Actually I already have 2 Yakima highrollers, used them for a good deal of the summer. I actually find them very easy to use but to be honest, it is my first bike mount so my opinion is limited. The dual arms on the front tire really grab the bike well and it is stable. If I remember on the Thule sidearm, the arm touches the paint, which is something that persuaded me to the highrollers. I will say that lowering the locking arm can be tricky as you have to depress a button while gently lifting the arm (get past the catch) all while steadying the bike. I have mountain bikes and the tread keeps bike wedged in until I apply a litte force backward. Once I get my mini, hopefully in 3 weeks or so, I will post pics. I am thinking I will have to mount backwards based on your findings. I wonder how far, if any, it will hang over the windshield if mounting backwards.

 

cool, let me know how it goes. I hope it works out and that i can get a highroller as well. I was just discouraged by what i had heard before but if you had good experiences with it, then i am that much more comfortable with getting it. Just remember to post pix when you get it mounted! thanks!

 

No not at all - after the sauna of the marathon yesterday and the All Blacks losing - one of those times I should have stepped away from the keyboard!!!

What I was trying to say is that personally I think (bike) roof racks (on any car) are for those folks who use them regularly and have a clear understanding of what to do to both avoid stratching the car - and how to put your front wheel back on.

If either of those things sounds complicated or you dont know how to do it AND you are not needing to haul your bike on a frequent basis....- I would get the rack that goes on the back of the car - where you are simply lifting your bike chest height onto a parallel bar...

Hope this helps - on to my first week with Pepe

 

Lots of reasons for each, roofracks keep the load centered and are flexible as far as what you put on them, rear racks do have several other advantages though:
+ Lower liftover (lift-on) height
+ Can use as bike maintenance / repair rack if necessary
+ More aerodynamic
+ Can load a tandem without adaptors
- Weight is hanging out over the rear (you will notice this with 2 heavy bikes)
- Can't load anything other than bicycles (usually)
- Can't tow a trailer with the bikes on
- / + Generally as easy to install as a roof rack, often easier

 

I am gearing up to install my rack on the R56 but can you explain your comment again about the stickers pointing to passenger side. I did not quite understand what you meant. From visual inspection, I really can not tell a difference in the clamping.

I plan on placing some paint protection film where the rack will rest, just in case. Anyone else do this? Griot's garage sells some of this.

Also, what are the 3 hard plastic pieces on the bottom of the front cross bar? I plan on using a Yakima Space Cadet box on top and it will clamp on these locations. Also, does everyone's rack come without the rubber channel pieces pre-installed on the top of the cross bars? Do other Mini attachments make use of this channel?

 

The little pictures on the roof rack point to the front and back, and are on the passenger's side of the little car in the picture, but in my case the end of the individual bar that the sticker was on was actually for the driver's side end of the bar. I would take you a picture to explain what I mean, but my camera is no good for close-ups.

The center of the roof is wider than the front or the back, so the end pieces on each bar are not quite parallel to each other; the front of the front bar is narrower than the back of the front bar. If you put it on the wrong way there will be a big gap at the front on each side and nothing will line up quite right. Same goes on the back, except there the back of the bar is slightly narrower than the front, again, put it on the wrong way and you'll have a big gap on each side at the back corner. If they are on correctly the angle of the end pieces match the angle of the roof and everything lines up very well.

With the rack on properly no part of it actually touches the roof except during installation. Once it's tightened there's nothing touching the paint at all except the mounting fingers touching inside the pockets in the roof. During install the rubber bands protect the paint where the incidental contact is, so I can't see a whole lot to be gained by putting on any paint protecting film.

Most of the factory attachments mount in the channel, not by wrapping around the bar. You would then have to cut the rubber strips to fit in between each of the things you mount on the rack. I didn't bother even putting mine in because I change what's on the rack with regularity. That and when and if I do part ways with the Mini the rack will probably go with it but the attachments most assuredly will not.

 

I think I understand your explanation but looking at the bars on floor side by side, I really can't tell much of a difference. For these width differences, how much are you talking about, 1/4 inch or less? I guess I will start with placing them how the stickers instruct and go from there. Anyone else notice the the stickers needed to go on the driver's side?

Also, on the front bar bottom, what are those 3 hard plastic ridges for?

 

The rack is a thule. I went to REI and looked at the thule system, and the bars are the same - thule has 3 different cross bars. So yes you can install thule components of the Mini rack. I am going to buy the thule wheel holders for my rack. I am tired of putting a dirty wheel in the boot after a good mountain bike ride. PS: the rack does not touch the paint, and is really strong. Put some locktight on all of the bolts.

 

Any one find a place to order the OEM rack at a discount? I tried to get a discount rack with my new Mini for a DIY install but the sales manager offered it at the Web price of $235 (he said it was a discount since there was not an installation charge). I have not tried but I assume $235 is the packaged off the shelf price (on the dealer web site) that anyone can get walking in the door. Mini Mania has the rack but at a higher price ($282 plus shipping). Any suggestions?

 

$188 at morristownmini.com for the rack. I just got the oem alarm and boot mat from them. They also charge very reasonable installs.

 

I started my R56 Rack install tonight. I have made all the cut outs but have only fitted the front cross bar. After trying a couple times, I believe my sticker marking passenger side may be on the wrong side as was yours. It seems to fit better on the driver's side. One thing that is bothering me though, once everything is tightened down, it seems that the rain gutters are pushed down, almost 1/8" in my case on both sides. It appears from your photo that yours may do this as well, is this correct? It seems to me the perforated cutouts are not tall enough and the rack brackets are pushing down on them. Cutting more out seems like an impossible task to get right.

Does anyone else see this problem with the rain gutters getting pushed down a little bit? If so, does the rain gutter "bounce back" when the rack is removed? I am thinking those plugs will also hold it down?

One more thing, the manual states that the distance between the support feet can be adjusted. I tried doing this in hopes that I could slightly change the angle of the feet so it would not push so much on the rain gutter. Come to find out, those two attachment screws are in holes versus slots. In other words, very little adjustment, just a little play. So essentially, this step in the manual does not apply to the present design. Anyone else notice this?

 

does anyone have pictures of there bikes mounted on their racks.... mounted on their MINIs?

I think im going to end up with the Thule Sidearm as opposed to the High roller because of the price.

 

I'll get a pic of the hitch mount later today (I've got the rack on but the car's in the garage and it's snowing!) but here are a couple machines on my Mini roof... one Kestrel Talon roadbike and one Santana Moda hardtail ATB (extra credit for anyone who can tell me what's unique about THAT one!).

I actually prefer the hitch mount - keeps the bikes out of the wind, improves MPG and easier to load, but I also like the "cool" factor of forkmounts on a roofrack (I dunno, I've always liked that look).

 

A cursory check at REI and Ski Chalet of racks, and I could not find any Yakima or Thule products designed specifically for the R56. I ended up ordering the MINI ski rack from Morristown MINI, just ~ $60. Looking at the above picture, you can see that that rack has pads resting on the roof and clips to the plastic rain guard. The factory MINI rack has socketed feet and is supported by brackets underneath the roof, not by the roof itself or the rain gutters. With my old BMW, I had a La Prealpina bike rack that used the gutter feet, and eventually, the weight of the rack deformed the gutters. I'd be worried about rubber pads on the roof both damaging paint and making little depressions in the roof.

Anyway, I settled for the MINI ski rack to go on the rails. Will take some pics when it arrives.

 

I understand and appreciate the tradeoffs between a factory (permanent mount) rack and a temporary one - it's a choice. I'd rather have my (clean) pads on the roof temporarily than have permanent caps there all the time, but that's me. On previous (read "company") cars I've had that rack on heavy rotation, on and off a bunch of times with loads I don't even want to consider for the Mini, and it will smudge or cloud (read "lightly scratch") the finish over time and usage. That said, any smudges that resulted could be covered by half-decent Turtle Wax buff job, and with the company cars I perhaps wasn't quite as careful as I could've been about installing the rack when the car was dirty (on a 2 year old baby blue Olds Cutlass with whitewalls, who cares? ). On lighter colors it doesn't show, but on darket ones it'd be a concern, but again, more with extended or uncaring (unclean) use.

"Oil-canning" is the term for any dents that an over-tightened or overloaded roofrack can cause and, while these can be a concern, properly tightening and loading the rack pretty much takes care of that.

No problem with the raingutters - the tightening is done at the very base of the raingutter and doesn't seem to deform the gutter at all - even with the rack tight enough to wiggle the car if I push on the rails.

 

That Yakima website shows an attachment for the MINI that uses the built in "holes" in the roof/gutter area (where the OEM rack attaches). Looks in the pics that it slips right into the cutouts like the OEM one does, only it takes 2 minutes to install instead of 45 minutes!!

 

I just looked, and all I could find are the regular Q-towers and Q78 gutter mount clips. Biggest issue with them is that you're still limited to 75# total weight.

I really don't understand why your regular Mini rack doesn't fit right. Mine takes under 5 minutes to install and remove, I can't imagine why the one you have doesn't fit your car as well.

 

Two days ago I installed everything and placed the skis on the OEM ski/board kit (two pairs of skis and a snowboard) and off I went skiing .

The OEM ski/board kit is in my opinion a major disign flaw especially for all of us having the sun roof !

The skis are placed inclined which results in heel binding almost touching the roof (glass). I found out that this definitely happens in my case (Atomic skis & bindings) especially on a rough road. And just imagine you try to open the sun-roof ! ! ! (DO NOT !)

So, first thing I did arriving home I ditched the OEM ski/board kit .
DO NOT BUY THIS - IT IS WASTE !

I will do some kind of DIY work (like placing the skis flat on the rack fastening them somehow so that nothing comes in between the sun-roof path - I will post some photos soon).

(this is a perfect proof that BMW MINI designer was no skier ! )


To all you ski adicts - happy skiing !

 

This combo is designed for ONE set of skis and a snowboard, hence your problem

 

Do you suggest I can not read ? ?

ORIGINAL MINI ACCESSORIES booklet says :

"Ski and Snowboard Set
Accomodates up to two pairs of skis and a snowboard "


and in the German ORIGINAL MINI ZUBEHÖR booklet:

"Ski- und Snowboardset
Nimmt bis zu zwei Paar Ski und ein Snowboard auf"

so no glitch during translation process ...

Do you still believe it is my problem !??

Not to mention the noise it makes above 70km/h (you have to check if helicopter is landing on MINI's roof ).

No my problem anymore though - as said I ditched the garbage ...


To succeed in life it is not enough to be stupid, you have to be well mannered as well (Voltaire).

 

On the previous generation factory roof rack, a Thule Flat Top 6 ski / snowboard carrier fits the factory rack load bars nicely. I'm not sure if the load bars of the R56 factory roof rack are the same design (oval bar with a channel down the center). If it is, get a Thule Flat Top and mount it by sliding the rectangular metal plate that comes with it into the channel and using the bolt and wing nut to secure things. Worked great on my old MINI.

 

I did a bunch of research before getting all of my gear and here's what I came up with.

Bought the oem rack from Morristown Mini from their website and it was just over $200 with shipping. Way cheaper than if I got it from a dealer. Went to Rack Solid her in Venice/Santa Monica and picked up the Thule Atlantis 1200 for 20% off, so it was just under $400. They're currently having a sale, so it's a good time to check it out. They're on the web at http://racksolid.com/. While I was there I picked up the Thule Peloton fork mount for my Cannondale mountain bike. I thought about getting one that holds the bike by the frame, but the owner suggested the fork mount as it would be sturdier.

Mounting the OEM base rack was a lot easier than some on this site have made it out to be. I rapped the bars up in a towel to keep from scratching anything and did the job all by myself in under 45 minutes, and that was taking my time. The grooves in the rain gutter are really easy to find when using the white card. I do suggest using a sharp knife to help cut thru the score marks when pulling the rubber trim sections out that cover the slots. It makes for a cleaner edge and prevents the rubber from coming out in 4 to 5 pieces, as opposed to one or two when using the knife. You have to apply a decent amount of pressure to get the clamps into the slots using the tool they give you, but if you tighten down halfway or so on one side, then start the other, it will make it easier.

The cargo box mounted with no problems, took the guy about 10 minutes. I took the bike rack home to do the install on that myself. Here is were I had to make some modifications. The bolts that they give you with the Thule bike rack are square and they are about a 1/4 smaller than the grooves that are in the base rack. This means that instead of grabbing both the front and the back edges of the internal groove of the rack, they only grab onto one or the other. It holds, but I want it to grab both edges. I'm going to check back in with Rack Solid to see if they have bolts with a bigger square base that will grab ahold of both edges of the rack. My other problem is that both the rack and the box prevent the rear hatch from opening all the way because they hit the spoiler. If I'm not paying attention I could likely do some damage to all three. It may be possible to trim a bit of the bike racks tray to get it short enough so that it doesn't hit. Unfortunately, that's not possible with the box. The entire setup with the bike mounted weighs in at just about 70 pounds. That leaves 95 pounds that can go into the roof box, which should be plenty.
Generally speaking, I'm happy with the entire setup. I mounted the box over the passenger side in order to offset my weight on the driver's side. I'm hoping that it won't affect the handling of the car, but I doubt it will. Pictures are attached

 

Hmmmm... I didn't look that closely, I thought it was something different.

Mine "fits" the car just fine. But the very odd design of it requires ALOT of work and time to get it on. You can not do it in 5 minutes. My Yakima rack takes 30 seconds to put on and off my truck. It takes me longer to unlock the locks on it that take it off. I also find it difficult to tighten properly, wihout risking sliping off the nut and scratching the roof.....

 

anybody have pix of other racks they have installed on the MINI base kit?

 

On my R56, I have the Mini base rack and like it. It looks good and holds a lot more weight than others. I have actually left it on. My only complaint is that it and probably the fillers (when rack is off), pushed the rain gutters down.

Althought I have not taken photos of it installed, the Yakima Space cadet works great. It basically is a perfect fit. You don't have to remove the antenna and the hatch can open with no problems. However, it is 15 cf so it fills the entire roof, so adding a bike rack as well is not possible.

I have some Yakima High rollers that I may end up mounting backwards (so the hatch can open) with Yakima might mounts. I don't think I can use the slots, any comments on that anyone?