You should be able to DIY a hitch and buy it for $150 usd. I did it on my sedan body car and took about 1hr following a YouTube (you only need utility knife and a basic ratchet set). Thule rear hitch bike rack where the bikes secure to the top tube should cost about $250-300 (I got a discounted model new for $200). So you’ll be in for $400 usd. If you had to pay for hitch installation, prob make that $500-600 usd.
If you can’t do that, sure get a roof before you buy one of those hanging rear. But certainly hitch rear > roof
Very few cars do not have an aftermarket hitch available for them. My mom has one on her Prius, my girlfriend on her Accord, I had one on my Fiesta (RIP), and now have on my Jeep.
I have a Sea Sucker as well as a Kuat. I view the Sea Sucker as the rack of last resort. One of our vehicles doesn’t have a good hitch option, which is my strong preference.
I used the Seacker on a long, multi-day trip. It’s plenty secure for transport, but you have to remove the bike and the rack at night, as there isn’t much in terms of theft deterrent. The lock solution is fine for leaving the car while at a restaurant, for example, but not much more.
Pro tip for anyone in North America. If your car doesn’t come with a hitch, u haul sells them and installs very cheap. On my old outback it was $150 CAD all in for hitch and installation.
Never, ever, ever pay a vehicle rack specialty place to do it; they absolutely price gouge. I was quoted $550 for the exact same hitch and install as u haul.
If you’re gonna try to install a hitch, on most cars it is relatively easy to do it by yourself. Etrailer.com is a great source. For your car they will have a few options as well as instructions, videos and a rating of difficulty.
Post #2 here was spot on. I’ve road tripped across the country pretty much annually with my bike locked up in my 1up. Best bike & vacation investment I’ve made.
I’m in the “Buy a Hitch Rack” camp. Even if you have to have a hidden hitch / stealth hitch installed on your vehicle.
If you do use one of those Bike Condoms on your bike on the roof - make sure it is very snug. The last thing you want is any vibration or movement that can damage the paint and frame. This is in general why you don’t use a cover on a car if it’s being towed unless it’s shrink-wrapped on. Easy to damage the paint if the cover flaps or vibrates in the wind at highway speed.
While the pricing is reasonable, it really will depend on the car. While I do my own work so don’t have to worry about labor, I know some cars are more complicated than others, including potentially cutting bodywork to fit.
I’ve been lucky that my vehicles were all easy bolt ons.
Does anyone know of a 1UP style rack that is available in Europe?
At the moment I have a old rack that has straps around the frame and wheels. I really don’t want to clamp something on a carbon frame like the Thule racks. But the 1UP racks only hold on to the wheels, which is absolutely perfect in my opinion.
