In the olden days you could transport just about any mountain bike with a simple trunk- or roof-mounted rack system but today things are a bit more complicated. Most full suspension bikes don’t have enough front triangle clearance for a trunk mount and newer mountain bike forks with through axles aren’t compatible with fork-mounted racks either. Fortunately Yakima is on top of things and offers solutions to all your mountain bike transportation situations.

Full Suspension Bikes With Tight Triangles

Long travel rigs and even smaller FS cross country frames (like mudhunny’s) won’t fit most trunk mounted systems which is a bummer since these are often the most economical solution. Fortunately Yakima offers several alternatives including:

• Holdup and Stickup hitch mounted transport racks. These racks are great because they’re low to the ground (no heavy lifting above your head required) and you don’t have to remove your wheels to strap on the bikes. If your vehicle doesn’t already have a hitch receiver you’ll need to get one installed separately which can be a little pricey but worth the effort (jet skis!).
• Almost all the Yakima top-mount racks should work for your FS bike, though there may be rare cases where the Highroller, Raptor, or Frontloader might not work with your downtube. All the other top-mount racks allow you to attach your front fork without touching the bike frame. I’ve used the Steelhead top tray (similar to Copperhead) for years and recently added the Universal Forklift to my car and both work great.
• Truckbed racks: These racks hold onto your front fork so there are no compatibility issues.

Through Axle Forks (15mm, 20mm, etc.)

Mountain bikes with through axles pose a problem for traditional top-mount racks because it’s not possible to drop the fork into the mounts. Also if you have a fork with a through-axle you know what a pain it is to remove the wheel every time you get in the car so keep that in mind when choosing a transport system:

• Once again, the Holdup and Stickup hitch racks have you covered. If you don’t already own a rack, buy one of these because they’re the most compatible with modern mountain bikes. And heck, even if your bike isn’t fancy you probably have friends with fancy bikes who will want a ride!
• Highroller, Raptor, and Frontloader top-mount racks allow you to leave your bike’s wheels in place so you don’t need to worry about compatibility with through-axle forks.
• Fork Adapters. If you’re like me and have already invested in a top mount tray system from Yakima, you can spend just a few bucks on an appropriate fork adapter (15mm, 20mm, 24mm, and 25mm sizes available). Admittedly these things are cumbersome to use but they hold tight and they’re a whole lot cheaper (less than $40) than buying a whole new rack or trays.

Disc Brakes

While certain top-mount racks from Yakima (like the Forklift) explicitly state they are “disc brake compatible,” in our experience most trays will accommodate bikes with discs. Yakima hitch and trunk mounted racks are also thoroughly disc compatible.

Mountain bikes have changed a lot in the years since we bought our first Yakima roof rack but the company continues to come up with innovative transportation solutions. Choose the best rack for you based on your future bike (or your friends’ bikes) and you can’t go wrong!

Thanks to the folks at Yakima for providing the Fork Adapter for review.

I’ve been using Yakima car roof racks for at least 10 years now – in fact, THE SAME two Yakima racks and 4 bike trays to be precise. Both the racks and trays have held up pretty well despite a few incidents involving low clearance structures and more than a hundred thousand driving miles which is a real testament to the quality of Yakima products.

Anyway, I recently purchased a used Subaru (also my first car purchase in 10 years) and needed a way to throw the bikes on top. The car came with a factory roof rack with two aero crossbars and after initially considering new Q-clips (think that’s what they’re called) I remembered 2leftfeet’s post about the Yakima Raptor Aero, a bike tray that attaches to factory roof racks. Sure enough, Yakima now makes several bike trays that attach to factory roof racks and I ended up with the new Universal Forklift for my ride.

The Universal Forklift is super quick to install and requires zero tools. You could probably get away with skipping the instructions but I’d recommend at least glancing to make sure you’re on track Initially my tray was a bit wobbly on the highway but after adjusting the clamps to a smaller notch I was able to get a rock solid fit. To be honest some of the wobble was probably due to the aero bars themselves and if I were hauling two heavy bikes I’d probably face one forward, one backward to balance the load. Some online reviewers complain about wobble and the Universal Forklift may have problems with specific vehicle rack systems – just be sure to buy yours from a store with a decent return policy just in case the tray doesn’t work out for your specific factory rack situation.

Bikes with fat forks and disc brakes are no problem for the oversized fork clamp on the Universal Forklift. The rear tire strap is much improved and easily slides along the length of the tray to accommodate bikes of various lengths. The strap itself is long enough to wrap around even the fattest tires.

In terms of looks and quality of construction, Yakima has really refined things a lot since I bought my first system 10 years ago. Everything about the Universal Forklift is aerodynamic, buttoned down, and smooth – from the fork clamp action to the plastic pieces that cover every nut and bolt. My old Yakima lock cores fit the new tray just fine, though a few online reviewers claim to be worried about the security of the Universal Forklift. I have two things to say about this: 1. The fork clamp appears no more secure/insecure than the classic Steelhead (the best selling fork mount on the market) and 2. I wouldn’t recommend counting on ANY car roof rack for truly secure bike storage. Integrated rack locks are great for securing your bike in the Burger King parking lot after a ride but if you’re planning to lock your bike to your car overnight I suggest a better solution (like putting the bike INSIDE the car or your hotel room).

Overall the new Yakima Universal Forklift is a great solution at a reasonable price for anyone who already has a factory roof rack on their car. Clearly people have been wanting a factory-compatible bike tray like this for a while now – just last month REI.com was sold out and I had to go to 2 area stores just to find one in stock. Why didn’t Yakima or anyone else think of this sooner!?

Finally–an easy and inexpensive solution to mounting a single bike on a car or truck with a factory roof rack. The Yakima Raptor Aero comes with mounts for small and large factory crossbars, Yakima round bars and Thule rectangular bars. The multiple mounting solutions makes this rack tray an easy commitment – it will mount to most crossbars if you change vehicles or rack systems.

The tray removes from the cross bars with three easy-to-use thumb screws — that’s it. To me, this is both the best and the worst part of the tray. I can easily remove it from the rack of my Subaru Outback, so I can carry our canoe up top; but if I park in a bad part of town it is not locked to the car and can be easily removed. The initial installation took about 45 minutes – taking extra time to play with where the jaw clamped on a few different bikes. The factory crossbars on the Outback are on the slim side – I used the smallest Aero shaped clamps that came with the rack. As a side note, the crossbars on an Outback are arched, rather than flat, so if you set the tray close to one side the bike leans outboard about 5 degrees. You can correct the lean by moving the rear crossbar clamp left or right until the lean is gone – Cool.

Securing a bike in the tray is a two-handed affair: you hold the bike in place with one hand (usually by the chainstay or crank arm for me) and attach the jaw to the bike frame with the other. The jaw opens very wide and has no trouble getting around the oversized and ovalized down tube on my full suspension bike. Skinny tubed steel road bikes fit well too, but the wheel straps are not as tight on the smaller tires. The jaws on the rack are a soft rubber that won’t damage the finish of your bike, but if you put it up there with a muddy downtube the grit will slowly sand away the paint in that area. A sturdy ratcheting strap secures each wheel. Underway with a bike mounted there is some added wind noise – but honestly, an Outback already has so much wind noise I barely noticed. Bikes ride very securely even at 80mph (or so I’m told ).

Lock Cores to lock the bike in the tray are available, but since the tray is not locked to the car I opted for a cable lock strung through both wheels, the frame and a crossbar.

The Yakima Raptor Aero is an ideal add-on tray to an existing roof rack system or a simple way to carry a bike on a car or SUV with a factory rack. It is easy to mount and remove, making it perfect for vehicles that serve multiple functions for busy families. The tray construction is typical of Yakima quality – stainless hardware and well-finished aluminum parts throughout.

Suggested retail price for the Yakima Raptor Aero rack is $139.95 – on sale now at JensonUSA for $119.