We hit a new milestone in our lives recently. Both Jones and Shoo moved up a size in bikes. This means I can no longer throw Shoo’s bike in the trunk of my Civic. It also means that it’s difficult to put both of their bikes in the back of the Pilot. I have a Thule carrier for the Civic that holds three bikes (and took me a half hour + losing 3 fingernails to get on my car yesterday.)
It’s time.
I need to buy a 4 bike carrier and I’d like to get one that fits in the hitch of Pilot. Have you priced those things lately? This is an investment!
So, hit me up with your favorite bike carrier. Is it easy to maneuver around if you keep it on all the time? Is it easy to remove when you don’t want it on? Talk to me, people!
In non-biking news, yesterday I ran a slow 6 mile run. The plan was for a slow and easy 5 mile run, but I made the poor choice of running one of the biggest hills near my house. I was trying to “run” an errand and the store was on the other side. My legs are trashed. Good thing there won’t be hills like that at the halves I’m doing! Now to go run an easy 3 to work out the crap in my legs.
Ah, you did not originally mention the need for a 4 bike carrier. Can’t tell you which one is “best” but can suggest features most of our friends seem to find important:
1. Easy to move out of the way to access “boot” area of car. That means an arm which either tilts down or swings out of the way when you want to open rear hatch.
2. Cheap is not the best thing. You do not want a rack which will bend or break in normal use, so be prepared to pay reasonable prices.
3. If you are carrying multiple bikes you need a simple way to keep them from swinging into each other. Yakima makes a “Double Down 4” which looks like it would be a good choice. $199 with free shipping is the lowest price I’ve seen http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-accessories/2012-yakima-doubledown-4-bike-rack-11773.43.1.html?CMP_ID=GAN_GPLA&mr:trackingCode=8E1C0560-1BDE-E111-9B44-001B21BCB944&mr:referralID=NA&mr:match={matchtype}&mr:ad=29101731705&mr:adType=pla&mr:filter=20762933025&origin=pla&mr:keyword={keyword}
All these comments assume you already have a hitch on the Pilot. Let me know if you need help mounting or getting ready for use.
I went the hitch route and love mine but it is only a 2 bike carrier. It is a Thule and is easy to use, move out of the way and I just keep it on the car the whole season. I think it would be a pain to put it on and off but I have a friend who does.
THULE…do they make for four? Im not sure!