Anybody else haul around their bike on top of their Mini? I was inspired to purchase my Mini a couple of years ago after I saw a Cooper S set up with bike racks, hauling 2 mountain bikes at a bike festival. Costs me a bit in gas mileage, but it's great to have a fast vehicle to drive to and from the TH before riding a fast bike!

 

Will post a pic later when I get home, but I have Rocky Mounts Tie Rod trays in white on my Countryman, with the factory crossbars. The trays are fantastic, very sturdy and secure, and they look great too. I routinely carry my road, triathlon, and mountain bikes up there with no problems. When I had my 2010 R56, I had the factory roof rack with Yakima Fork Lift trays. They were nice, but ended up rusting. I like the Rocky Mounts much better.

 

I'm using a Thule rack system and two of the upright Thule carriers (594 XT.) The rack took forever to put on by myself (really need two people) but I didn't want to drill into the roof to install the factory rack. So far so good. With the back seats down, it's easy to carry two bikes, two people, all our gear and a cooler for after-ride beverages....

 

You don't need to drill into the roof to install the factory rack on an R56. That was only with the first gen cars (R50/R53). With an R56, there are slots built into the rain gutters around the edge of the roof. They're covered in vinyl from the factory, but in the install kit with the factory rack is a tool to cut them out. The rack bases fit into these slots so the rack never touches the roof directly. If you decide to take off the rack, there are small black plastic plugs you can put into the slots (they're not visible once they're in).

 

I have my rear seat removed and a custom made delete panel installed. I haul my bike up to Whistler and let me tell you, the Sea to ski HWY is FUN in the Mini.

 

Oh, good to know. I've had nothing but Thule racks on my cars since, oh, 1987, so I'm partial to Thule anyway.

 

Thule racks are definitely good. Actually, the factory rack is made by Thule, believe it or not.

 

I've been thinking about roof racks for a while now. On my '95 Civic, I had Yakima Control Towers permanently affixed to the roof, and with split tray bike mounts they were a cinch to install and remove by myself. I'm currently leaning toward Yakima's Whispbar system mounted on permanent tracks, but I've also seen someone mount the Whispbar bike trays in the Thule aero crossbars, and I've seen a few MINIs mounting the non-permanent Thule towers on the plastic raingutters (like this: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...roof-rack.html) However, I've also heard that mounting towers to the plastic raingutters will deform the raingutters. Anyone here had that problem?

 

Be aware though. The thule rack components have smaller "T" bolts that will require washers so they stay in the OEM rack system. The mini (thule) trays have the correct hardware.

 

I have a Thule rood rack system on my R53. I haul my Trek Fuel 8, Trek Domane 4.5 and my Trek 520 on it when needed.

 

I haul mine on top, not a Mountain bike though. I absolutely love how ridiculous it looks. I need a fairing though, it's pretty noisy.

 

Yeah, I think hauling any sort of bike on top of a Mini looks slightly odd.

Off topic - what rims are those?

 

I lol most of time when I walk back to my car from inside a gas station or something and my bikes on top. Wheels are Enkei NT03+M, 17".

 

I use the MINI Fini sport link and a Kuat NV rack to carry my 29er. Had this set up a couple years now. Takes probably 2 minutes to install and remove, works great.

 

We have the MINI crossbars and three Rocky Mounts Euro Pitchfork trays on our Clubman (middle one faces the back of the car) so we can carry three bikes when our daughter comes along too. I'll post pics if anyone's interested.

 

MINI touring trays (Thule Criterium). Modified driver side tray to match passenger side.

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Haulin the Fuel on an R53

 

 

I have installed a hitch to my clubman and use a hitch bike rack. Safer, a lot more convenient and a lot better fuel milage. Will post a pic later.

 

To each, his own but what is safer? My bikes ride up high, nobody can bang into them like they can at ground level, gas mileage decreases 10% (34mpg to 31mpg) and they are not covered in dirt like they will be at the back end of a MINI. So that leaves convenience - takes me 30 seconds to mount or unmount after unlocking.

This is from personal experience - a good friend of mine and riding buddy had his nice carbon fibre Colnago mounted on a hitch style on his VW, went into a grocery store, came out and someone had backed into his car and crunched his bike (and rack).

 

Fo me it is forgetting to take off the bike when I enter my gareage
Also the way I drive, my gas mileage decrease was more than 10% and my bike is covered in in dirt anyway (mountainbike). Also I love the fact that I don't have to take front wheel of my bike. But you are totally right to each, his own

 

There are trays for the roof rack that don't require you to remove the front wheel. They have an arm that holds the bike upright while it rests on both wheels in the tray. There are also some that help you lift the bike up to the roof for those with heavy bikes.

 

my buddy is running the 1-UP USA rack on his R56, he got the Curt hitch. he likes it better than the Thule T2 cause its a lot lighter and modular too (he has it setup in 1 bike mode, but its easy to add 2).

as soon as i get time to fab up a hitch receiver on my R56, I'm going to build a 2 bike rack from the thule 918 XTR add on kit, should be nice and light since it will eliminate the folding mechanism which i would never use anyway.

 

Here's what i came up with, some scrap steel box tubing all weldered together, with some Thule T2 trays clamped to it. Its crazy light for how sturdy it is (2 bike setup weighs about 25lbs) which is what I was after. I made 2 hitch stubs, one is only 12" long and tucks one bike about as close as you'd feel comfortable to the rear hatch. The trays come on and off really easily once you loosen the clamp bolts.

 

Sporting the new AR1 rims with the Vassago VerHauen singlespeed riding high at one of the local trailheads.