Rooftop rack that will attach to factory OEM cross bars?

[MCL1981]

Does anyone know of a rooftop rack that can clamp/attach to the typical rectangular rooftop OEM racks?

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[GuyContinental]

@MCL1981 25889 wrote:

Does anyone know of a rooftop rack that can clamp/attach to the typical rectangular rooftop OEM racks?

If you are talking about the side rails, both Yakima and Thule make racks that clamp directly to the bars and then use their strong as heck crossbars (this is a great solution).

If you mean the OEM crossbars, I’ll give you a qualified yes- both of the above make shaped and universal clamps (Yakima’s are called mightymounts) that then connect to the respective rack manufacturers’ bike racks. Three warnings- 1) Your OEM horizontal crossbars probably suck; depending on the car, don’t carry more than 50# up there 2) the online vehicle fittment guides on both websites are not so great for OEM racks. You’ll probably want to call them to confirm. 3) There is a universal Yakima “mightymount” that I had to use that was silly expensive ($20 each, $80 for 4)

Another option are “Rockymounts” racks which are designed to use basically any bar. If you don’t already have bike trays this is a great way to go- the racks are slightly cheaper and come in cool colors.

***FWIW EMS has a 20% off sale on Thule right now; REI will have one on Yakima at some point. Both are high quality but proprietary mounts make them less than interchangeable

[SteveTheTech]

What type of vehicle are you mounting the rack to?

I spent a few months researching the differences between every common rack out there. My roof had no rack or mount points so my reserach included a new base system. Then again some manufacturers use the big companies to make their OE kits.

I agree with the Guy above me, you OE racks might suck, but at least you have something to work with. I was thinking of going with a discount model on mine but figured I would be better off with something in the middle of the product line. A little more money for some extra piece of mind was worth it to me. No matter what my bikes cost I would not want to loose them on the highway, that just sounds like so much liability. $20/ea for legs is about what they cost…as a 1 time expense (to me) it was worth the investment knowing their is a quality item up there. So far I’ve been very pleased with mine, I’ve driven hours with bikes up there and several times a week and have only had to tweek the adjustments once of twice (but I am also ocd).

If you haven’t yet checked out http://www.rackattack.com/index.asp? you should they will pretty much lay out all the options for your car, with the exception of hitch mounted setups for that I have been referring people to http://www.etrailer.com/ for a few years now and have had great success with them.

A quick few words on what I went with.
I have the Thule 480 traverse (square bars) with the ferring and two Thule 517 Pelotons. It wasn’t the cheapest setup but I do not plan on buying another for several years. The ferring keeps wind noise to a suprising minimum I am very happy with it.

Happy hunting.

[MCL1981]

I have a Ford Escape with a factory roof rack and cross bars. I found that most of the popular rack manufacturers have mounts that will attach to the OEM cross bars. I have to experiment with heaving the bike up and down a few times before I buy one though. My 10yr old mountain bike is not exactly lightweight.

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