Can you post pictures of the rack installed? I don't even know what the factory one looks like. Thanks.

 

Where do you attach the lower straps on your car? There are local bike shops that carry Saris, but my car is in the shop right now. I found the .PDF manual for the Bones here:

http://www.saris.com/product-manuals-1.html

From the illustrations in the manual I can see that the "S" hook must stretch to the top of the hatch (hinge area). Not sure where the "trunk" straps would go on a coupe? Over the spoiler and under the lip of the hatch? That seems like it would leave the bike at a weird angle over the hatch. Your cab does have a trunk lid, but I'm having a hard time seeing how it would hook up to a coupe.

Also, see pic of my Giant Reign below....is that top tube going to rest on the Bones' arms?

Anyone have a pic of this rack attached to a coupe?

Thanks!

 

That bike will probably need a tube that locks on to the steering stem and seat tube to fit properly on any rack. A friend of mine has a similar frame, we can get his bike on but it isn't ideal.
I don't know how to post pictures PM me your email and I will send them to you.

 

I hook the bottom strap to the bottom of the bumper. My back bumper is metal and you can just hook it on.

As for the placement best idea is to take the car to a bike store and try it. That is what I did and it worked out.

My sons bike has a similar top tube to yours and I purchased a bar from the bike store that attaches between the steering tube and the seat tube for transport. It gives a straight tube to hang the bike from. The one I got is similar to the one in this link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALLEN-900B-BIKE-...-/140523628087

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but once you get a trunk mount rack and a top tube attachment thing, you've got a lot of junk on the car and your bike is not held very securely. Roof racks like the one third pedal has really are the way to go, especially with a coupe. Your Giant is also going to weigh twice what mhr's road bike does. You can also lock a roof rack, and these cars are so low it's not a problem getting the bike on the roof.

Also, nice bike - but your saddle seems tilted down an awful lot. Maybe you wouldn't need that steerer tube extension if your saddle were level?

 

Isn't beating a dead horse part of the fun around here

Admittedly a roof rack is not an option for me and I am generally carrying higher end road bikes that are not heavy so I don't really feel the weight too much.

 

PM sent. Thanks!

 

Great....that looks like it would do the trick.

 

Thanks for the input. What model is your Yakima? How easy is it to put on and off? The big appeal of the trunk-mounted Saris Bones is the quick on/off capability.

 

Good points. The bike weighs 30 + lbs. and the adapter bar would probably add another 7-8 (?). The obvious appeal of the Saris Bones is quick mount/dismount. It seems that a roof rack would be enough of a PITA to put on and take off that it would probably be left on??? If that's not true and the on/off time is equivalent, I'd be much more open to getting one!

Thanks...I bought it used as my first bike since I was a kid, after discovering the huge mountain bike scene/trail system here in Albuquerque. Did my research and thought it was plenty of bike to learn on (overkill, really) and since then I've been suffering through all the newbie problems of fitting and getting enough skills and conditioning to operate. I've had a couple of experienced riders, including the instructor of a bike mechanic class I'm taking echo your comment on the seat angle AND the seat height. Both were set up by a "pro" bike fitter, as a solution to my tendency to put too much weight and strain on the handlebar and irritate the nerve in my left hand. But I'm starting to wonder and need to experiment some (and get stronger too). The whole sad story is here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...errerid=525174

if you want to read it.

 

FWIW, the top bar that connects the seatpost to the stem may be a pound. It is a hollow alloy tube with clamps on the end. The roof racks are nice but I like the ability to remove my rack quickly. Those roof racks are pricey, too. Once you get everything needed it can be $4-500 new.

 

For those interested, here are the factory rack instructions.

 

Roof racks can take a while to set up the first time, but go off and on pretty quick after that. Hamlin's instructions show it's not so bad...

 

Arthropraxis sent me a couple pix of his Bones mounted on a 951. Looks totally workable, although the current Bones models have a single support bar for the forward/hatch area instead of the two here.

 

Yea, it took about an hour to set up on the Porsche (I've had this rack on two other cars, so I've gotten used to setting it up). But now that it's set up, i bet I can get it on and off the car faster than the hatch-mounted rack. 5 minutes, TOPS. The bike is quite secure on the roof...more so than with the added crossbar on the hatch mount. I ride a 2010 Giant Trance X2, and love it to death. Giant builds some excellent mountain bikes. That's beside the point though, I think that the frame design poses quite a challenge for hatch-mounted hanging style racks, plus, the bike is going to hang awfully low to the ground with the cross bar attachement.

Yakima racks are somewhat piecemeal. Buy the crossbars, then the towers, then the clips (hold the towers to the car), then the bike rack. You can find used pieces on eBay and I bet you could get a whole rack together for ~$200 (though I haven't checked prices lately). If you're interested, I'm running 48" crossbars, standard Yakima Q Towers with Q4 clips (for the 944) and a "Front-Loader" bike mount. You could save some money by finding a Raptor mount instead, or it looks like your front fork isn't a through axle, so you could go with something even cheaper like a copperhead (I actually have one I'll give you an amazing deal on). Let me know if you want any more info on roof mounted systems.