well i found the Yakima Raptor, seems pretty straight forward design and stuff. i have a factory roof rack and the factory crossbars with it. wall will i need to run this bad boy? the Yakima website tells me i need their crossbars and mounts. which brings the total to around 500. :| i don't want to spend that much. so i was wondering if anyone here has a bike rack they would recommend for me, with out have to buy any extra accessories. considering any rack, don't plan on spending more than 200, which is why i chose the Yakima Raptor.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/yakima-raptor.asp

Sorry but that kind of rack seems to be more of a hassle than its worth (loading, unloading, lower gas economy, etc). We always use a type that mounts off the rear tow bar and it can hold upto four bikes very easily. They even make a model now that has a quick release so you can lower the rack down to the ground for easy dismount and has sufficient clearnace to open the rear door. Retails for around $300NZ which is $225US.

Another one that I've seen but never used is a type that mounts on the rear tyre carrier. It only holds one bike but you can open the door with the bike attached. They are approx half the cost of the one I listed above.

If you want I can find a link to the racks I mentioned.

Jim

if you can show me the tire mounted one, that would be good.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/yakima-spare-joe.asp

i was also considering that one, but i dont know if it will fit. all the tires on my car have these numbers on them: 265/70r16. i hav no clue what that means, so maybe i can get some guidance from here.

I still like the tow bar mounted ones as they are lower and are more robust. I have attached a link showing you few different types. These are not the ones in NZ but pretty close to it. I made my own which I've used for several years.

http://www.bikerack.com.au/bikerack.html

The tyre mounted racks you listed are adjustable enough to fit the tyres you have. For information the 265/70r/16 means 256mm wide, 70 aspect ratio (70% of 265= 185mm) tall, r=radial, 16 inch = rim diameter. Although these look like they will do the job for you I wopuld favour a type which has a steel plate and you bolt it to the tyre mount. They are stronger and the steel bar that holds the bikes can be offset so that the bike is in tye center of the door rather than off to one side. You can also use for several bikes if you wish. I'll look far a link on these. Below is a tyre size calculator link if you want to undestand more on sizing.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Jim

This is the sort I would go for except maybe one that you can offset to the left. Tried to find something closer to home for you (ebay) as most of my sites are in OZ or NZ and shipping would kill you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MOHN-LOCKIN...sspagenameZWDVW

Jim

alright thanks for the input.