Return-Path: Received: from IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa00184; 14 May 96 11:13:19 EDT Received: from IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa08392; 14 May 96 11:12:31 EDT To: bovik@cs.cmu.edu cc: pchang+@L.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Car roof rack recommendations Date: Tue, 14 May 96 11:12:16 -0400 From: Jennifer_Kay@IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU Here's the question: > I want to buy a temporary roof rack for my Honda Accord -- i.e. one that > I can put on when I need it, and take off when I don't. I have seen cars > around with really nice looking roof racks, that clip into the rain > gutters on cars, and seem incredibly sturdy. I went to an auto-supply > store and they could only sell me one that looks like it will fall off > my car or fall apart in 10 minutes. > > Where does one go to find a good roof rack? > My comments after looking around: You can go to Shadyside to look at both major brands: Outdoor Experience sells Thule and Shadyside Ski & Bike sells Yakima. Based on a little phoning around, Shadyside Ski & Bike (we decided on Yakima) seems to have competative prices for Pittsburgh. Mail Order (we found a couple of places on the net) can save you some money, we might buy it locally anyway -- the guy at Shadyside Ski & Bike was incredibly helpful giving us all the information we could want, and I like to reward good customer service. -- Jennie -------- Jennifer S. Kay Phone: (412) 268-6498 Email: jennie@cs.cmu.edu CS Dept, SCS, Carnegie Mellon Univ, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891 http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jennie ------- Forwarded Messages Return-Path: Received: from LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa23962; 13 May 96 10:14:40 EDT Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 10:08-EDT From: Ellen.Douglas@LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU To: Jennifer Kay Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? Message-Id: <831996528/epd@LADON.RESDOC.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Jennifer Kay's bboard message of 13-May-96 10:04 Outdoors stores, like bicycle stores and camping equipment stores, have roof racks. We've used the Thule racks and like them very much. You get a basic set of bars and then you add whatever attachments you need--to haul bicycles, skis, whatever. Thule's a bit expensive, but they're very good quality. I'm assuming that's the kind of roof rack you have in mind. Try Outdoor Excursions in Shadyside and the bicycle store in Squirrel Hill. You can also get just the clamps that attach to the rain gutter, and bolt them onto a 2x4 yourself. This is a low-cost alternative (probably less than $50). Ellen Douglas ------- Message 2 Return-Path: Received: from HOOTIE.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa26141; 13 May 96 11:54:24 EDT X-Newsreader: knews 0.9.6 Organization: Field Robotics Center, CMU References: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> From: Mike Blackwell Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? X-Original-Newsgroups: cmu.cs.general In-Reply-To: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> To: Jennifer Kay Date: Mon, 13 May 96 11:54:22 EDT Sender: mkb@hootie.ius.cs.cmu.edu The two major brands of roof racks are Thule and Yakima. Most bike stores and "outdoors" type stores carry either one or the other. There are dozens of attachments for carrying bikes, skiis, sail boards, kayaks, you name it... There are custom roof pilars (the part that attaches to your car) for almost any sort of car. Outdoor Experience in Shadyside carries Thule, and has surprisingly good prices (most of their other stuff is pretty over priced). You might also want to check out EMS (Ross Park or South Hills malls). Be prepared to spend money! Just the cross bars and roof pilars alone can cost over $100. If you car has rain gutters along the roof, you might want to check out Ikea. Last time I was there they had a basic roof rack that seemed pretty solid, for a good price (I can't remember how much). It looked like it would accept Yakima style attachments. Good luck! -mike- ------- Message 4 Return-Path: Received: from KITSUNE.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa27699; 13 May 96 12:49:21 EDT To: jennie+@IUS5.IUS.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? Newsgroups: cmu.cs.general In-Reply-To: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Cc: Bcc: Date: Mon, 13 May 96 12:49:08 EDT From: esb+@KITSUNE.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU Sender: esb+@KITSUNE.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU >Where does one go to find a good roof rack? Ikea will sell you one. At the exit from the store, they offer roof racks for "purchase", reminding you at the same time that you can return them and get your money back -- it's their way of providing loaner racks, but I'm sure they'll also be happy to sell them for real. I don't remember the price exactly, might be around $50, but if it matters you can probably call them. edo ------- Message 5 Return-Path: Received: from G.GP.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa28728; 13 May 96 13:26:49 EDT Received: from VUI.Andrew.3.70.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NOT.LINKED.G.GP.CS.CMU.EDU.vax.22 via MS.5.6.G.GP.CS.CMU.EDU.vax_22; Mon, 13 May 96 13:26:00 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Date: Mon, 13 May 96 13:26:00 -0400 (EDT) From: James.Daniel.Morrow@cs.cmu.edu To: Jennifer Kay Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? Cc: In-Reply-To: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> References: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> Hi Jennie, You didn't say what you plan to put on the roof-rack. But for bikes, skis, and stuff you can get them at Bike stores, bike mail order catalogs, and sporting goods stores. -- Dan ------- Message 6 Return-Path: Received: from RHODOPE.ABLE.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa03645; 13 May 96 16:26:35 EDT Date: Mon, 13 May 96 16:25:49 EDT To: Jennifer Kay In-reply-to: jennie+@IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU's message of 13 May 1996 13:46:01 GMT Subject: Car roof rack - where to buy? From: Bob Monroe References: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> Jennie -- I'm not sure exactly what you want to use the rack for (bicycles? skis? hauling junk? etc.) but the modular rack systems available from Yakima and Thule are excellent. I suspect that most of the nice looking racks you've seen are one of these brands. The basic idea for these racks is that you can buy the pieces that you need, as you need them. They have attachments for bikes, skis, surfboards, kayaks, crates of junk, windsurfers, and probably other things I've never heard of. They generally have two or three basic models of crossbar with dozens of different adaptors that are custom-made for specific car models. Most bike shops carry one of the two brands, as do outdoor shops like Exkursion (Monroeville) and The Outdoor Experience (Shadyside). I've had pretty good luck with the Gatto cycle shop at Penn and Braddock (in "The Factory"). The upside of a Thule or Yakima rack: - rock-solid when used properly. I test that I have mine on the car right by holding the crossbars and shaking the car. - convenient if you just keep it on your car. When I ride a lot in the summer I keep the rack locked on my car and it takes about 30 seconds to put my bike on top and go. - they last for ages. - after the initial investment you can get all sorts of cool add-ons relatively cheaply (i.e. the ski accessory is cheaper than a complete ski rack) The downside: - Cost (surprised?). They're expensive initially. I think that a basic two-bike rack probably costs about $250 upfront. Additional add-ons start at about $40 and go up quite a ways. - Difficult to put on the car and adjust initially. It's a realy pain to put the rack on the car. But like I said, I do that about once a summer and just drive around with it locked to my car. This can create some highway noise and probably knocks a mile or two off highway gas mileage. Once it's on, however, it's a lot more convenient than a trunk-mounted rack that needs to be put on each time you go somewhere. - Putting bikes on the roof. I don't know if you're hauling bikes, but my wife finds it difficult to lift the bike onto the roof and reach all the adjustments (She's about 5'3"). I don't know how tall you are, but if you can't easily reach onto the roof a trunk-mounted rack is probably easier to put bikes onto. I'm tall enough that I don't really find this a problem (about 6'). How's that for a really long answer to a short question? As you can probably tell I'm a big fan of these racks. I've had a Yakima that's lasted through 2 cars and 7 or 8 years. It will probably work for another decade with a bit of strategic oiling. It's on my short list of things that I own that are just really great products. Thule racks are just as good. An alternative source to buy these is through Performance Bicycle, a mail-order bicycling shop (1-800-PBS-BIKE). They also make a knock-off modular rack system that is quite a bit less expensive than Yakima or Thule. I haven't seen it beyond the pictures in the catalog, but it looks like it's mounts to the car are quite a bit cheaper. You might want to look into that also. I've had excellent luck with Performance customer service but I've found their house-brand products vary greatly in quality. I believe they also carry Thule racks. Feel free to forward this to Dr. Bovik if you feel so inclined. - -- Bob Monroe From: jennie+@IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU (Jennifer Kay) Newsgroups: cmu.cs.general Date: 13 May 1996 13:46:01 GMT Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, School of Computer Science I want to buy a temporary roof rack for my Honda Accord -- i.e. one that I can put on when I need it, and take off when I don't. I have seen cars around with really nice looking roof racks, that clip into the rain gutters on cars, and seem incredibly sturdy. I went to an auto-supply store and they could only sell me one that looks like it will fall off my car or fall apart in 10 minutes. Where does one go to find a good roof rack? -- Jennie -- --------- Jennifer S. Kay Phone: (412) 268-6498 Email: jennie@cs.cmu.edu CS Dept, SCS, Carnegie Mellon Univ, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891 http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jennie ------- Message 8 Return-Path: Received: from NAVIER.CML.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa17120; 14 May 96 0:50:05 EDT To: jennie+@IUS5.IUS.cs.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? Newsgroups: cmu.cs.general In-Reply-To: <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Cc: Bcc: Date: Tue, 14 May 96 0:49:45 EDT From: oghattas+@NAVIER.CML.CS.CMU.EDU Sender: oghattas+@NAVIER.CML.CS.CMU.EDU In article <4n7eep$cnv@cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu> you write: >I want to buy a temporary roof rack for my Honda Accord -- i.e. one that >I can put on when I need it, and take off when I don't. I have seen cars >around with really nice looking roof racks, that clip into the rain >gutters on cars, and seem incredibly sturdy. I went to an auto-supply >store and they could only sell me one that looks like it will fall off >my car or fall apart in 10 minutes. > >Where does one go to find a good roof rack? Jennie, if what you want to put on your roof rack is valuable, then I recommend getting a serious rack such as Yakima or Thule. You're right, the auto-supply store variety are pieces of junk. I've owned both Thule and Yakima, and while the Thule was good, I absolutely swear by the Yakima. (I once drove into my garage with a bike on top, and the bike fork snapped due to the impact with the roof--i.e. the tower-gutter connection was stronger than the fork!) The Yakimas are beefy, anodized, and work really well. A few caveats: (1) The system won't be cheap. It's possible to spend over $300 for locking towers (highly recommended), crossbars, and a few attachments. (2) Taking them on and off is not so simple, and can take a half hour. It's not something you want to do every day. Places to buy good roof racks: just about any good cycling, windsurfing, or camping store should have them. Outdoor Experience on Walnut I think carries Thule. I recommend Ambridge Bike Shop (266-1111) in Ambridge PA, where I bought my Yakima. Their prices are a bit better, and they stock not just bike but others attachment accessories as well (e.g kayak, windsurfer, ski). The cheapest is mail order (look in the back of e.g. Bicycling magazine), but I'd pay a bit more for the comfort of seeing the hardware before I buy it. Feel free to email or call for more info. Cheers, Omar ------- Message 9 Return-Path: Received: from H.GP.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS5.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU id aa05621; 14 May 96 10:08:07 EDT Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 10:06-EDT From: Roy.Taylor@H.GP.CS.CMU.EDU To: Jennifer Kay Subject: Re: Car roof rack - where to buy? Message-Id: <832082790/crt@H.GP.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Jennifer Kay's bboard message of 13-May-96 10:04 Jennie -- Try places that sell bikes or skis. [Also recommended bike Nashbar catalog] - -- Roy ------- End of Forwarded Messages