I have an 08 JK unlimited and have been searching for a bike rack. I was thinking of going with a spare tire mount to be able to still open the back door, but then the other day i was at Dick's Sporting goods and the salesman was willing to sell me a brand new Yakima Double Down 4 bikeHitch Rack for $159.00. Retail is $229.00 so I thought that was a great deal and i bought it. Well now i am not sure if it was the best thing to do. Because i own a Specialzed Stumpjumper FS, i cant mount it on the rack without a bar adaptor, how safe are the bar adaptors? Keep in mind my bike cost me $3300.00 I have also lost the ability to open the rear door, which i dont think it will be that big of a deal. The Thule T2 would be the best choice if money was no object, but at $159.00 plus the adaptor i am at the end of my budget. Also i didnt feel comfortable with putting alot of weight on the spare tire. Plus it extends beyong the spare tire with out any issues. Should i keep the rack and buy the adaptor and or should i look at getting a cheaper tire mount. I forgot to mention that i have 3 kids 9-7-4 who all ride so the 4 bike hitch would come in handy when they get older...

The other option i was thinking of doing was mounting my bike inside my jeep with a 2x4 and a fork mount.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Thanks in advance....
I look forward to reading your response...

Chris

 

i got a hitch mounted platform rack, because it's easy to load, and the bikes are securely mounted. Although, I had trouble finding one that would fit with the large Rubicon spare tire. The only one was the Saris Cycle on. I still can't open the tailgate, but it's something I got used to. Anyway, that's what I did.

 

I have an older hitch mount for my wife's and my bike, and we love it! The only downside is to open the tailgate you have to take the rack off. Get one that swings out!

 

I like the ones that swing out but they are way over my price range. Thanks anyway..

Chris

 

My bike was 1/6th the cost of yours, so I am probably not as paticular about the mount. However, I had a mopar rear tire mount from my Liberty and found it fits on the back of the JK well. I carry my Trek and while I wouldn't want to carry two heavy bikes on the back, one doesn't seem to weigh the back gate down too much. I am kind of careful about closing the gate with the bike on, though...

 

Did I read that right? 3300 bucks for a bicycle?? They dam sure saw you comin.

 

My bike was over $5000... I run the T2.

You should have bought a T2. I see used ones go for about $150-$200.

 

Cycling is my passion. Hundres of miles per week.

Get a saris cycle-on pro. The end all-be-all best made bike rack on the planet bar none.

Don't even bother with the hanging racks (ala yakima). They will bang your truck, the bikes will bang each other, and they won't work with a lot of full suspension mountain bike frames.

Get a saris cycle-on pro. Then the only problem you'll have is all the people asking you about it when your bikes go on and off in 5 seconds (literally).

 

I love this attitude. I hear it all the time. I build my own bikes so I probably don't have $3300 into any single bike of mine. But they are still on the order of thousands of dollars (Giant TCR advance all dura-ace and a Specialized stumpjump FSR Pro).

I find it funny that people will spend $4000.00 on a TV and then give me crap about spending a couple of thousand dollars on a bike that I ride a couple hundred miles a week.

My bike is cheaper than your angioplasty.

 

I have never had a problem with the bar adapters. I don't currently have a FS bike but I did have a specialized for a while and the adapter bar was given to me when I bought the bike. I always assumed it was made by specialized and sold with the bike. Maybe they were just nice and gave it to me cause I spent a lot of money there.

Anyway, I never had a problem with it. I usually did put one end of the frame (fork end) over the carrier bar though. I never worried about scratching and banging the bike around either. I do that plenty on the trail. I always strap the bikes to the rack and they don't move too much and have never seen it as a problem. Some guys don't like to scratch their bikes, that's cool, but I haven't mastered that yet.