I wrote Thule another inquiry on their offerings for 2015 MCS, just got their response:

This vehicle is not listed even in our in-house Fit Guide so we are sorry to say that it does not appear that there will be a fit for it in the North American market.

 

Sounds like you got someone who doesn't know their own product offerings!

If necessary, I'll just buy the OE rack from MINI.

 

Yea, looks like its on there site or the guide they have is wrong ?

 

Try without the flush rails.

What Thule doesn't have is the part that mounts to the car and then holds the racks.

 

yeah, Thule needs to hurry up here...I have both styles of their cross bars and I'd like to be able to use them!

 

Sorry I missed this, but I hope I can still help. The bungie breaks up the air flow across the rack, and therefore it is much quieter. A lot like an air deflector.

 

I also have the Yakima Q-towers setup on mine. I don't like it as much as the bolt-on style of the OEM racks I used on my 2011 WRX, but it is very sturdy. The loud bars are loud and finding the locations for the Q-clips is a little tricky. I left mine on all through summer and just removed it recently since I think I'm done riding for the year.

The Q-clips did not cause any damage to the paint, although the vinyl stickers slid off a couple as I removed them. I'll probably just wrap them with electrical tape next year. The rubber around the roof trim went back to its original form and you can't tell they were ever there.

The Q-towers themselves left only minor swirls on my white roof which were only visible under the bright lights of a gas station at a certain angle. I'm very weird about swirls and scratches so I was pleased with their minimal impact. I washed the car and waxed the roof immediately before installing the rack. I also wiped off the rubber base of the Q-towers with some Meguiar's plastic protectant stuff.

 

I currently have MINI's Base Support System (horizontal roof bars) installed on my 2015 F56 (2 door). I am not a fan of either of MINI's new bike racks. Don't like the hump in the front.

Can I use MINI's older version of the touring bike holder which has straight bike support bar with MINI's newer Base Support System (horizontal roof bars)?


Example:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...roof-rack.html

If not, can you explain why (ie clearance, rack wont attach into the bars, etc)?

 

Here are some options for the F56 roof rack factory base bars. The older part # flat bar was NLA and SS to the curved bar mounts. Rockymounts Euro pitch forks is another option for the straight bar.

OEM and Rockymount options.


https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2014-Cooper-F56-S-3_Door-B48A20A/Exterior/Roof_Rack/

 

The rockymounts are what i am leaning towards if there aren't any other options. Not sure though if i want to go with something where i have to remove front tire.


what does "....older part # flat bar was NLA and SS..." mean/stand for from your response?

 

Yea, then you will have to do the Genuine MINI touring bike mount or the brass knuckles add on.

 

Looking at the picture it looks the rear may extend too far and hit the trunk of my F56 (2-door) when opened fully.

 

Some people on the R56 had to cut the end of the fork a couple inches because of that rear wing when you open the boot, the F56 is about 4 inches longer so it might clear now.

 

Had to adapt...

Factory MINI roof support with RockyMounts Euro Pitchfork rack on my 2015 F56. My friend sawed off 2" from the back of the rack as it would hit the trunk when fully opened. FYI, he said it was really easy to cut through in case others want to try.

 

I have the brass knuckles on my Mini and I flipped them around so they looked better. No issues with hitting the back door. I'll post a pic next time I have the bike up there.

 

Awesome !




Cant wait to see pics.

 

Nice BMC, fellow BMC owner here myself, enjoying a BMC Team Machine SLR03 - my first, awesome bikes!

 

those OEM roof rails look so nice! I wish I could've ordered them with mine. I don't understand why an option like roof rails wouldn't be available at launch or even for so long after. Mine is an early '15 build so I had to resort to the Yakima set up I showed above.

If Mini usually offers roof rails and accessories, why the heck would they hold back on them??

 

They are a little slow sometimes on the aftersales parts on a new platform vehicle.

 

I went with the EuroPitch fork but intrigued on how the brass knockes handles clearance (interfers with the trunk) and reliablitly. Will check it out when you have the time to post pics.

 

Recently bought a q tower system, having issues with the install. I check and double check measurements get everything tightened down, looks sharp, but the q clips want to slide out from there position, not front to back, but up towards the towers. Anyone else experiencing this issue? Probably user error, but frustrating none the less.

 

Heres my current setup. Thule Aeroblade Edge bars with Yakima Fat Cat 6.

 

Man, your Thule Aeroblade Edge bars have a much better profile then my OEM Mini support rails (see pic a few posts back). Guess i saved on upfront cost.

 

Thanks. They were a little pricier than OEM but way lower profile and they came in all black!

 

This is how I set my rack and Brass Knuckles up. I had them facing forward, but the tray hung too far over the front and I thought it looked stupid. If I had the JCW spoiler, it might hit.