Hello,

I'm quite new to the car customization community and found this forum to be very helpful in the past, so I figured I'd give it a go with a couple questions I have regarding finding a roof rack for my 2016 Mini Clubman S. I appreciate everyone's help on this, as I'm a total newbie!!

The sole purpose of my adventure into finding a roof rack is to be able to mount and travel with my bike; although in the future I hope to use the rack in more ways.

As I look into getting a roof mount I find myself asking more and more questions!

1. Will the dual pane panoramic sunroof pose any sort of issues when installing/using a roof rack?

2. Do you have any suggestions on which mounts are best?
I like the Yakima roof racks better than the factory or Thule mounts, but am really unsure of which one is best. I was looking at the Ridgeline Tower and the Jetstream Black 50”/60” crossbars.

3. Will I need to install flush siderails on the car, and if so, where can I find them?
I've looked around and can't seem to find anything other than the roof rail systems

4. Are the roof racks/flush siderails/etc, hard to mount and/or install?
I’ve never installed anything on a car aside from superficial accessories, so I was unsure of whether this was out of my scope

I probably sound quite naive, so I apologize, but DEFINITELY appreciate any/all your help!

 

The best way to do it is get the factory installed roof rails (the flush-mount rails that run along the length of the car). Any other system is going to involve clips coming around the edge of the roof into the top of the door area, and that risks damaging the paint. I've not heard of anyone being able to buy these or self-install them - the tolerances are quite tight (must be equi-distant along the entire roof). For this reason it's one of the few things where I'd recommend having a dealer install.

If you have the flush roof rails already, the factory roof rack (cross-rails) works really well - I got it at a discount when buying the car. There's plenty of room for the roof panel to open, even with a bike rack clipped onto it. It takes less than 3 min. to add/remove the rack from the flush-rails. Also there's virtually no whistling or other noise in normal use. If I was gonna go 3rd party I'd pick the Whispbar low profile bars - they're now owned by Yakima. Had them on another car and they stayed on permanently. But they're pricey.

For bike racks, we have Yakimas and they work well, although they're a holdover from another car so they attach to the cross-rails with clamps. The newer ones have an inverted nut that slides into the groove in the cross rails - it's a more permanent fix and is ever-so-slightly more aerodynamic. Nevertheless, even with the clamps the sun-roof doesn't snag.

The MINI cross rails run about $250 (YMMV) plus the cost of the flush rails. The low-profile bars from Yakima/Thule/Rhino all run in the $500 range including tower mounts. Then bike racks for the top another $150 each. Either way you're looking at $800+, plus the hit in gas mileage (about a 5 mpg hit for highway crusing with 2 bikes up top).


Have you considered another option... trailer-hitch-mount rack? The Curt hitch runs about $160 (eTrailer) and is an easy install (< 1 hr.) Then get yourself any of the good hitch-mount bike racks on Amazon for another $200 and you're in business for less than half the cost of a roof system and without the aerodynamic hit. Also much easier to remove the rack when you're not using it.

We actually have both systems: a hitch-mount rack for 1 or 2 bikes, plus a roof rack for more bikes up top when we need to carry 4 of them, plus a roof cargo box for campling. I regularly run the cargo box with one bike alongside. Have yet to go on a trip with cargo box, 1 bike up top and 2 on the back - that would be fun!

 

Have you just tried putting the bike inside the car? I can fit my 29er mountain bike in with only the front wheel off (which you have to do with many racks anyways), so if you are primarily by yourself when you ride, this may be the best option. It is the most secure and the most aerodynamic (cheaper racks can get really loud)

 

I also slide my bike in the back like cyow5 when I do biking locally. Seats down and front wheel off, it fits easily and comes out easily.

I did order the roof rails factory installed and made the dealer throw in the cross rails as part of my deal (about $250 retail). I have the Yakima system with clamps for the factory roof rails with all the attachments. I found them at a estate sale for $20 per set. I already had the older system from 25 years ago that I was using on my old Honda. They're stored now until needed for an older car. Yakima has been a good system, but can be quite expensive when buying new.....