Thule Bigmouth (good rack?)

[Bergsteiger]

I am tired of messing with my hitch rack and wanted to get into a roof rack setup. I have an 03 LR Discovery. Any comments on the Thule Bigmouth, will it handle a 2.5 wide tire?

[Sprockethead]

Anyone reason why you prefer a roof rack over a hitch rack? Just curious because I like hitch racks and prefer not to put my bike up over the roof after a long ride. I drive a SUV so it's pretty high to lift a bike up.

[Bergsteiger]

Sprockethead-The Thule hitch rack that I have holds 4 bikes, (in theory). It is a pain taking them on and off, it scratches my frame, gets caught on cables and really can AT BEST hold 3 bikes. The rubber straps are flopping all over the place and its just a messy process. It seems like the roof is just a cleaner way of doing things. Yes, it will be tall but I am willing to give it a shot.

[Pain Freak]

Sounds like an expensive "shot", I'm looking to put in a hitch and run off the back even though I already have a place for bikes on the roof. I've seen gas mileage reduced as much as 50% on small cars carrying bikes overhead.

[Edog]

I had a roof mount on my SUV & it was a pain in the arse! I had to climb up on the rear wheel with the bike in one hand to get it up there, plus mine was a fork mount so every time you drop the bike on the roof it scratched up the paint, I would have killed for a hitch mount! I guess you could carry a step in the truck.

[Sprockethead]

My friend carries a small step ladder to mount his bike on the roof.

Bergsteiger, which model Thule rack do you have now? Is it one of those hitch racks with two bars that mount under the top tube? Those are kinda a pain in the ass racks. I've got a Hollywood Team Rider which has trays for the wheels and the only mounting point is a clamp for the seat post. Nothing touches the frame and it's very easy to rack the bikes up.

I'd love to get a Thule T2 rack, they look like the way to go. REI has a coupon on 20% any single item. It might be worth checking out. But if you're set on getting roof racks, more power to ya. I priced out a roof rack with trays and it came out close to $600 for our Mini. Ouch, I'll stay with a hitch rack.

[Bergsteiger]

Sprockethead-Not sure which exact Thule model but yes, its like what you described. Not a good design. I checked out the Thule T2, it looks much better, pricey but great reviews as well. I think I will check it out, REI maybe Chicks.

[0gravity]

Yeah, I wouldn't give up so fast on a hitch rack, especially if you have a tallish vehicle. If I didn't have a super short garage, I'd have one too on my 4runner. I really like the Thule T2, although the locking mechanism isn't very robust unless you have bikes with thru-axles. Depending on what car you have, and what roof-rack you get, you could spend just as much, if not more, for a roof rack set up.

[Gabriel Zink]

I saw bigmouth and nice rack and I was interested, false alarm, I will search other websites for these topics.

[Schecky]

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says... "Hey why the long face?"