23109vc

I have a 2021 GTS. my neighborhood, but I am getting the urge to go somewhere else and transport my bike without having to put the seats down and stuff in the back.

I do not have a tow hitch, but I do have the integrated roof rails.

Have any of you purchased the crossbars and utilized the roof mounted bike rack setups?

Porsche has their own bike mount system that will attach to the rooftop crossbars. I have seen photographs of people mounting their bikes on top of the cayenne. I’m curious if any of you have done that and is it difficult or awkward to get a bike up on the roof of the car??

My road bike is carbon fiber and not that heavy but I’m assuming you might need a stepladder

I just want to get some real world feedback on how well the system works.

chassis

The Cayenne is a superb bike hauling machine. I use Thule WingBar evo crossbars. I have no factory roof rails, so use the corresponding fit kit.

Here is the crossbar and feet setup for 9Y0 with factory roof rails: https://www.thule.com/en-us/roof-rac...lush%2520rails

I use the Thule ProRide XT bike carrier: https://www.thule.com/en-us/bike-rac...de-xt-_-598004

Getting the bike onto the carrier takes some practice. After getting the hang of it, the job is easy. Thule equipment is rugged, durable, well designed and looks good.

Elucidus

I've not used a roof rack bike rack on the Cayenne. I have on a friend's Mini Cooper S, which wasn't bad, but I massively prefer hitch racks.

The other thing to think about with an SUV is that clearance may become an issue. A Cayenne is 67" (5'7). My 56c Diverge is 30.7, probably +6" or so for seat post and saddle. So you're looking at 8'7. Add a couple inches for the rack and you're close to 9'. That will do most things, but parking garages could become a problem.

I know you don't have a hitch, but you can add one. Stealth Hitches offers a bolt-in one. I installed it on my friend's 2020 Cayenne eHybrid. The hardest part was safely popping the wheel trim away so we could get the rear bumper down.

I do love my 1UP Hitch quite a bit. Had a Yakima Dr. Tray before, which was more fiddly and blocked the hatch. The 1-up doesn't block the hatch in single bike mode, so made it more practical to leave the carrier on. They make roof top carriers as well. You can raise one of the arms and once the wheel is nestled up against it, it should balance it enough that you can recenter yourself and start to capture the other wheel loosely, then lock it down.

ThomasWShea

the porsche cross bars are made by thule i believe. they are of good quality. i prefer hauling bikes on the roof over via a hitch mounted whatever. you can get things to cover the bikes from bugs etc. but on the back, if you are in rain, or even no rain, they get so dirty. roof probably costs more gas.

for the cross bars whether u get thule or porsche ones, you want to pay attention to the ends of the bars. the porsche implementation has the bar ends inside the mount, thule offers both inside and the kind that extend beyond the mount (outside). i do not know for sure if they offer the inside ones for the cayenne. there are a couple people on here that can probably tell you all the various parts to get to achieve the style u want.

here or pics of inside vs outside:

porsche ones w bar ends concealed inside the mounts

thule bar ends extend outside the mounts

chassis

Thule offers the internal-style crossbars, the WingBar edge. This is the one for 9Y0 with factory roof rails: https://www.thule.com/en-us/roof-rac...lush%2520rails

Woofman

After carrying bikes on a roof rack for 11 years (mainly on a Mercedes sedan) followed by 34 years carrying bikes on racks plugged into receiver hitches on Lexus LS sedans, Toyota Sienna and Prius, I swore I would never carry bikes on roof racks again unless there was no other alternative.

It wasn't all that difficult to get bikes on to the Mercedes roof since it was reasonably low but I was a lot younger then and it was long before my rotator cuff issues. The worst aspect of the roof rack was the wind ROAR at highway speeds. Buffeting from side winds was sometimes severe but more irritating than dangerous.

I was paranoid that I would have a momentary brain fart and forget that the bikes were on the roof. Google "roof bike rack accidents" and you'll find countless photos of bikes trashed by garage doors, fast food drive-throughs, etc. and residential and commercial property damage.

It was sometimes a difficult or impossible to drive on some roads and streets while carrying bikes on a roof rack due to low hanging branches but I got pretty good at dodging.

I really can't think of anything about roof bike racks that I value but that may be because I'm so negative about them based on my experience. If, unlike me, you care about the opinions of adolescent boys, they seem to think that roof bike racks are very cool.

What I like about receiver hitch bike racks:

* zero wind noise
* no worry about overhead obstacles
* they double as a repair stand while repairing and maintaining bikes, e.g. during chain lubes, fastener tightness checks, disc brake pad checks, loading bikes for the ride, etc.
* usually much easier loading of bikes on to the rack but that depends on rack design and how many bikes are carried

Some of the negatives of receiver hitch bike racks:
* the potential for rear end damage of bikes by following vehicles
* the bikes can partially or fully block rear turn signals/brake lights..
* they can block opening of rear hatch doors if an extension, tilt down, or swing away function isn't present.
* depending on type and how many bikes are being carried, loading the bikes can be a puzzle and require padding to keep them from damaging each other.

Here's a photo of the 4-bike hanging rack I use on the Cayenne. I have a similar 2-bike version of this rack for our Prius v wagon. I use an extension to position the rack further back so that the hatch door can open without tilting the rack down.




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JediRocker

I went with Yakima core bars. I don't have a photo with my Yakima bike carrier mounted, but here's a photo with the kayak on the bars:

CanadianNorth