Hey everybody,
I just received my roof rack for the Mini for my bikes and thought I'd share the setup. I don't have it on the car yet because I forgot to order the clips for the load bars that I needed specific to the Mini but Saris is sending them and they should arrive Friday.

I went with Saris 50 inch load bars because I liked the way they look better than a lot of other roof racks I see around here where the bars extend way past the edge of the roof.

The rack for the bikes is the Hollywood Buzz Rack. Holds two bikes and has a waterproof fabric travel case for the center for cycling gear or anything else. Enough room for two peoples cycling gear and quite a bit more. I liked the idea of this rather than bike trays because it means less stuff inside the car on trips and such. I think there will still be room for the wheel holder adapters too so I can put the front wheels on the roof too.

I'll post more pics when its installed on the car, but here it is set up in my dining room. What do ya'll think?

All pics are in this photo album...
http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w...MINI%20Cooper/

 

Looks Great, nice combination! I would like to see some pics of it on the car, especially if you have enough room to safely fit the front wheels on the rack. I like that built in gear bag too. I have a Hollywood hitch rack for my Jeep and I love it. My wife drives the MCS and we bought the Thule load bars for her car, as I already own a bunch of Thule attachments (Bike trays, Kayak stacker, cargo box...). What shape are the load bars? Do these bars have adapters to fit other brands of attachments? Like if you were going to use a Thule attachment on a Yakima bar (round vs. square)?

 

I'm not real sure about adapters, as I really only need it for cycling and Saris themselves have other attachments available. I'll take a picture of the load bars so you can get an idea of the shape and everything. I'll definitely put up the pictures of it when I get it on the car too.

The Hollywood attachment fits nicely with the clamps provided, even though the Saris load bars are a lot wider than most other load bars. They're very bulky and sturdy and the limitations of weight are only determined by what the Mini Cooper can handle. The weight limitations on the Hollywood rack say 30lbs per bike and 20 lbs in the bag I think, but I'll check on that.

 

I think that blue is an odd color for a dining room wall.

Oh, you mean the bike rack, that's cool...

 

The young lady painted a few accent walls in the apartment...I don't have a choice when it comes to stuff like that. My decorating consists of anything I don't put back in its place. :-D I'll get some pics of the rack on the car as soon as possible but I've got a few busy work days ahead.

 

LOL!!!!

I'd love to see pictures of the rack on the car also. The set up looks pretty good...

Donna

 

I do like. My SO and I are avid cyclists. We've had multiple contraptions to carry the bikes. The latest is the hitch on the Versa SL. Prior to that, the 2nd gen CR-V could easily fit a couple bikes inside, and that we did.

I love to know that if push comes to shove, the MINI could easily fit two bikes on top with that rig.

Good stuff

 

Nice rig - that's one fast dining room you have...

The Mini can easily hold 2+ bikes and wheels on the roof, but with some racks and attachments you have to check the clearance UNDER the rack to be sure it doesn't interfere with the sunroof, looks like Saris has this licked with attachments that only mount on the top of the rack. Nice gog bag on there as well.

 

Ok everybody, sorry I haven't updated this post. I've been M.I.A. for a while and also haven't had access to my camera. I'm home now though and I'll take some pics in a couple hours and post them. I'll also state the pros and cons of the entire system, as there definitely are some. More on that in a few hours hopefully...providing I can remember to get the camera as my girl passes through from school to work...tough life for her, eh?

 

Very nice! This is one of the next things on my shopping list. Can't wait to see what it looks like on the car.

 

http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w...MINI%20Cooper/

Following that link should take you to all the pics I have of the Mini, including the bike rack pics. Let me know if it doesn't work...

 

That's great! Has anyone checked to see if they can fit a road bike inside with the seats folded down? i dont know if i want a rack when i get mine, but im definitely going to be bringing around my bike

 

Pull both wheels and a road bike fits just fine. I ride a 56 and have plenty of room - but no rear passengers with the bike in there, and you have to pad the pointy bits. A moving pad is a thing, and a "must have" in each of my cars is a 6'x6' piece of cloth for hiding things. Heavy black cotton tweed is perfect, but in my Mini I have a piece of blue cloth that matches the Space Blue interior.

 

bump this, maybe someone will come back and see I've posted the pics up. 8 months later...