So I've done a fair amount of searching through the forums and I see that a lot of people really like the minidomore hitch with a rear bike rack. I don't want to sink a lot of money or make any serious mods for a bike rack so I was thinking about going with the Saris Bones rear rack. Anyone here have that rack for any length of time? How's it working out for you? Lastly, anyone have any pictures so I can see if I like how it mounts? Thanks!

 

I had also looked for a rack and I got a few people saying they liked the bones but it did put stress on the rear of the car if you had a heavy bike. I have the minidomore on our clubman and am going to get one for my car soon. See if this thread is any help https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-carrier.html

 

We have one. I used it with my MCS for 4 years. The only problem that arose was there must have been something on the rubber foot that touched the glass once because it made a scratch. But if you are very careful it should be OK. I used a pad (carpet pad, cut to size) on the bumper to protect against scratches. We'd always bungee the wheels to keep them from swinging against the car.

Pics:



Before we cut the pad, we used a towel:

 

I've had the Bones for a few months, but haven't really put it to the test. It's good for scooting around town, but I wonder how it would stand up to a long distance road trip.

BTW, I never leave it on unless I'm transporting.

 

Nice. Thanks guys. I really appreciate the pics and the feedback. I think I might go ahead and get one unless someone else recommends a different rack that's similar. I don't need anything for some big road trip, I'm mainly just looking for something to get from the house to some local trails (10 miles or so). Where did you guys pick yours up? I see Amazon has them for around $115 with free shipping. Seems like a descent price.

 

I bought mine at the local bike shop, on sale. It was nice because one of the employees showed us exactly how to put it on and adjust the straps. And I wanted to make sure that once it was on my car it wasn't rubbing or scratching anything.

 

I use one on another vehicle. After 5 or 6 years it has destroyed the clear coat every where the pads touch. I put towels behind the pads like you as well. Even with something soft like a towel, once road dust gets on the towel it's just as abrasive as not having the towel there. I always used quick detailer and a microfiber towel before installing the rack. It was ok for a few years but after that the clear started to show many scratches.

That's probably not due to a design problem of the rack, just a consequence of putting something weighted against the paint.

 

I've noticed that as well. Even something lightweight and stationary, like those "yellow ribbon" magnets on the backs of cars will eventually chew up the clear coat underneath, even if you clean the paint and the magnet before applying it.

 

We're going to use it on our Mazda now (won't work with the cabrio ), so we bought the bumper protective strip for $50 from the Mazda dealer.

I never noticed any marks on my MCS bumper from the rack. Of course, up here we have a fairly short biking season and I'm not hardcore. The fact that it was only used 5-6 months out of the year may have helped save bumper wear.

I did notice indents - soft depression marks - on my bumper a few times when it was probably over tightened, but they popped back out.

 

How much work is it to take this thing on and off? I would only be using it once or twice a month. I'm thinking just throw it on when I'm going to load up the bikes and then take it off when I'm done for the day. That might not work if it's a lengthy installation time though...

 

It is super easy to get on/off. I take it off every time I'm done using it.

Two straps on top (it is a little futzy to thread the holding clips through the spoiler on an '05 MCS, but if you hold it the correct way it goes right through), two on the sides and two on the bottom. The clips are like little S's and have name imprints of top/side/bottom so you know which strap goes where. They just hook onto the 6 different points and hold each other in place. You don't even need to open the hatch to get it on.

Pull the straps to tighten and that's it. Less than 5 minutes once you get the hang of putting it on.

 

Alright, I'm sold. Thanks for all your help everyone. I just got my Mini last week and I have millions of questions. This forum is great!

 

Lol...I do sound like I'm selling them, don't I?

I've just been very pleased with my Bones rack, for the price. And for the fact that I didn't have to do any expensive, permanent modifications to my MINI to haul my bike. But, to be honest my car was an '05 and even though I've test driven the '09s I can't remember how big the gap between the spoiler & car is.

You can always go test one at a bike shop, even if you do decide to purchase on Amazon.

 

I think it looks like a decent rack. I would suggest putting a little bit of cloth or something under the small U-shaped clips on the side. They too can wear the paint down, especially on the edges. Have fun with it

 

if u go on ebay u can find em for around 100-110 +shipping so its close to amazons price i guess.

i was gona get it but went for the ALTA mods first, il get the rack later that towel idea is great i never thought of it.

also do you guys put the rubber thingys on the bottom on the rear hatch? or on the rear bumper? (it says in saris website that it should go on bumber...)

 

While I don't have a MINI yet, I do have this bike rack. I think its a pretty good rack... though as mentioned before, I think that it does scratch the bumper if you're not careful with that rubber foot.

I've driven ~1hr or so with 2 bikes on it with no problems... though I wonder how a 4+ hr trip would be. I'd feel the need to stop every hour and tighten it... though I probably would with most racks

 

We put our rubber feet on the bumper. We used a towel the first few times we used it, but later cut a piece of carpet pad (that rubber stuff) to fit underneath.

If you have the rack properly adjusted, it should not rub or scratch anywhere. The straps are designed to be easily adjusted so no one strap is tighter than another, and if you have all the weight (bikes+rack) evenly distributed to the straps there isn't much weight on any of the rubber feet.

The only problem we had with scratching was on the hatch glass, not the bumper or sides of the car. The rubber foot on the rack must have picked up a rock and I put it on without noticing.

 

I have a question for you guys with rack. I have a rack I used with my old car and when I tried it on the MINI there was not enough room in the gap between the spoiler and the roof for the upper hooks to fit. Are the ones on the bones slim enought to fit in that gap or do you have to open the boot a little to get them in the force it closed. Since all I would ever do with the trailer hitch on my car would be the bikes I would love to save a little money but dont want to be stressing the roof or spoiler.

 

On my '05 MCS I had to feed the top clips through the spoiler in an exact way, otherwise they wouldn't go through. But it wasn't too hard, once I figured out the correct way.

I wouldn't leave it on for any longer than what was needed to get a bike form point A to point B. And don't set the feet down in a parking lot or on a garage floor without making sure there are no rocks around to get stuck in the rubber feet.

 

I also had the Saris Bones 3, and decided to try it on my 2006 Mini. After 2 months of transporting 2 bikes I have had no problems. I also was concerned about the bottom feet resting on the bumper and wanted to better distribute the weight. I ended up cutting out a thin piece of Plexiglas and glued a swatch of car head liner (from the local fabric store) to it for a soft surface to be in contact with the bumper. So far I haven’t noticed any scratches or depressions in the bumper. I personally would not add a 3rd bike. I’ve posted a set of detailed pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmizel/3507617916/

 

A better alternative to the Minidomore hitch is the one from http://www.minifini.com/.

 

NM

 

 

I had posted something else about my Bones rack, realized I was repeating myself, and it won't let me delete my post. So I posted some stuff to make people wonder...