sumu

I'm after a cycle rack to fit my '05 E61. I don't have a towbar so it would either have to be tailgate fitted type or a roof-mount. Does anybody have either one of the BMW racks or a third party one? If so I'd be interested in opinions. Thanks!

new-kid

I have a cheap tailgate mounted bike rack - but only use this on the wife's car so it doesn't scratch the BM's paintwork ;-) (but seriously, the BMW paint seems much softer and more easily damaged than Honda paint)

I have roofbars already so put the bikes on these if using the BMW. Saves wear and tear, but if going on motorway does significantly impact fuel consumption at speed. Thule bars and cheapo Halfords bike carriers

Happy cycling

rubencr

I have fitted a set of Thule load bars to the factory rails using the sort-of aero rail clamps (sorry, I don't know the model number of the clamps, but they are the ones that are slightly sculpted and look like they "droop" to the outside). This setup provides the square load bars that you can fit any Thule accessory upon. I used my fork mount bike carriers and a board/ski carrier. The fork mounts are more secure than the other styles and bring the bike closer to the roof.

Thule also offers a more sleek-looking system that includes an aero profile load bar. Be careful before choosing this system as is it much more difficult to swap accessories on this design.

The rack does create a fair amount of wind noise, even without bikes aboard. I need to experiment with some of the wind deflectors to see if they can reduce the turbulence created by the rack.

1600

thule is the way to go.