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4-1/2 stars (out of 5), Bicycling Magazine. A Saris Bones rear rack is one of the few things in life that's both hard working and drop-dead gorgeous. Created by renowned italian designer Fabio Pedrini. The Bones rack gives you more than a stylish alternative to roof racks. It's a stable, secure ride. A system that mounts quickly to almost any vehicle make and model, from sedans to mini-vans-even when there's a rear spoiler involved. And that let's you save your energy for the road or trail.
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Technical Details
- Injection -molded arms and legs are the strongest on the market- Built with 100% recyclable, non-rusting materials
- Ratcheting anti-sway straps secure and stabilize bikes.
- Arc-based design fits over most spoilers, and separates bikes on different levels
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By Felicity King (OH)
This is my first bike rack, so I have nothing to compare to. It took two other people and me about twenty minutes to figure out how to get it on the car, but now that I have it adjusted to where I need it, I only have to adjust the straps to take it on and off. I have a '99 Ford Escort sedan with spoiler and the legs that rest on the bumper are firm, which is what matters most, but the rear leg that rests on the trunk is not, due to the angle of my car, I guess - if I adjust it to where the rear leg on the trunk is flat on it and can't slip, then the two bumper legs slip off. So I have to make sure the straps are super tight to feel that my bike is secure. I've only driven about 20 miles with this rack so far, and only gone up to 40 mph, but I've had crazy hills up and down, slammed on brakes, bad bumps, and all is well. The instructons say do not use over 65 mph, which sort of scares me. But I guess if I ever take it on the highway I'll just watch my speed. One thing I don't like is that it'd be the easiest thing in the world for someone to just unstrap it and take it off my car, so I keep it in the trunk when I'm not using it.
By jim (Houston)
I looked at the Bones carrier largely because it was in every bike showroom I visited, and I figured that must mean something. While choosing a bike I tried out many, and thus visited a lot of bike stores. This carrier was ubiquitous, and it fit my car. I don't have a trailer hitch. And, I can't imagine standing the bike up on the top of the car -- I'm sure to drive under something low and wreck the bike.
I've not had a bicycle or this carrier long, so I can't speak for long term use, but so far this is a truly excellent piece of engineering design. I'm not talking about aesthetic appearance, which other reviewers often praise, I'm talking about function. It's solidly made. The adjustment method is elegant. On my sedan it attaches tightly to my car and holds the bike securely. No parts are made of steel so there's nothing to rust. It's an impressive piece of design work. You need to go to their website, and enter your car in the "Get the Perfect Fit" box to see if it fits yours.
With the arms folded down it fits close to the trunk, extending barely beyond the bumper - see my picture. And, though it says somewhere not to open the trunk with it attached, I do it with little difficulty. The feet tend to keep the trunk from closing without fussing with them just a little.
Someone mentioned being difficult to tighten the hold-down straps. I find holding the buckle release open while tugging on the strap works well and is easy to get them tight.
The niggles:
After you set it up and use it once it's simple and you won't forget, but the instructions that come with it are inadequate and it's something of a puzzle at first. The chap who says he had it installed and a bike mounted in 5 minutes out of the box is a miracle worker. You can find a setup video for the three bike version on the Saris website. Go to the Bones 3 page and click on the "Installation Video" link in the list on the right. The two versions are close enough to the same this helped me a lot, but the gal doing it slurs words occasionally. Oddly, on the Bones 2 page Saris doesn't link to this useful video, so you have to stumble on it or learn about it here.
Some bikes and some cars require special accessories you buy from Saris. They don't make this clear in the ads. For example, women's bikes may need a special bar (at this writing Amazon carries this bar). The bar is explained in the video mentioned above, but who looks for the video before buying the carrier, and other accessories are not in the video. For example, the bike peddle presses against my trunk. In this case they sell a special pad for the peddle to rest on, or you can use something like a piece of rubber to put between peddle and car, or rig something yourself. Right now I'm using a piece of that rubber-like friction shelf paper held on the peddle with a rubber band.
If they happen to fall in an awkward place on the bike, the plastic straps that hold the bike to the carrier can be fussy to get undone. One of mine's like this, but after a little practice it's okay.
This seems like a lot of negatives but they are all pretty minor and the carrier works great.
By Bike Rookie (Chicago)
Product is lightweight, folds up great, is ready to use. Holds two bicycles well. You will need to get some bunge cords to help keep pedals and tires secure from banging into your vehicle, but rack is great and delivers as promised. Only weak point are plastic adjustment screws, while mine work great, over tightening will strip them.
By K. Domingo (Stanford, CA)
In truth, I first gravitated toward this particular rack because it appeared less...ugly than it's competitors. And with a fairly high amazon ranking, felt it was a safe purchase. It arrived a week later, and I immediately took it out of the box and to my VW Passat - literally 5 minutes later it was securely attached to my trunk, with my mountain bike mounted firmly in place. (This was a major feat, considering it took me 45 minutes to incorrectly program my wireless odometer the week before)
I'd read that this rack can be a little shaky with two bikes mounted, but we have not have that problem at all (when mounting two women's mountain bikes).
This rack is perfect in every way - form and function!
By T. Whitaker (Two Harbors, MN United States)
I did a lot of research and agonizing over which rack to get. I've been very happy with this. I was a little nervous at first because of my brand new bike 'hanging out' in the open with concrete flying by at 60 miles per hour, but my anxiety has been relieved. I even called Saris after I got it to make sure I had it on correctly and had the right adjustments. I own a 2000 Honda Civic 4 door sedan and this fits just fine. When I first put it on, I had it strapped so tight that the top leg kept sliding up the trunk and then on to the back window as I was tightening the straps. After speaking to a Saris representative, I realized I had it on too tight. Once you get it on where the straps aren't loose, put your bike on and then re-check your straps. There will still be a some 'give' when you push down on the middle of the strap, but gently push the entire rack back and forth. If it doesn't slide and your entire car is moving, you can be certain that it's on tight enough. I was also nervous about it sitting on my back bumper because it's just plastic, but it has been just fine. The rack weighs all of 10 pounds and one bike is only about 35 pounds. When you consider the weight distribution between the 3 legs, it really isn't that heavy at all. A suggestion that was offered by Saris was to keep a small bottle of Windex and a clean towel in the trunk. Whenever you put the rack on, just spray the areas on your trunk and bumper where the feet rest and make sure there isn't any debris on the rubber feet and you won't have any scratches. Great suggestion and works like a charm. I take my rack off after each use and haven't had any problems with my paint. Once you get the arms in the right position, there are little stickers you can use on the tube itself to help you find the correct alignment the next time. I've gotten used to just leaving the legs locked in their correct positions and then throwing it in the trunk. I also keep a ripped T-shirt that I use to tie my front wheel to the frame of my bike. Otherwise, your front wheel might bang around and hit the bumper. Perhaps that wouldn't cause any problems, but I at least feel better. I've not had 2 bikes on the rack, so I can't say how that would work. There is a sway strap that wraps around the frame under your seat that works great as well. I forgot to strap it once and noticed my bike moving in the rear view mirror. After attaching the strap, I had no problems. One other observation....I've read comments from people who complained that the screws are made of plastic and that the holes were eventually stripped. I could see how that would be a problem for those who over tighten the screws to compensate for their fear the rack is going to collapse. The fix is to simply not over tighten them. I use just 2 fingers to tighten the screw until it firmly stops. I could probably put another couple of turns into the screw if I used my entire arm, but then I would eventually be one of those complaining about the 'cheap screws'. Replacing them with metal screws would allow you to over tighten them and perhaps even damage the aluminum tube. Perhaps that is the reason Saris made them with plastic. At any rate, I have been very happy with the rack and would highly recommend it.
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