[psuinsight]

I tried to mount a bike rack on my Insight but I have some concern about possible damage to my car. It is a rear mount that carries the bikes extended behind the car. The mount has two bars with foam padding. The top bar rests on the rear window and the bottom bar rests on the rear bumper just beneath the hatch latch. With two bikes on the rack I could see the plastic bumper cover flexing when I shook the rack to check on stability.
Do I run the risk of damaging my bumber or the rear window by using a bike rack? I did not want to drive the car with the rack mounted until I checked in with this forum for some advise.
I am thinking of adding a long foam piece to the bottom bar in order to spread the weight over the entire bumper, or should I just forego the whole idea?

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Different bike rack solutions have been extensively discussed on the forum.

Have you searched :?:

 

[turnersn]

Mounting a bike rack

I've just recently acquired the Hunch Rack by Delta (http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=34). I was lucky enough to get it new on Ebay for under $100 shipped. I do triathlons and didn't want to completely tear down my bike for tranport. This bike rack is great. It has a 'bumper option' that I got as well, but seeing how the pressure on the bumper flexed when pressure was put on it made me clearly decide to not use that option and only mount the rack on the rear glass. Since I only use it for training/races, I don't keep the rack on the car all the time, so the loss of gas mileage is periodic. The rack can mount 2 bikes, however I am concerned (as others have mentioned) to the weight on the glass. Between the rack and my bike, it's around 30 - 35lbs. For short durations I believe this to be the best viable option. I'd be happy to provide photos if anyone is interested ([email protected]).