Roof Bike Racks 101

Tag : quick release clamp
Mounting your bikes on your roof can be a fantastic option fortransporting your bike to your favorite spot. Roof bike racks canbe mounted to most roof base racks and do not require muchinstallation effort at all. For vehicles without a trailer hitchthis is a much more secure and long-term solution than a trunkmounted rack and leaves access to your trunk wide open. These racksgenerally come in two styles: Fork mount and wheel mount. Here'show the two stack up against each other and some recommended racksin each category.

Fork Mount Roof Bike Racks

To mount your bike on these racks you must first remove the fronttire. Once the front tire is removes you place the fork in to aquick-release clamp and secure the rear wheel in a wheel tray. Thisoption is the most common for bikes with easily removable frontwheels. For bikes with 20mm hubs or bolt-on front wheels an uprightbike rack may be more appropriate because removing the front wheelmight be unwieldy.
Upright Roof Bike Racks

Upright roof racks do not require you take off the front wheelbefore mounting the bike in the rack. They typically mount to theframe using a clamping mechanism but there are also models thatutilize a wheel mount system where the clamp is placed around thewheels and not on the frame. This eliminates any scratching orscuffing to the paint or finish of your frame. These bike racks canaccommodate all styles of bikes from 20" BMX bikes to large tiredownhill bikes to 29ers.

Benefits of a Fork Mount Bike Rack

The main benefit of a fork mount bike rack is stability: becausethe fork is clamped on to the rack the bike will ride more securelyon your roof. The downward angle and low profile of the bike on therack reduces wind resistance and noise as well. Some people alsofind it easier to load the bike without the added weight of the front wheel and the stability of the fork mount when it isresting and not yet clamped.