Thule (and I'm sure Yakima) both make fit kits for the MINI. When I traded in my A3 last week I took off the rack, went down to my local bike shop and got the new kit for the Cooper. The only difference is the aftermarket racks use conventional rain gutter clamping. The gutters on our car seem flimsy and the dealer will no doubt tell you they won't support the rack, but my experience says otherwise. I installed a Thule rack on my previous R53 a week after I bought it and had it on almost nonstop until I sold the car without incident, drove all over Texas mostly with two bikes on top. There were some small marks on bottom of the gutters when I finally removed it for sale but you could barely notice. I never even considered drilling holes in my roof for the first gen OEM rack but I am intrigued by the new one and how it fits. I haven't mounted my Thule yet but probably will this weekend, however I would like to see an OEM one in person to see if I might prefer that route.

 

Hello all, new to the forum and just picked a '08 Cooper Classic. I just had my roof rack installed by the dealer...there were some light scuffs during the first install that i decided to buff out...so I took off the rack which was easy enough and buffed the scratches off. When it came to mount them back the fronts went on without a hitch but the rears just would not go - long story short - the rubber coatings on the rear rail inserts have been shredded, my roof rail has a tiny gouge, and (though unseen) there is a tiny chip underneath the roof where the rear rail mounts on driver's side.... but I did get it in .

Now my dilemma, should I go through this again to paint over the chip? Or should I surrender the battle and never unmount the rack again? Leaning towards option 2 but should I be concerned about rust? All suggestions welcome.

 

When I bought my '08 almost a month ago, it had a roof rack on it at the dealership. It was clamped on to the rain gutter and didn't look like it was going to ruin any paint.

I was torn between getting the roof rack for functional purposes and not getting it for aesthetic purposes.

I ended up buying a hitch from minidomore and installed a carrier rack on the hitch if I need to carry more stuff.

Mark

 

If the chip exposed bare metal, then yes, remove the rack & paint it. By the description you gave, it seems it is a great place for water to collect & cause all sorts of nastiness (corrosion).

If you still have a protective coating then it becomes a judgement call.

 

Today I ran across something I had to share, even though I am no longer a MINI owner. Rocky Mounts, a Colorado company that makes high quality universal bike trays for both Yakima and Thule racks, has introduced a model specifically designed for the MINI's slotted roof rack. Better still, they come in your choice of a dozen colors for right around $80 each. Thought I'd pass the information along, anyway, check them out on their website, www.rockymounts.com you're looking for the Eurolariot SL.

 

Just goes to show you the quality of people that owns (or used to) MINI's.

Thanks oldopelguy for relaying that link. You don't even have a MINI any longer and yet still try to offer help.

Just another reason why I love my MINI.

The people are cool.

Thanks,

Mark

 

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I've managed to strip one of the nuts for the rack clamps (the bolt itself is fine) and it seems like a specialty nut you can't just pick up an exact replacement for at a hardware store.

Does anyone know the BMW (or thule?) part number for this? Or what size/thread nuts and washers I could use to try to make a fake part if anyone has had success with that? I would just size it at the hardware store using the nut from the opposite side, but I'm afraid I'll strip that one too.

I'm pretty sure my dealer would tell me I'd need to order a whole new rack, even though this really should not cost more than a couple of bucks.

 

I would find out who actually makes the rack for BMW and contact that company itself. Surely they would sell (give) you a replacement nut. I'm also sure you won't be the first or last to do that.

Can you post a pic of the nut? (I meant the one holding the rack on the car, not you )

Mark

 

I think the consensus from this thread is that Thule makes the rack. I will send them an email and see if they can help me out. Here are the pictures:

 

I'm also interested in the part number just for future reference, but don't rule out asking your dealer. When I purchased Pigwidgin, I had them put the rack on and a few weeks later we discovered that it was missing a couple parts, including a nut. I emailed my MA and in a couple days a little sack arrived with the missing parts. So I would give your dealer a call and ask.

Kathy

 

What model carrier do you have? I spent some time today searching and couldn't find anything but this link.

If you find the model carrier you have, you can pull up a parts list.

http://www.thuleracks.com/tech_manual.asp

Good luck.


Mark

 

It's the OEM mini one, as linked to here and here earlier in this thread.

It was discussed that the cross bars themselves are the thule rapid aero model load bars. I assumed that meant the clamps were made by them as well. The whole unit is marked made in germany, so maybe BMW makes them. Who knows.

I've found a solution for now of using a pair of standard stainless steel washers and a pair of 1/4" ID nuts with 28 TPI. Cost me maybe a buck total at the hardware store and hours of aggrevation getting the stupid clamps to close on the nut.

In fact, this was SO MUCH easier to fit the clamps in than the custom double flange nut, that I'm consider the next time I remove the rack, to replace all the nuts with this combination. It took about 30 seconds versus the 5-15 minutes per nut that I used to spend getting the clamps to fit the nuts. I just hope that they stay clamped, although I can't really see why the won't with loctite.

 

OMG, I'm so embarassed. I had subscribed to two different threads about roof racks. One thread only had 4 responses... the other 8 pages long.

I didn't even realize I was responding to the one with 8 pages.

Anyway, seems like you found a solution that works for you.

Mark

 

Anyone have any opinions on these? I am going to install the OEM base rack for many reasons. I just havent decided on the carrier yet. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Will they both clear an open hatch on an MCS?

PS - I will be carrying 2 road bikes if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

 

The oem carrier will allow the hatch to open. I'm not sure about the thule, but at worse, you'll have to reverse mount it so the arm and front wheel point towards the back of the car. That's what I had to do with my Yakima King Cobra. It's a little harder to put the bike up there, but the MC is low enough in height that it's not a big deal unless you're under 5'2. Depending on frame and handle bar sizes, you might have difficulty mounting 2 bikes on the mini if you don't use at least 1 fork mount. The only time I've seen 2 bikes on top of a mini, they were both fork mounted. I mountain bike and aligning disc brakes before every ride is a pita, which is pretty much the only reason I didn't go the fork mount route. I think the oem rack has just enough room to squeeze 2 fork mounts and 2 wheel up on the roof.

 

I had the sidearm on my 07 mini and did not like it. I also have a road bike. It was difficult/heavy to move to arm up and out to have it secured on the front wheel. Also, was not very secure as the road tires are so skinny that the arm does not hold with confidence. Well, not good enough for my Tarmac SL2. However, when I transport my mountain bike, it seems OK because of the wider tires seat better in the arm.

I ended up selling it and got a Thule Echelon. It is a fork mount. Very sturdy system. You don't need to flip the bike tray around as long as you cut the tray up to the point where the rear hacth comes up. I believe that the factory tray is made by Thule. The Echelon is a newer model with better features. I just put the front road wheel in the back.

Also, my bike is a size 52 Tarmac.

I will post a pic when I get a chance.

 

I use two Thule sidearms with my factory crossbars. I did a bit of a custom mount. I used the factory clamp in the rear. The front is supposed to have a clamp on either side of the track. I used the clamp on the arm side, and made a bolt that runs in the T track and come up through the square hole in the plate under the lockable cover..... If that made any sense....
The system works really well. It only takes me about 5 minutes to mount each side arm. It has also been speed tested up to 90mph with two MTBs on top.

 

Wow. Thanks for the input. The Thule Sidearm for a road bike info is helpful. I was wondering in the back of my mind how the skinny tires would do on it, esp since all the Thule pics are with MTBs.

I think I will give the MINI carrier a try. It holds from the frame. I heard it is not great in terms of convenience but I found a really good deal on them at $90 each. I really do not want to use a fork mount and have to put the tire in every time. When we head on a road trip, the MINI is pretty loaded up and putting 2 tires in on top of things would be a pain.

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

BTW - REI is having a 20% off sale on all Thule products. Some of them are very reasonable at these prices. The Thule Sidearm was still about $135 each. The OEM MINI ones are almost 2 for 1 at that price. If they do not work, $180 hit is not so bad.

 

I also do not recommed the MINI carrier that holds by the frame. I've seen it in person and it is scary. I would get the sidearm over the MINI carrier that holds the bike by the down tube. However this is my opinion as others may like it. Do you have a carbon frame? I personally would not want a clamp on my carbon frame and driving 60 plus mph. Taking the wheels on and off is simple. but if cargo space is a priority for you than do what is best.

 

An update:
I went with the OEM MINI rack. A few comments to add to those installation notes above.

The rear rack bar went on pretty easily. However, it took me 3 HOURS to put the front one on. I believe there is a slight change in the roofline that gave me the trouble. I had to have a second person tighten the allen nut while I pulled the rack towards us and used the lever thingy to push the bracket down. Otherwise, the allen nut kept slipping through the contraption. Dont know if that helps anyone.

I would recommend having a 2nd person helping the first time you install. If it doesn't get any easier I would not really recommend this rack for someone who anticipates taking it on/off frequently. Maybe once or twice a year as the seasons dictate.

Positives:
Looks good.
Key locks included a big bonus.
Very little/no wind noise noticed at all (tested to 70-80mph thus far)
Stable as a rock in the custom little grooves.

 

Same thing happened to 2 nuts that came with my rack. I ended up just going to home depot and rigging up a wide enough washer and a nut together to hold.

 

It took me 2.5 with assistance. I love it, but it wasn't the easiest install.

 

Picked up my Base rack and ordered my ski/board holder today. They price matched Morristown. I got both for 290 (170 and 120). Installation would of been $345!!! I figure, i took auto shop in HS and can solder my xbox, how hard can this be.

 

INSTALLED! About 2 hours. Each mount got progressively easier.

 

So I see that there is a lot of people here with the bike adapter I was wondering if someone has the surfboard adapter? I plan on get the OEM roof rack Friday and I also was wondering if anyone ever thought about attaching a light bar to the roof racks? I think that would look badass.