The appeal / advantage of a roof rack was lost for me once thru-axles came into play. Had been using roof racks for decades before that, but they were a total PITA with a thru-axle.
Changed to a hitch rack about 2 years ago and I’m never going back to a roof rack.
If you are getting an electric car - 100% definitly get a hitch rack. Aerodynamics matter much more. And you will never hit the bike on a roof.
But if you are getting a gas car, think long and hard about where the exhaust is pointing if you get a hitch rack. It can easily melt/delaminate carbon. Worst case scenario it can weaken a wheel without visible damage and cause a potentially deadly crash.
2012 Outback owner here. I’ve used Thule roof racks and hitch racks in the past, and currently use a 1Up hitch rack. Hands down, I prefer the hitch rack. Easier on the arms/back, don’t have to fuss with taking off muddy tires and then lifting muddy frames up on to the roof, much quieter, and don’t have to worry about roof clearance. I ride both road/gravel and mountain bikes, and have transported all types both on the roof and the hitch racks. The hitch racks are much more user-friendly, and don’t hurt your car’s CDA, either!
On my previous car I used a hitch rack and on my current car (last 6 years) I have been using roof racks. Both worked well and no real issues lifting the bike on to the roof mounted racks. I think the model of rack is just as important as the location. I have been using the Yakima High Road racks on the roof and they have worked really well with the only contact with the bikes on the wheels (no clamp on the frame) and putting them on or taking them off only takes a couple of minutes.
I have the Thule Upride for the same reason. I do sometimes think that if I were going on a long road trip, that I would get fork mount racks to improve both the stability and aerodynamics.
Depending on where you live, do a quick search for “vehicle overhang limits”. I know people have been fined for over-length hitch racks in Victoria (Australia). In Victoria the overhang (distance from rear axle to rear-most projection i.e. back of the rack) can be no longer than 60% of the wheelbase of the car, which rules out a LOT of hitch-mount racks for 2+ bikes, even on cars with a long wheelbase.
I almost got done for it a few weeks ago in an alcohol breath-testing stop, but luckily the police officer was busy keeping up with the line. I love my four-bike hitch rack (Yakima FourTimer - tilts back for liftgate opening, folds up when not bikes are off, etc), but even on a monster of a car (Ford Everest) it is technically beyond the legal length! Not too keen on putting a roof rack on the car because it’s already pretty high up!
“It depends”. Lord, I hate writing that, but it’s true. Personally, I have had and liked both systems. Currently, I use two roof racks on the Subaru Outback my wife and I share. I am the only person who racks bikes onto the car… and I am also the only member of my household tall enough to do so (and at 5’8" / 173cm, I’m about as “short” as you would want to be, to do that on this car). For my use case — get ass out for early morning ride without spending the whole time entering and exiting city — I need to leave the rack installed on the car most of the time for that actually to work. If I left a hitch rack installed all of the time, it would make the car more difficult to parallel park on city streets and it would force my long-suffering wife to adjust a rack every single time she opened the trunk. Then, I would be murdered in my sleep.
As you can gather, this is all highly personal and circumstantial. When I raced, I also didn’t share a car and had much shorter cars (a Honda Civic and a SAAB 9-3) — so those got hitch racks, since they remained practical to parallel park, it was less annoying to take bikes on and off a hitch rack, and I ran no risk of murdering myself in my own sleep. Earlier in my marriage, we shared a Mini, which was enough shorter than the Outback that both of us could get bikes on and off the roof with trivial ease. Again, personal and circumstantial.
Only one Real Recommendation for all of this: Try before you buy. Bring a bike to the dealer. Simulate lifting it onto a roof and taking it off again, even if they don’t have a car they’ll let you install a rack on. Consider that getting that third bike on there requires much more reach than carrying two on a roof, so try putting the bike as close to the center line of the car as you can, in order to see how that feels. You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly whether or not you want to live with the trade-offs.
How about both?
kidding.
I much prefer the hitch rack. I don’t like putting more than the kids bikes up on the roof. I feel like the full size bikes put way more leverage on the roof racks up there and they move around a lot more than I would like.
I have since retired the roof rack. We now have a single tray 1 up rack and two add-ons. Plus a full vertical style hitch rack (1up recon) for if we are carrying more than 3.
Love my 1Up hitch rack and it sits quite a bit above the exhaust, so I’ve never had exhaust heat problems. I like that it’s modular too.
The Saris G3 Superclamp 2-bike rack avoids all these issues on a Subaru Outback. When folded up, it doesn’t protrude very far from the bumper (I park in downtown Chicago somewhat often with it) and I can access the hatch with no problems, even when folded up.
Very cool.
Another thing to add.
Hitch rack is quieter.
Hitch rack is the better of the two options for a few reasons: better fuel economy, less likely to damage bikes when driving into a parking garage and depending on the vehicle, it’s easier to carry more than 2 bikes.
Things to consider:
Another 1Up hitch rack fan. I m always amazed how quickly I can install/uninstall the rack in 1 or 2 minutes from picking up the rack where it is stored, sliding it in the hitch. and tightening the nut.
Not to mention looks. I always thought that a road bike on a fork mount actually makes some cars look better and sends a nice “sporty” vibe. That being said, if you have an aero bike, it will likely cut the wind more if you keep it in the wheel-on position since the tube and frame angles are designed for this position.
Never thought of it that way, makes sense though.
pros of roof rack: you feel like you’re a team car, bikes are safer in the case of getting rear-ended, IMHO thieves are less likely to faff with bikes during quick stops
I agree with all of the comments for/against both kinds of racks, but would add a few more things to consider:
One thing to be aware of with modern cars that have automatic braking. If you back up with a bicycle on the hitch rack the car will think you are close to another object and will jerk to a stop after a second or two. I will often back out of a parking space and then attach the bicycle.
