I'm kinda looking ahead here; tired of pondering what day my car will arrive etc... So, I am starting to plan on how I will carry my mountain bike in the warmer months. I will say that I am not a fan of roof racks for a great many reasons, and I will not bother to list them. I was wondering about the $640 Rear Carrier System for bikes on the Mini website. It is not very clear as to what exactly it is. I am wondering if it is more or less the same as the Sport Link from the previous models Mini? My dealer said good things about that system. I am hoping that maybe someone in the UK might have some knowledge of this matter. Because for $640 it better be pretty damn nice!

 

razzle,

if you do a search on this topic you will find all the info you want and more.... personaly i am getting the roof mount dealer installed one in the spring.

 

Mini Fini bike rack is the best. I installed it on my '05 MCS and love it. Actually, I never take it off. It keeps tailgaters off of my rear end.

 

I am a bike rider too, and I thought that the nicest system was the kind that attaches to the trailer hitch. If you don't have the rear fog light at the center the trailer hitch is behind that fascia - pop it off, insert bike rack. If you take it off, its invisible. Now this was for the R50/53 - I don't think there are any 3rd party trailer hitches for the R56 yet?

The factory rack seems intrusive - they cut two slots in your rear bumper for the rack to attach to a hidden sub frame.

 

I have and love my MINI roof racks. Had one on my "02 MCS and have the same rack on my "06 MCS. Extremely sturdy. Great load capacity at 165lbs. I carry either my bicycles, kayaks or a cargo box.

But if you do not want a roof rack then the MINIfini(what was previously offered by MINI) or the MINI doMore are great racks. Between the two I think I prefer the MINIfini as it has 2 anchor points and should be more stable thru turns than the single anchor point of the MINI doMore. But otherwise they are very similar.

Both are advertisers on this web site.

 

I'll also be in the market for one for my R56 down the road. Does anyone know if the new roof rack requires drilling into the roof?

 

Don't waste your money! The factory bike racks are extremely expensive and not really worth it. The rear mount bike rack seems like a nice idea, but how many bikes can it hold? And what do they have to do to your car?

As far as the roof racks are concerned, if you are planning to use them for more than hauling bikes, that's your perogative, but it's still a lot of money.

I reccommend the Saris Bones rack. It can haul 2 or 3 bikes, and I think it's about $150. I see them a lot when I'm at bike races, and they're on all sorts of cars including Mini's.

Just my 2 cents

 

Since I have a convertible I went with the dealer installed Sportlink (MINIfini). It holds two bikes, mountain or road. I do get questions about the other two pipes, even from other MINI owners.

The only annoyance is when I have bikes loaded they do interfere with the reverse sensors.

 

It does not require drilling into the roof, it clamps on instead.

-Dave

 

The nice thing about that is you can probably get it and skip the "dealer installation" charge. At least I hope so. I'm probably going to get that, but will wait.

 

Too bad. I hate anything touching the paint or resting on the skin of the roof. That is why I like the R50 style racks. Supported by the frame of the roof and no contact with the paint.

Oh well. So much for a good thing.

 

I believe it clamps on through pre-existing holes in the rain gutter, so nothing sits on the paint itself.

 

Does anyone have any pictures of the new R56 roof rack in place?

 

i went to test drive the new mini last weekend and look very closely for these "holes or slits" for the roof racks. i could not find them and the MA did not know anything about them nor could he locate them. this imformation was posted on motoringfile about 2 weeks ago.

i still prefer the hitch racks but do not like the idea of creating holes into the bumper and having the use the BMW bike rack. not as sturdy as the Thule T2 racks.

 

i'm waiting for the mini wagon to come out. based on the pics, it has dual exhaust pipes on the sides. this way i can install a hitch and choose which ever brand (Thule, Yakima, etc..) i want and better quality.

 

Page 80 of the manual talks about the roof racks. With pictures.

 

Attached image of relevant part of pg 80, for those who don't have the file.

 

I looked for the holes/slits myself this past weekend and didn't see them either but I have been told is that it is a clamp on design which the manual supports as well.

Here's hoping!

 

Can anyone confirm whether or not there will be a Sport-Link option for the R56? Mini Fini shows an R53 in their latest ad for the bike attachment connected to the sport-link. If it isn't available, has anyone tried fitting the standard 'sport-link' to the bumper structure of an R56?

 

Mini-do-more is working on a hitch solution for the R56. This would enable use of a standard hitch mounted bike rack.