Clarity - Any ideas on a bike Rack?

Thanks for posting those pictures! I was just in REI yesterday to buy that rack and they suggested I not.

 

because?

 

They were concerned about the spoiler getting beat up.

 

Yes because I have quite a bit of Yakima roof gear from multiple cars. I decided against it due to the aluminum roof. Just seems a little too flimsy to chance putting racks and gear up there.

 

Keep in mind that a bicycle or storage box on a roof rack will create much more drag at highway speed than one on a rear-mounted carrier, so carrying something on a roof rack will have a noticeable negative impact on electric range -- and gas-powered MPG -- at speeds above 35 MPH. Whether or not that is important is of course anyone's individual choice, and if it's a short trip it's probably not important. But it's something you should be aware of.

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found a roof rack but it ain't check even for a Yakima:
https://www.etrailer.com/roof-2018_Honda_Clarity.htm

 

I don’t know anything about bike racks other than hitch mount ones I have used but I can tell you with certainty that the roof and rear quarter panels are NOT aluminum. The hood, doors, front quarter panels, and rear trunk cover are. Just try a magnet if you don’t believe me.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I assumed with how easily the roof panels deflected, they were aluminum. They must just be thin spec steel. Either way, too flimsy for a roof rack. I'll go with the hitch when it's available. That way I can also pull a small trailer with my kayaks.

 

It is indeed so flimsy I wouldn’t put anything up there either. Honda did everything in its power to reduce weight and wind resistance so we could get an affordable PHEV with 47 m EPA EV range.
(Well except for reversing the plastic “aerodynamic” wheel covers!)

 

because?

A lot of misinformation here on the roof and roof rack.
As you pointed out in another thread the roof is steel, not aluminium and someone provided a diagram of the body parts and composition.

etrailer has a Yakima roof rack for the 2018 Clarity and while I have not owned a Yakima or thule roof rack I have looked at the install and I can only see them resting and attaching and resting on the door frames. An installer or person that owns one of these would know better.

Clarity wouldn't be the only car with a bendy roof, tons of cars have those and those cars also have roof racks. No sedan roof skin is built to be a platform for things to stand on. The car frame on the other hand, that is strong enough to be a support.

Is Yakima about to sell a roof rack that by design will damage your roof? That doesn't sound right.
The only thing holding most people back on that rack is the price. $480 U.S.! ouch!

 

Because I stood on the door sill, pushed on the roof close to the door, and was able to deflect the sheet metal more than I would trust (YMMV). Granted not a very scientific test.

In engineering parlance, if it works, it works. I have a Yakima ski rack and can vouch for the quality of their products. So if you say they have one that will work work on the Clarity, I have to believe it.
I surmise, and again I’m not an engineer, that they must have chosen the contact points to coincide with the structural tie in points mentioned in another post and in that diagram.

Is the Yakima rack a tie on or a bolt on? The part that attaches to the car, nor the bike. I’m only familar with their products that fit existing vehicle racks.
Do you have a part # I can price shop with? My son may want one when he borrows the car.

 

Maybe someone can start a GoFundMe page and we can all contribute a little to pay for the nearest member to take their Clarity to that Arizona U-Haul place to have a custom hitch made for free so we can then order what they design. The other hitch makers may have a similar deal.

 

I'm using an older Thule Speedway trunk mount rack and it works fine. It's well away from the spoiler lip. I put the lower leg pads against the license plate. This will carry three bikes but I've only had two on it so far. I'm seeing these on e-Bay for $60. It was around $150.00 new.

 

Go with seasucker. I plan to buy one soon.
https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/talon

 

The roof rack doesn't actually sit on the roof......does your Yakima sit on the roof?
I did not say it worked, I said Yakima sells a roof rack for it.
You can find it by googling "Yakima clarity roof rack"

 

I hate those things.....aside from worrying about the damage to the paint over a long trip (200Miles?) It makes the trunk a pain to access....but to each their own on that. It is certainly the least expensive option.

 

No paint damage that I can see, and my car is black. True about trunk access. Although with the bike off the rack, you can open the trunk without removing the rack. The rack only takes a couple of minutes to install and remove. It's not very elegant, what with the straps and all, but it gets the job done and most of the time it's hanging in the garage. Many people leave the roof-mounted ones on all the time, and those really kill your fuel economy.

Another solution is no rack at all: remove the wheels and stick your bike in the trunk!

 

Just saying I was down that road before and experienced some buff issues with a Saris Bones after a very long trip. Different design and all but mistakes happen.

 

With the pedals oriented correctly, I can insert my 54cm Trek road bike into the trunk, rear wheel first and front wheel removed. Seat and rear wheel combine to make the pass-through a tight fit but successful. A bit jealous of the new Insight's passthrough; this is what the Clarity should have had.

 

Totally off-topic, but if anyone needs a Thule bike rack that previously mounted on the cross bars of my Saab 9-5 Wagon, just let me know