Great racks....strong and durable.
I have used for skis, boards, and bikes... beefy…
Submitted by:
paddler232439
on 2/8/2008
Great racks....strong and durable.
I have used for skis, boards, and bikes... beefy and much stronger than all the competition. I even made a carrying platform and hauled full coolers and camping gear on the roof of my Crown Vic....have had at least 5 years, they do whistle, the faring works for awhile but got out of shape... overall very happy
I love my Saris rack. If you…
Submitted by:
paddler231758
on 8/24/2006
I love my Saris rack. If you will buy the fairing there will be very little sound.
I've been using a Saris rack…
Submitted by:
paddler230366
on 7/13/2005
I've been using a Saris rack for the past four years with no issues whatsoever (aside from the whistling mentioned in other reviews). In the winter, it's used to load up the skis in a Thule Box... Come summer, it's the Saris yak saddles and the box as well for extended family camping and exploring trips. Takes all of 7 minutes to get the bars and the box secured on the car (Timed!!!). Rock solid and looks a hell of a lot better then those square thingy bars which are more expensive! Also, the Saris service is excellent... Lost the keys, had a new set in four days. Needed some bolts to slide on the Thule box... another 4 days. I unconditionally recommend this rack to anyone...
The initial purchase of Saris…
The initial purchase of Saris racks can be a bit unnerving, as everyone else seems to have purchased Thule or Yakima, and chances are your local outfitter will not carry them. Saris seems to distribute their products through bike shops, and even these shops will likely not have anything to show you other than a catalog.
Once you have made the leap of faith to purchase Saris, things get a whole lot better. I purchased mine because neither Thule nor Yakima made a fit kit for my car. I used RackAttack.com for my purchase because they offered good pricing and a return policy (just in case).
These racks took almost no effort to assemble or place on the car. In fact, I take the racks off when I'm not using them, as they take practically no time to take them on or off. There's no frustration with this product, it just works.
I bought mine with a set of Malone Autoloaders. While I am very happy with these (and will review under Malone), the Saris saddles are worth looking at. The Saris fittings on the saddles are specifically made for the racks. My Malone's fitting (being more of a universal design) requires an occasional tightening or they will shift a bit. It only takes a minute to do, but it's another thing to remember.
I give this product a 9 instead of a 10 because the product needs better distribution to paddling resellers and a broader offering of paddling saddles. It's not just a bike rack.
Have had the SARIS racks on…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 9/11/2003
Have had the SARIS racks on my civic for 3 years now. Yes they are extremely easy to put on and take off. The integrated locking system works fine on my car. The units also look much sleeker than either Yakima's or Thule's, and the crossbars are bombproof. Set up with 2 fork mount bike carriers and kayak saddles now, I've had ladders, lumber , piping and various other accoutrements lashed to this thing with no worries in the past. Some whistling at speeds over 40 mph but a little electrical tape has taken care of most of that.
I like the capability of mounting a variety of accessories using standard stainless carriage bolts that I can pick up in a hardware store. Have easily adapted Yakima's LANDSHARK saddles for use in this manner (yes I have a plastic boat). The weather has taken it's toll over the years though and the plastic and exposed metal (on the fork mount skewers) has begun to lose it's finish or rust. So far nothing that a little sandpaper or 303 shouldn't be able to handle.
The racks are a solid 10, but…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 3/17/2003
The racks are a solid 10, but the integrated locks make the system vulnerable to theft so I had to give the overall system a lower rating. The racks perform as advertised. They are strong and fairly priced. Like others said before, installing them is a breeze. For the money, these racks can't be beat.
Unfortunately, here is the negative:
On some cars the locking mechanism may be ineffective. The brackets that hold the rack to the car attach to the base of the rack with a bolt that is somewhat exposed when mounted on my vehicle. A thief with a wrench could easily just unscrew the bolt that attaches the brackets to the base of the rack, effectively bypassing the locks, and lift the rack and it's contents right off the vehicle. I emailed Saris regarding my concern and I received a prompt reply. Unfortunately their answer was as follows: "On some cars the slider, where the bolt attaches, can not slide up far enough to hide the bolt....I have found that most thieves are lazy and don't carry the tools needed to undo the bolt..." That answer just didn't seem acceptable to me!
However, don't let this negative turn you off from these racks. THE RACKS ARE GREAT AND I KEPT MINE! I just accepted the limitations of that facet of the product. Check a local retailer to see how they fit on your vehicle. The problem only applies to certain vehicles.
Even though I wish I had known about the bolt issue prior to purchasing, I would still buy the Saris racks with what I know know! They are great racks!
Every once in while (but not…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 8/4/2001
Every once in while (but not nearly often enough) You stumble across a product that is clearly head and shoulders above the competition. It's even rarer when that product is cheaper than the competion as well. The Saris roof rack is such a product. It deserves an 11 on a scale of 10.
The main reason I purchased…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 6/19/2001
The main reason I purchased the Saris roof racks is that they are actually easy to get on and off your car. I am able to attach the racks to my car in just a few minutes--really. My rear rack takes just a minute, because it just clamps above the rear window, while the front takes a couple of minutes because I have to open both car doors and ease the clip over the weatherstrip. Then just turn the dial on one side or the other and the bar clamps down. Very nice. I can get them off even faster.
The watersports cradles hold a kayak nicely, and you can snugly hold a plastic yak without crushing it.
Negatives? The rack does whistle--at between 25 and 45 mph in my car--no matter what I do. This concerned me at first, because I planned to leave the basic racks on the car (they are better looking than most) and add the cradles when I was ready to go paddling. But once I found that it is actually just as easy to leave the cradles attached to the bars and remove the whole deal, who cares?
BTW, you can easily find the utility straps that go with the cradles for less than the Saris ones ($25 !!). Worth checking out.
I've got the Saris roof rack…
Submitted by:
paddler228637
on 6/27/2000
I've got the Saris roof rack load bars. These are triple channel aluminum load bars and are by far the strongest on the market. They come pre-assembled and just the clips need to be installed ( the clip type is determined by what vechile you have). Once you install your clips, mounting the bars to a vechile is a matter of minutes. The load bar feet have rubber pads to avoid scratching. The load bars automaticalaly center themselves (no need for rulers, guessing or choice words). The load bars are tightened by simply turning the knob on either end of the load bar. These knobs can then be locked to prevent loosening or theft. Accessories (gunnel pads, watersport saddles, bike racks, ski carriers, etc) are simply slid into the slot on top of the load bars. The accessories are then tightened in place by simply turning oversize, easy-on-the-fingers, thumbscrews. I have transported a 12', 100+ pound duck skiff on the gunnel brackets, strapped down with nylon ratcheted straps, at the posted speed limits, for four hours with no problems. Recently I've added the watersport saddles to carry a kayak. The saddles gently "grab" the yak and hold it in place. The biggest advantage of the saddles is that they eliminate distoration or crushing of the yak when secured with the nylon ratcheting straps. If your looking for an easy-to-use, no worry, theft preventive, strong roof rack, be sure to check into Saris.
