Gas Mileage And Roof Top Bike Racks

Yakima frontloader rooftop bike rack.

Gas mileage and roof top bike racks.

Some drivers may see their gas mileage drop by as much as 20 percent depending on vehicle type and type of roof rack. The empty roof rack had a nearly 2 percent impact on fuel economy which translates to a little more than three quarters of a gallon of gas. As we found when we tested roof and hitch mounted bike racks the suv s mileage on the other hand showed less of a drop. The gear with the most impact were the dual mountain bikes strapped to the roof which impacted the fuel economy by 31 percent or 9 mpg.

With the rack and two bikes that number dropped to 27 miles per hour. Each one is different in some way so make sure you get the best option for your specific requirements. They found that in 2015 roof racks nationwide were responsible for 0 8 percent of light duty vehicle fuel consumption or 100 million gallons of gasoline. Which roof bike rack is best for my fat tire bicycle.

Mileage went from 41 mpg at 65 mph to 40 mpg. With no rack the gas mileage was 42 miles per gallon. However if you want to buy from other companies consider those that have a provision for tandem adapters that can. A close second was the kayak with 28 percent or a.

In fact it significantly cuts your highway mileage all the time it s installed whether there s weight up there or not. Adding any rooftop carrier cargo box or ski rack doesn t come free. It can accommodate bikes of up to 5 tires securely and makes no frame contact. They compared the gas mileage of a new honda accord with no rack an empty rack an empty rack and wind deflector and a rooftop rack with two bikes and deflector.

So if your car usually gets 30 mpg on the highway and you add a full roof rack your highway gas mileage will drop to 24 27 mpg. To make life as easy as possible for you we ve listed and reviewed what we believe to be the ten best value for money roof mounted bike racks below. If you must travel with a loaded roof rack try to choose the most aerodynamic roof rack you can. Most people that s in the back of their head.

A rockymounts tomahawk upright mount rack is the best to use if you own a fat tire bicycle. The 10 best roof mounted bike racks. The roof rack mpg experiment he compared the gas mileage of his car at 54 7 mph 88 kph with 1 no roof racks 2 an empty roof rack and 3 a mountain bike on the roof rack. He found that compared to the baseline of no roof rack the empty rack reduced his mpg by 12 7 and the roof rack with a bicycle reduced it by a whooping 27 3.