Saris Bones bike racks

Well, there are roof racks (costly, car-specific and usually limited to two bikes), towball racks (no-can-do with a van attached), A-frame racks (the bikes stay with the van at the park), back-of-van racks (out of sight, extra length), and then there are Saris Bones racks.

The two Saris racks I tested offer the most flexible bike-transportation solution around. They're non-permanent, and will fit to the back of virtually any vehicle - including hatches - even with a spoiler. The bikes sit higher up than on a standard A-frame rack, so they clear the drawbar on a tow rig, and the two carrying arms can be angled up for even greater clearance.

Both racks take a matter of minutes to unfold, attach and load. Attaching the Bones 3 Bike rack involves placing two rubber feet on the bumper and two on the top surface of the boot. Three sets of two straps each hook into the windscreen edge, bumper edge, and either side of the boot. The bike-carrying arms are then angled close to horizontal, and are locked in place. With the exception of the central aluminium extrusion, on which the arms are mounted, the rack is high-strength, injection-moulded plastic.

Mounting the Bones RS is even simpler. It's a matter of opening the boot and hooking it on the rack at the bottom, closing the boot, ensuring the four feet are positioned correctly on the top and rear surfaces of the boot or below the windscreen on a hatch, extending and hooking the straps to the top of the boot, and ratcheting the straps taut. Then, position the carrying arms and fix them in place, and you're ready to go. Each ratchet locks with a key and the straps are steel-reinforced, so no-one can run off with the rack while you're out riding.

On the Bones 3 Bike and Bones RS, the top tube of each bike attaches with two built-in straps, with one ‘anti-sway' strap on the seat tube. We tried out both racks with two bikes on each and found that one or two ocky straps through the front wheels and frames, and around the rack, kept everything super stable.

At $329 for the Bones 3 Bike and $449 for the Bones RS, these bike racks are far from cheap. Lifetime warranties do sweeten the deal, though the real clincher is that they're solidly built and they work really well. Buy one of these and it's likely to fit (and potentially outlast) a succession of tow vehicles, and you can use it with or without your van. It looks good, too.

For more information on Saris racks and to view a how-to video for the Bones 3 Bike, visit www.saris.com

Saris racks are distributed by Trek Bicycles Australia. For information about your nearest dealer, call (02) 8832 6900 or visit www.tba.com.au