If you are a design aware individual that’s in to cycling you may well be drawn in by the stylish good looks of the the ‘Bones’ Saris bike rack. This bike rack looks like no other bike rack and is therefore instantly recognisable, but is it a case of form over function or does this Saris bike rack perform as well as it looks?
Materials
Most rear mounted bike carriers for cars follow the same format of having a fabricated tubular steel frame or some aluminium extrusions hinged by some glass reinforced plastic mouldings but the saris bones bike rack deviates away from this norm. Unlike thule bike racks the Bones bike rack is made completely from plastic and not just any plastic – it’s made from recycled plastic so it’s environmental credentials are as good as looks.
Durability
Now you may be wary of a cycle carrier that is made from plastic – you may associate plastic with being week and not up to much, but this a myth than needs dispelling as there are now many plastics and plastic composites that are as strong if not stronger than metal. A massive advantage of plastic is that it will not rust or corrode in any way, meaning that your new bike rack will remain in the same condition you bought it in for years to come. As a testament to the bones bike rack Saris offer a limited lifetime warantee – a rarity.
Function
So far, so good, it looks good, is environmentally friendly and comes with a limited lifetime warantee, but how well does it work, after all, the design of products isn’t just about how they look it’s about how people interact with the product. Well, user reviews have been glowing. Unlike some bicycle carriers for cars this bike rack takes in to account that many cars have spoiler and the high arch design insures that it will fit over these. All of the bones racks including the Saris bones 3 bike rack are trunk mounted and like all trunk mounted bike racks for cars this means easy loading and unloading of bicycles. The arc based design not only ensures that it will fit most vehicles it also means that the bikes are staggered on the rack and this makes it very difficult for the bike to rub together and damage each other. Ratcheted rubber straps secure the bike to the rack and thick rubber feet and vinyl coated hooks fasten the rack to the vehicle. Like many bike racks for SUVs and other vehicles wherever there is any point of contact with either your bike or your vehicle there is rubber ensuring that nothing gets damaged.
The Conclusion
The Saris bike racks are perhaps the most revolutionary products to hit the car rack market and competitors like Yakima bike racks should be worried. This rack is going to have massive appeal to the design aware, environmentally conscious consumers that are growing in numbers. It functions as well as it looks and has green credentials to match.
