Bike Rack?
 

Hey all, first post, current Mazda3 owner who would love to get back into RWD cars, having previously owned an old MA61 Supra and 280z.

FT-86 looks like it'll fit the bill!

But, for better or worse, I bicycle and do lots of other outdoor adventures a lot, and so need to be able to carry a bike rack, to make this work.

With the very small hatch room of the FT86, I'll need a rack, but, looking at the sloping roofline and low bodywork, I can't see where most standard rack systems would work.

I would be OK with either a permanent or temporary solution, but it can't have extensive mod or DIY.

Anyone have any success, or, failure stories?

Thanks!

The Yakima Roof Rack doesn't do it for you?

www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15028

Wasn't that setup discontinued?

Not sure, but it was the first thing that popped into my head.

Just bike the where you want to bike around?? :iono:

wat lol...:popcorn:...I'm guessing he is one of those hardcore bikers that like to ride on trails and in order to get to some of those nice trails you might have to drive to them.

I know I am just being a troll lol! But at the same time he will get more use outa his bikes?

:dnftt: :respekt:

I've used a Kuat Sherpa hitch mount rack on my last couple of cars. Bought an Eco Hitch for the FR-S. Put the Sherpa in the hitch. Problem solved. Bikes load and unload in a few seconds. Rack goes on and off quickly. Bottom part of the hitch can be taken off for a cleaner look, or if you're staying off the trails in the winter. Photos here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...77#post2419677

No, absolutely it does! Thanks for that link, I'll have a look.

That's why I came here first as a noob!

When I first looked at an FR-S, the subaru dealer guy told me no rack was made that would fit the sloping roofline, and I showed the model at a Rack Attack or somewhere, and they said they had no matches.

Then again, the car had JUST come out...

Hmm, maybe that's why I couldn't find any evidence of it. If anyone knows if that's something that can still be had, I'd love to know!

Now THAT looks more like it -- hitch racks are great, works when you need it, gone when you don't.

Same story as above, when I looked, I was told there were no compatible hitch racks without risking damage, but my research wasn't that extensive.

From your link, this might be a newer product -- and I'm right here in the PacNW. I'll sure have a look.

As a reminder, use the search feature. A lot of people on this board are anal about noobs searching. :search:

OP, I assume you're not in the financial situation to afford keeping both the FR-S and the Mazda 3?

Thanks KR-S!

Appreciate the search idea, and did try it, but came up with a lot of results about TRACK, etc, and haven't spent a lot of time playing with how the search works on this cool forum.

Also, of course, if a subject hasn't been discussed in a little while, we might be missing out on some newer information.

Regarding financial situation, I mean, I could, but I really would prefer not to hassle with feeding and caring for another vehicle. I live in the city and only have 1 off-street parking space, with no garage, to work with.

I see, it's a matter of space and more maintenance.

About that search feature; the one on vBulletin sucks eggs for most search requests. Just use Google, type your search, and add site:www.ft86club.com to the end of it.

I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, there are some AMAZING places to cycle around here. Mount Rainier and Olympic national forest, Mount Baker, Whistler, etc. Some of them are hundreds of miles away from the city... I'd hate to miss out on the opportunity to drive a really fun car to a great ride, even if I know I couldn't use ALL of the car's handling with a bike on the rack!

I should've thought of that, work around the problem instead of going straight at it!

hahaha well said!! There was one member that made a bike rack on here I cant remeber his name though. I also heard you can take the front wheel off and fit a bike in the FRS? Not sure if it will work that way though

Too bad pics are broken :bellyroll: haha! Thanks

@Argentius - Here's the hitch: http://torkliftcentral.com/2013-2015...cohitch-invisi

Really nice quality product. Clean install.

Thanks, that looks really good. Far preferable to a roof rack to me since when no rack is installed, you can't tell it's there.

My friend has one that goes on top of the roof of the BRZ, standing. It requires the front wheel to be taken off, but then the front wheel can be put into the trunk. It slopes well with the roof. He bikes nearly every day, so he must of done his research on this subject.

Kind of like this: https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...9f&oe=571FA32B

This. Do this. This is the best way to carry a bike on this car.

(I've got the same rack on one of kask2.0's hitches, it never comes off my car)

I'll just throw out there that the very first thing I did when I bought my FR-S is check to make sure that my road bike fits in the trunk (as it did in my Saturn SC-2, before).

I just take off the front wheel and carefully slide it into the trunk, with the rear seat folded. Since I usually drive solo, this isn't a problem for me. No bike rack required.

I took a couple of tow hooks. Cut the ends off. Added a pipe to the end and got it welded. Add a Thule bike rack. It only takes a few minutes to screw in the tow hooks, add the rack, and strap in the bike. Yes, it is a little long, but I plan on being able to add my daughter's bike too.

The Curt hitch from http://www.thehitchstore.com/ they are the least expensive place to buy one and then it takes about an hour to mount. You can use any hitch rack with a 1 1/4" base, I use the Saris Freedom Superclamp 2 with fat trays and it's been fantastic. If you want to go roof try https://www.seasucker.com/product-category/bike-racks/ vacuum mounted and they take a minute to install and remove.