Fear and Loathing on rooftop bike carriers

[ShawnoftheDread]

Post-it note on the dash.

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[hozn]

I would always leave my sunroof open when the bike was above me. That usually worked. I was fortunate that my Prelude was low enough that the one time I forgot, it just cleared the bar.

But yeah, on the next car I quite deliberately did not get a roof rack (I have used hitch racks since and prefer them in every way except loading groceries in the trunk).

[vdotmatrix]

I also have this ridiculously heavy THULE bke rack that fits in the hitch and swings out and all that but that thing is so heay and such a hassle to use.When we take the popup anywhere the bikes can only go above.

I was thinking of mounting a 9 foot whip antenna somehow at the front license plate so if I happen to go somewhere i shouldn’t when the bikes are up there the antenna would hit the obstruction and alert my dumb ass before I would go under…..cars now a days dont have a bumper… @hozn 139646 wrote:

I would always leave my sunroof open when the bike was above me. That usually worked. I was fortunate that my Prelude was low enough that the one time I forgot, it just cleared the bar.

But yeah, on the next car I quite deliberately did not get a roof rack (I have used hitch racks since and prefer them in every way except loading groceries in the trunk).

[peterw_diy]

Yakima used to sell a nifty little clamshell device that would stick to your hood with a magnet and pop up an index-card sized warning sign when you slow down, as you’d normally do when entering a garage, drive-through restaurant line, etc.

http://www.cambriabike.com/Yakima-Load-Alert.asp

[huskerdont]

@vdotmatrix 139644 wrote:

A few years ago I had BOTH bikes, both yakima rooftop racks, the rear window and the factory roof rack go FOBAR when I tore though the parking barrier above the car in the parking lot.
Ever since I have not carried bikes up there again.

I had an idea of mounting an aerial antenna or whip on the front of the car to strike an over head barrier before I tear the bikes off the roof again.

Does anyone know if there is a product out there that someone makes for this purpose?

Neighbor across the street moved and gave me his Thule trailer rack for $10, so when I bought my Crosstrek I got a trailer hitch. I’ll never go back to using my roof racks (until some SUV rear ends me and destroys the bikes on the back, I guess). So much easier to use, no bug splatter on your nice bike, and no more FUBAR (which I did once with a kayak, but thankfully never a bike).

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