[seaprius]

I am thinking about getting a bike rack for my prius. Where can I find a good bike rack? I wanted to find out if anybody tried this and their experiences...

 

[RJMusser]

I usually ride from home, but sometimes haul my bikes in our 2004 Prius. Fold down the back seats, remove the bar/cover assembly, take off the front wheel and slide the bike in through the hatchback. It is easy, cheap, and very aero. Put down a tarp if you got you bike muddy on the trail.
If you want to carry two bikes or more you are going to need a rack. Coastal Tech has a reciever hitch which will let you install a hitch mounted rear bike carrier. This type of carrier might be the most aerodynamic but you run a greater risk of getting you bikes smashed in city traffic. Roof racks can be hard for some people to use, especially if you have heavy bikes. If you have a garage, and your bikes are one the roof, put the garage door opener where you can not reach it from the drivers seat.

Your local bike shop would be a good place to inquire about bike racks. They know what they are talking ahout.

Good luck,
Roger

 

[bobc]

Both Yakima and Thule make adaptors for the Prius although, I can't talk of how well they work as I went Roger's route and got a Coastal Tech hitch.

My thinking was that I didn't want to have a roof rack on the car that defeats all the aerodynamic engineering that went into the car and adversely affects mpg.

With the receiver hitch, I can take the bike rack off in two seconds (OK, maybe two minutes...).

Cheers,
-bob

 

[Hep]

One bike fits fairly easily in the back hatch. I put a blanket down first.