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Bike racks for cars and trucks:Tips for choosing the right one for you
 You want to go biking out in the backwoods but it’s too far from home to considercycling there and back. What do you do? Try to stuff your bike in the back of yourcar and risk damaging the upholstery or getting dirt and grease everywhere? No,the answer is simple, get a bike rack for your car or truck so you can transport yourbike there and back. That’s the easy decision made, the hard part comes in deciding what type of rack tobuy. There’s a bewildering range on offer these days. This article is going to helpyou make an informed decision so you choose the right bike rack for your needs.So, what are your needs with regard to bike racks? Here are some starting points toconsider:
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How often will you need to use it?
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How many bikes will you want to carry?
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Will the rack need to fit different vehicles (say, for example you will need toswitch one rack between two family cars)?
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Is security of the bikes and rack paramount?
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Are you able to reach a high rack to load a bike onto it?
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Is your bike pretty standard in design or something unusual such as a tandemor recumbent?
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Do you already have a towing hitch fitted to your vehicle?
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Is your vehicle an off-road type with a spare wheel mounted on the rear?
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How much money are you prepared to spend?What categories of rack are there? There are four basic types:Hitch-mount racks, roof mounted racks, strap on trunk racks and racks that mountin the bed of a pickup truck. The cheapest tends to be the strap-on. They are fine for light duties but are theworst when it comes to security. The roof rack is good as it uses wasted space anddoesn’t hinder access to doors or the trunk but it can be quite difficult to load updue to the working height. The hitch mount is my favorite as it is easy to load andcan take a lot of weight. If you’ve a pickup and don’t need all the space in the bed
 
for other stuff then the bed-mounted racks are great.A bit more on the most important pros and cons of these racks:
Strap-on trunk mounted
racks usually cost between $50 and $150. The rackneeds to be tightly strapped onto the vehicle and the vehicle’s paintwork properlyprotected from damage if parts of the carrier rest on the body. These strap-on racksusually carry one or two bikes, sometimes three. More than that and you riskdamaging the car or bikes.
Pros
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 They are good if you often change your vehicle as they are universal fitting.
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 They are usually a manageable height for loading bikes on to.
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When not in use, they fold down for easy storage.
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With prices starting at just $50 they are the most affordable of all bike racks.
Cons
 
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 The usual method of fitting means the weight of your bikes and the rack is alltaken on the car’s panels, risking damage (I speak from first-handexperience!).
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 The webbing fitting straps can snap or wear out in the fullness of time.
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 Theft is a high risk as the straps can be easily cut with a knife.
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Care needs to be taken when reversing as the bikes project way out beyondthe tailgate.
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In many cases it’s not possible to open the trunk once the bikes are loaded.
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 The rack position means that the driver’s view to the rear is often blocked.
Roof-mounted bike racks
can be attached to your vehicle’s existing rack mountsif provided, or you can install a pair of crossbars that the rack attaches to. Pricesstart from around $50 per bike but if you need to buy crossbars, the total will endup closer to $200 for a two bike setup.
Pros
 
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