mikepro-
Great write-ups! I had bookmarked them right after I got my g35 coupe (there arent any hitches currently made for the coupe though)...I got a volvo for the wife instead, which I will use to tow my moto trailer.

 

With all the roadies showing pictures I finally stopped riding long enough to take a snap of my setup yesterday:



I'm really happy with the Thelma; it's light, surprisingly stable and folds up when I don't need it without blocking the backup camera. The only knock is that it has no locking mechanism, so instead I just use a long cable, wrap it around and clip the other end to the lock/locking pin on the hitch.

 

Here are the pics i promised. I don't know how to insert them so i attached them.

My brother & I had just gotten home from a ride.

For all you Thelma owners (& future owners) when we built my rack we left all those crappy plastic parts off of the center. IMO it looks much better. See for yourself....

 

A few more...

 

The last Two!

 

do you have to trim your bumper like that to put on a hitch?

 

Hmmm... after seeing some of these racks that secure the tire, I'm thinking I should have gotten one of those. They look quite stable. With my rack that (where the top tube rests on two arms), the bike can sway back and forth. It can hit the car unless I bungee things around the min pole. Plus, if I have more than one bike, the can smack into each other.

I have some bad scratches on my road bike from this, took the paint down to the carbon fiber. Grrr!!! I ialso like how that rack doesn't touch anything except the wheels. Don't have to worry about damaging the frame, or pinching cables. Kind of pricey though.... Plus, it looks very "plasticy". Do you guys that have it feel it is pretty durable?

 

Both my Litespeed and Santa Cruz will fit in the trunk with both wheels off (55cm frame on the Lite, don't remember on the SC). Then some pipe insulation around the frame, a towel, and wheels on top.

P.S. Not that this has anything to do with carrying bikes, but just bought some Hed Alps from a friend for $350 - have always loved those wheels, they're fantastic

 

Cutting the bumper . yeah...it broke my heart to watch some guy cut the bumper on my 1 & 1/2 week old car . ha ha ha...But hey...it is just a car. I need to be able to carry my bike and stuffing it in the back seat every time is out of the question. so I just sucked it up and did what i had to do.

As for the quality of the Thelma rack. There is plastic on the rack, but the main wheel holder is metal on the inside...just plastic coated. There is metal where it counts and the rack has a lifetime warranty if anything does break. The rack is very stable when driving. The bikes move very little, if at all. the thing i love, is how nice the rack looks folded up. it looks as if the Thelma was made for the G! I actually don't drive with mine on the car without a bike. The rack is so light & compact i just stick it in my trunk.

 

I've been looking at the Thelma myself. I have one of the old Transport T2 hitch racks (Thule bought them out) that works great but is really heavy. My only issue is that the Thelma doesn't fold down with the bikes on so that you can open the trunk (most of the other, heavier racks do). On the WRX I would have to remove the bikes every time I needed to open the hatch. Is this a problem on the G or can you open the trunk?

 

you can open the trunk with two bikes on the rack

 

I second/third that the Thelma is really stable and strong. With the wide tires on my bike the rack virtually holds the bike in without the straps. I have to admit that the first few times out were a bit nerve-wracking but after I hit some really rough stuff in the mountains I'm sure it's not going anywhere now.

 

Hey did they have to cut your bumper also to install the hitch?
Thanks.

 

anyone ride trials that drives a G? i'm guessing there arent many

 

Bringing back the thread since I need some help picking up a bike rack for my 06 coupe. I'm just getting into biking and someone recommended the below rack. It's most likely going to be holding a 20lb specialized road bike.

http://www.saris.com/p-300-bones-2-bike.aspx

Anyone have experience with it? Thanks!