Yakima SprocketRocket Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number Y02090 from Yakima. This is their SprocketRocket bicycle rack, and what this rack is intended to do is carry your bicycles by their front forks. And this will mount onto round roof-rack bars or square roof-rack bars. A couple of features of this bicycle rack is a sliding adjustable wheel tray for the rear wheel itself, so you can accommodate bikes of varying lengths. On that wheel tray are also the double-sided straps. It has ratchets on both sides to help keep the rear wheels securely in place. And the best feature about this bicycle rack is the easy-to-use, one-handed, front fork skewer. We will go ahead and show you some more details of this bicycle rack and give you a better idea of how it looks. more

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Posted: 4/27/2009 1:56:45 PM

Yakima SideWinder Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number Y02071 from Yakima. This is their SideWinder Bicycle Rack. It is specially designed for tandem bicycles. It mounts on a normal roof rack - either round bars or square bars. It actually pivots out away from the vehicle, making it a lot easier to load your tandem bicycle on it. At this point, we will go ahead and mount this on a typical roof rack and give you a little bit better idea of how it works. more

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Posted: 5/26/2009 12:23:27 PM

Yakima Roof-Rack System Review - Video

Today we are going to cover the typical components of a Yakima roof-rack system. We will start from the bottom and work our way up. On the bottom part are the actual pieces that are going to make actual contact with the vehicle, and those parts are referred to as Q Clips, part number Y0605. They actually adapt the rack to the car itself. And this is a set of the Towers right here, part number Y00124. These go from the roofline to the crossbars. And the Q Towers are lockable, so no one can take them off your vehicle. They do come with the cases for the locks themselves. These do not have the key lock inside them you do have to add the cores to them yourself. And that is part of Yakimas SKS System. And then the last part is the crossbars themselves, part number Y0408. And these bars come in various lengths, designed for specific applications. What we will do now is go ahead and assemble these components and actually install them on a typical application. In this case, we are actually going to install this on a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. more

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Posted: 4/20/2009 3:22:13 PM

Yakima HighRoller Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number Y02091 from Yakima. This is their HighRoller Bicycle Rack. This actually will fit the widest range of bikes, from the small wheels on a road bike to the big wheels that you find on a downhill race bike. One of the best features about this rack is, you do not have to take off the front wheel, so it is great for bikes that do not have an easy-to-use front skewer or a quick-release mount. So let us go ahead and install it on a typical roof rack, and we will give you a better idea of how it works and how it looks. more

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Posted: 4/20/2009 3:21:54 PM

Yakima CopperHead Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number Y02064 from Yakima. This is their CopperHead Bicycle Rack. What this rack does is, it is designed to fit on your aftermarket roof-rack bars. This is a very simple, easy-to-use device. Basically, what it does is it clamps onto the front bar of your vehicle, and there is a simple clamp on the back that ties the other half down. Now we will go ahead and install this on a typical application and give you a better idea of how it works. Let us go ahead and put our simple bike rack on our car. more

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Posted: 5/26/2009 12:29:34 PM

Yakima King Cobra Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to cover part number Y02084 from Yakima. This is Yakimas King Cobra bicycle rack. And what this bicycle rack does is, it mounts to the roof rack of your vehicle and this will fit both round bar and square bar roof racks. And one of the best parts about this design here is it does not require you to take off the front wheel of your bicycle. This is the type for BMX bikes or cruiser bikes that do not have a quick-release skewer. This will fit 20-inch wheels, all the way up to 29-inch mountain bike wheels, and 700c road wheels, too. And you do not have to worry about disc brakes or thru axles or funny suspension bikes, too. We will go ahead and cover the parts in more detail and give you a better idea of how it works. more

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Posted: 4/20/2009 3:21:24 PM

Yakima ForkLift Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number Y02098 from Yakima. This is their ForkLift Bicycle Rack. The best part about the ForkLift Bicycle Rack is that it will fit directly straight to your factory roof-rack crossbars without having any adapters. It does not require tools at all to install onto the vehicle. Actually, on the front fork, it has a clamp style, which allows it to fit a variety of roof racks. The skewer itself is lockable, so you can lock your bike to the bicycle rack itself. All right, we will take a closer view of this bicycle rack and give you a better idea of how it works. more

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Posted: 4/20/2009 3:20:42 PM

Thule Complete Crossroad Kit with Long Bars and Locks Review - Video

Today we are going to review part number TH45050 from Thule. This is Thules Complete Crossroad Kit with 50-inch Long Bars and Locks. What this is designed for basically is, if you have got a factory roof-rack system that does not have crossbars, just the bars that go from front to rear, this will complement what you have, and you can use a variety of Thule components on top of it. This is all you need. You have got the factory roof rack. You do not have to buy any other parts, aside from the objects that you want to attach to the bars themselves. more

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Posted: 3/13/2009 2:51:34 PM

Yakima Boa Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to cover part number Y02065 from Yakima. This is their Boa bicycle rack. This product will mount onto your existing crossbars on your roof rack of your vehicle. This will fit either the round or square bars. It is pretty simple to use. We will go through some of the features and show you how it works. more

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Posted: 5/26/2009 12:28:58 PM

Thule Tandem Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH558P from Thule. This is Thules tandem carrier, pivoting model. And what this carrier does is, it mounts on the very end of your roof-rack bars and what it does is, it allows you to load up either a long, recumbent bike or a tandem bicycle. And what happens is, you put your bicycle on the vehicle at a 90-degree angle first, lock it into place with the front fork skewer, and then just push the rest of this bike onto the back of this carrier. We will go ahead and show you the components. We will cover some of the parts that are involved in the kit. more

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Posted: 3/2/2009 4:24:42 PM

Thule Criterium Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to review part number TH598 from Thule. This is the Thule Criterium roof-mounted bike rack. And what this rack does is, it mounts to a variety of different rooftop racks on vehicles, be it a factory roof rack or other brands that are out there. We will go ahead and cover the points of this bicycle rack and show you how it works, how it gets connected, and how it looks on a typical application. more

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Posted: 3/2/2009 4:19:26 PM

Thule Roof Rack System Review - Video

Today we are going to install a roof rack from Thule on a 2008 Honda CRV, and we will be using the following part numbers: THLB50 we are going to be using the Podium Roof-Mounted Foot Pack, part number TH460 and then we will use the Fit Kit, part number THKIT3042. That will connect the roof rack and the foot to the actual roof of the CRV itself. On the table here we have got the assemblies needed to assemble on the roof rack. This is actually one-half of the kit all these part numbers include two of everything. So you have two Load Bars here, two of the Foot Packs, and two of the Fit Kits. As you can see, we have one already installed on the front half of the vehicle. We are going to put this one together for you and show you how it will install on the back part of the vehicle. more

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Posted: 2/23/2009 3:51:57 PM

Thule 44 Long Fairing for Roof Racks Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH872XT from Thule. This is their fairing. This is a fairing that will fit any Thule roof rack that is out there. What it does basically is function to reduce wind noise by taking the wind and blocking it and pushing it over the bars so it does not create a whistling effect or any additional road noise. To prove the point, what we will do is, we will take this car and actually drive it down the road with the sunroof open where you can hear the noise of the wind coming over the bars themselves. Next we will go ahead and install the fairing and then you will see how much of a reduction in noise we have after that. more

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Posted: 2/23/2009 3:28:59 PM

Swagman Aero Gripper Roof Rack Load Bars Installation - Video

Today we are going to show you part number S65150 from Swagman. This is their Aero Gripper. What this part does is it adds to your existing roof rack. The roof rack has to have the rails that go from front to rear, and this provides a crossbar for them. There is minimal install time on this. Basically, you set the Aero Gripper on top of your roof rack, adjust the feet to match your rack, and then adjust the bar that goes across so it is even on both sides. And then install some simple, plastic stops to keep them from moving after that. more

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Posted: 10/3/2008 4:50:18 PM

Thule XTR Big Mouth Single Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH599, the XTR Big Mouth Upright Carrier from Thule. What this bicycle carrier is designed to do is carry bikes in an upright position with both wheels attached to the bike. And this bicycle carrier will attach to all Thule roof rack models and to Yakima models also. First, I will show you some of the features of this bicycle rack, starting with how it attaches to a typical roof rack. Following, on the rear of the vehicle, you will see that the roof rack has a clamp-like system right here. And basically it has two bolts coming down and a plate and the threaded knobs that actually clamp it to your roof rack bar right here. And this is also fully adjustable on the track of the carrier itself. more

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Posted: 9/10/2008 3:47:20 PM

Swagman Camper Roof Mount Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to be showing you part number S80550 from Swagman. This is their pop-up camper, roof mount, four-bike rack. A couple of features about this rack are that it does carry up to four bikes as we stated before, it fits on the roof of most pop-up trailers, it is really light duty, so there is not much weight up on the roof, it is constructed entirely out of aluminum, which is nice so you do not have to worry about rust or corrosion on it. Also it has foam bumpers on the legs to help prevent wear and tear on the camper"s roof. Also the adjustable tire rails can accommodate three bike styles, including the touring bikes, standard bikes and mountain bikes. It also comes complete with a set of tie-down straps, some bungee cords and hardware to secure the rack to the roof of the trailer itself. What comes with the roof rack is the tie-down mount here. What this does is it gets bolted into place on top of one of the roof supports. And it does come complete with a set of screws to do that. more

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Posted: 8/29/2008 12:22:01 PM

Swagman Upright Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number S64720 from Swagman. This is the Swagman upright roof rack. This will fit a variety of different types of roof racks that are on the market. We have one installed on a Thule roof rack and we will show you how it works. The bicycle rack will attach to the roof rack, like so, with basically a U bolt and a clamp and a couple of tension knobs. Then also on the front of the rack, with the pivot point it also clamps into place around the roof rack. It has 2 knobs on top and there is a set of 4 upfront here. Next we will show you the clamp that actually does the work on the bike itself. This clamp right here has nice rubber padding on both sides of the knob. And basically you just use this knob to screw them together and that clamps into place on your bicycle. And also, there is a built in lock here. So when you tighten it down to leave your bike on the roof rack you can simply lock it and then the handle free wheels so it will not go anywhere and you can not take it off. more

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Posted: 8/20/2008 1:14:11 PM

Thule Echelon Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH518 from Thule. This is their Echelon bicycle carrier. This bicycle carrier does fit on top of all Thule roof top racks and also some Yakim racks also. We will go ahead and show you a quick overview of how the unit installs to your existing roof rack. First you have to just lay it up there. These 2 bolts clamp down to this bar in the back and you can move it back and forth as needed. There is a clip that goes on the front bar right here. This clip here slides over the bar and you can take the bike rack and it slides onto there like so. Then you drop 2 bolts from the top down into this bracket that has threaded nuts on the bottom edge of it. It does come complete with a tool to tightens it down. The back also clamps down into place similar to the front except it uses a plate and a couple of knobs. Before you tighten these down you want to take a moment to make sure you have this going in a straight line with the vehicle so it is not going side ways. These fit and then you go ahead and tighten them down. more

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Posted: 8/12/2008 2:55:50 PM

Thule Roof Mounted Bike Rack Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH517 from Thule, this is the Peloton. This is their bicycle rack that fits on top of most of the Thule roof racks assemblies out there. This is a bicycle rack that requires you to remove the front wheel to install it on the rack. We will go ahead and show you how it is done. The Peloton bike rack actually clamps onto these bars right here. There are 2 bolts that can come down from the rack itself and then there is a plate right here that tightens it on. Then up front of the vehicle there is a u-bolt that goes to the front cross bar. That is attached by 2 screws underneath the hood right here. more

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Posted: 8/10/2008 9:58:43 PM

Thule Roof Mounted Wheel Mount Review - Video

Today we are going to show you part number TH593 from Thule. This is their wheel on accessory. This mounts to any Thule roof rack system and also a few different Yakima systems also. When this type of rack requires you take off the front wheel of the bicycle, you use this part number here, the TH593, to store the wheel so you do not have to keep it inside the vehicle and take up any extra room when you do not have to. As you can see here, the device is pretty easy to install. Basically there are 4 screws and it clamps on over the bar so you just use thumb knobs to tighten them down on all 4 corners. It is basically ready to go. Also these arms right here that hold the wheel are fully adjustable. You just loosen this thumb knob here and you can move it up or down as needed. We will go ahead and install a wheel. Basically it just slides on just like on to your bike. There is a nice long groove here so you can set the wheel all the way at the bottom and so it does not rotate while you are going down the road. Then simply tighten it up like it is a fork on your bike. There you have it, stored away and ready to go down the road. There you have it for part number TH593 from Thule, the wheel on bike rack accessory. more

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Posted: 8/11/2008 7:57:38 AM

Thule Complete Roof System for Volkswagen Installation - Video

The roof of your vehicle is a great place for extra cargo, bikes, kayaks and more. Many vehicles come with factory installed racks but if yours did not it does not mean you have to miss out on the fun. Thule believes this as well and has designed after market racks for many different vehicles. Our video here shows how to install the rack on a VW Jetta and provides a better idea on what is required no matter what type of vehicle you have. It is time to get your car, van, SUV, truck decked out and start getting yourself out there! more

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Posted: 7/23/2008 3:23:26 AM