I have been shoving my sons 18" BMX Bike in the back of my mini knowing I will eventually lose this risky game and tear a seat or headliner.

I am done risking a tear and want to get a roof rack. I am thinking OEM for the rails, but not sure about the trays.

Any advice? Will the OEM bike rack work? Is it good quality?

One other thing to consider, I do not want to take the front wheel off as the bike does not have a quick connect.

 

Any Thule or Yakima rack will mount to the OEM Base Rack System. You just need the Thule Aero Bar attachment kit.

The OEM rack is nice but more expensive than an aftermarket rack.

So my suggestion would be to get the OEM cross bars (base rack system) and then find a Thule or Yakima rack that you like.

 

Thanks Scatzy...

My concern is the size of my sons Bike 18" wheels. The MINI OEM doesnt have any documentation. but hte Thule and yakima & Thule say 20" wheel min. I dont know if that will be an issue since the BMX Bike has large tires, but I am not sure.

 

The Thule sidearm DOES fit my sons 18" BMX BIKE. I took him to the skatepark tonight and it seems like It is a great rack.

I wanted it to install into the T-Slot on my rack, but could not get anyone to tell me what/how to make that happen. The Thule documentation is terrible and even the bike guy from REI cannot understand it all.

I installed the OEM roof rack and Thule side arm myself. No issues, except one... The torque wrench that came with the kit was broken and I over tightened the collar nut. This stripped the bolt at the base I called Mini Atlanta, where I bought it, and they asked me to bring it in. In typical fashion, when I met with the parts manager the wrench worked. I could not believe it, but no worries, Mini did the right thing and gave me a new bracket.