Carrying a mountain bike

[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.

[monsta]

There is a removable tow hitch available from your MINI dealer. Not sure how they fix it on or how much it is though...

[G8BAD_COOPER]

i know this may sound silly, but i got a price a while ago for the tow bar, and i was told it's £4.50, as all the mounting points are already there.

and no i wasnt mistaken, i double double checked....

[noahe]

The Saris Bones racks will fit the MINI with the purchase of 2 additional "Hatch Hugger" kits. Search "Saris" as I have posted on this before.

The Bones rack is incredible, it fits minivans, New Beetles, our Sunfire, Golfs...

Actually, I haven't found any of my buddies cars that it won't fit.

If you're getting the S, hold on before buying one, and test fit it. I've only confirmed that it fit a Cooper. I don't see why it wouldn't, but I don't want you to waste money either. I can probably let you know by mid-may.

[monsta]

Quote:

Originally posted by G8BAD_COOPER
i know this may sound silly, but i got a price a while ago for the tow bar, and i was told it's £4.50, as all the mounting points are already there.

and no i wasnt mistaken, i double double checked....

You have to be joking??!!! I'll take two!!

[G8BAD_COOPER]

Quote:

You have to be joking??!!! I'll take two!!

seriously thats what my dealer told me, i thourght it was very cheap aswell, but it's only the tow bar. none of the electrics etc...

and also about the mountain bike boot hugger thingy, my dad used to have a MERC that he used one of these on and it left 2 huge dents where the suction pads touched the boot, so i'd never ever have one of them.....
the metal on the boot is not made to take pressure of that kind!!!!

[noahe]

The "Hatch Huggers" aren't suction pads. The Saris Bones rack uses two straps top, two botom, and one on either side, all with little vinyl coated hooks on the end. On a trunk, the hooks grab the edge, and all is well. Some cars have glass hinge lines or particularily narrow gaps, so you use these little "Hatch Hugger" things which are basically foam covered large diameter wooden dowels. You chuck 'em inside the car at the right places, then pull the straps tight against the car.

[noahe]

And the nifty Saris Bones rack looks like this.

[Beau]

Just got off the phone with my dealer's parts department. They show nothing like a tow bar in their catalog. He said it could be a UK-only thing. Do you think that's possible?

Thanks

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beau
Just got off the phone with my dealer's parts department. They show nothing like a tow bar in their catalog. He said it could be a UK-only thing. Do you think that's possible?

Well, it's not just UK only. If you look in this thread you can see pictures of a receiver-type towbar in Australia:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...&threadid=1311

I also recommend you do a search of postings for the words "towbar" or "towing" for more information.

[Beau]

I've been emailing back & forth with Saris about this.
They have been by far the most helpful.
So helpful in fact that I'll probably just wait on them to come out with something (if I don't get a hitch receiver figured out first).

I think they are a little unsure about using the Bones rack on the Mini.

This is what the last email about it said:

While we agree that the Bones rack is a terrific rack, and appreciate all of the compliments, we have not yet had the opportunity to do a test fit on the Mini Cooper. Until we have the chance to put the rack on a new car, we do not recommend that anyone use it. We have a thorough testing protocol we use each time a new vehicle comes out. We would hate to see anyone damage their car, bikes or the cars (and passengers in the cars) behind them.
Please contact us for more information.


Steve Elliott
Customer Service
Graber Products, Inc.
5253 Verona Rd.
Madison, WI 53711
1-800-783-7257 ext. 142

[noahe]

Oh. I test fit a Saris Bones 2-bike rack (mine) on a MINI Cooper, with 2 hatch-hugger kits replacing the hooks. It seemed solid, steady and fine.

But I guess given that caution, I should hold off then?

I fit it to the MINI very similar to their instructions for fitting it to a minivan. Worked a charm.

I wonder what the rack could do that I haven't thought of? It won't come off, that's for sure. I guess the hatch tolerances could be too tight and wear through the straps, or maybe it could dent the car? Seems doubtful.

Oh well... We'll see.

[Beau]

I think I'm going to just wait until I can get a hitch & put the rack on the hitch. I have this luxury because I also have a big SUV that I can use for carrying stuff. If I only had the Mini, then I believe I would go with the Saris rack.
That said, I did see a Cooper with the roof rack on it at the dealer yesterday. It looks really neat. I just can't get past drilling holes in the roof.

[santacruz]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beau

....That said, I did see a Cooper with the roof rack on it at the dealer yesterday. It looks really neat. I just can't get past drilling holes in the roof.

I have the same dilemma. I have to be able to carry my mountainbike and the best way by far is on the roof. But drilling holes.....oh no! Then again this is BMW and my years of experience of them suggests they do things right...and it does look very neat. But why oh why didn't they just design in a permanent bolt mount like on the 3 Series???????

Mind you as its the dealer that fits the rack and not the factory I hope the technician hasn't been on the beer the night before he drills my roof!

Has any one got a photo of the actual mounts in the roof? I've seen photos of the roof rack on and off with the wee plastic covers in place but I'd like to see the aftermath of the drilling! How do they stop the water getting in?

[Beau]

I bet we see an aftermarket roof rack soon enough to avoid the drilling. I talked to the mechanic at the dealer. He had put that one on -- he said he hopes no one else ever wants one. It comes with a paper template that he cuts out with scissors and tapes to the roof -- to mark where to drill.

That 3-series rack is awesome. My wife has that car & the rack is a stable as a rock. Well, my rack is actually from my 97 5-Series but with some modifications (making the channels for the towers longer) it works great on the 3 since they both have the same mounting studs.

Maybe next year they'll have a version with the built-in ports like the 3 & 5 series.