault engineers got this one right.

Have fun!

[Gary Tate]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beau
I love my new Mini. And I love to go mountain biking. My bike will fit in the back, with the seats down and both wheels removed from the bike. But I want to carry it on the outside, so as to keep the mess outside.

The MINI rack is not an option -- I don't want the permanent modification of drilling holes.

Yakima, Thule, and Saris do not have a rack yet.

I won't say which one, but I talked to one of the makers about their racks which is for SUVs, minivans, etc and they highly recommended that it _not_ be used on this car.

Ideally I'd like to be able to use a hitch mounted rack.
Any ideas on getting a receiver hitch? I looked under the car and possible mounting points are very few.

Thanks for any ideas.

Why would you not tell us which brand? Why even post this info if your not going to tell us all the info....

[Beau]

Well at the time it just seemed like the right thing to do. To spare myself being contacted by the manufacturer for saying bad things about them. If you look back thru this thread you will see, however, that once I contacted the manufacturer for an 'official' position on this, that I posted that here too.
Sorry to have aggravated you.

[mngrant]

I was sad enough to invest in the BMW towbar to mount my mountain bike, lots of money, but a least my pride and joy will not end spread all over a motorway at 70+ mph. Heres a pic with Thule ball mounted rack.

[Beau]

I got mine from HMS MotorSports and used a really old rack that I had leftover from a 94 325.

Now I get to combine 2 of my favorite things -- driving the Mini and mountain biking.

[noahe]

The Saris Bones Bike rack is now an official fit for the 2002 & 2003 MINI Cooper & MINI Cooper S.

Check out http://www.graberproducts.com and they now have our MINI's listed in their product fit guide. Choose your MINI, rear-fit location, and click "Saris Bones".

Both the Original Saris Bones 2-Bike rack, and the New Saris Bones 3-Bike rack (available in multiple colours) will fit the MINI.

Please note: Narrow Bumper, use caution when placing foot on bumper.

Graber makes no mention of the accessory "Hatch Huggers" in their fit-guide, however, I found that replacing the supplied rubber coated steel hooks with the Hatch Huggers made for a more stable fit, and gave me peace of mind about my paint job.