Bikes on a Hitch: Damage?

[acrylucs]

I'm thinking of getting Thule's T2 bike hitch system. I'm torn over that or two Sidearms that go on the roof. I already have a roof system. i'm worried that the hitch is pushing the limit of the tongue weight on the car and risk damaging the chassis...has anyone loaded the hitch on this car thats fixed on (ie not a ball hitch)?

I'm really torn cause i love my sunroof (hitch 1, roof 0), i hate to lift my 40lb freeride bike onto my roof after a full day of riding (hitch 2, roof 0) and the roof rack will hurt my mileage (hitch 3, roof 0), but then the hitch setup is about $160 more (hitch 3, roof1), i can use my trunk rack to fit more bikes if i'm carpooling (hitch 3, roof 2) and i get easy access to my trunk (hitch 3, roof 3).

Any insights? mtbr.com has been no help

[TRXR4KDS]

Never had any probs with just 2 bikes.

[mistamatrix]

Ohhhhh! So that's how that works! All this time I thought you were SOL in terms of getting the hatch open if you opted for a bike rack via hitch. It angles out. Genius.

<-duh.

[mikes_matrix]

I have the same hitch / bike rck as above..........works great

I think trxr4kds 2005 and mine were seperated at birth .....same cosmo same hitch .....now you need the teins.............

I know Im sitting in front of your pro kit

MIKE

[TRXR4KDS]

Originally Posted by mikes_matrix

I have the same hitch / bike rck as above..........works great

I think trxr4kds 2005 and mine were seperated at birth .....same cosmo same hitch .....now you need the teins.............

I know Im sitting in front of your pro kit

MIKE

I think I got mine first though (July 30, 2004), I was just a little slow at starting the mods. And I'll never get to where you are Mike, but with your help, I'll get where I want. That's what's most important. Back to the hitch, bike rack is awesome. And without swinging it down, you can still open the hatch window for small stuff like bike helmet, etc,

[TRXR4KDS]

Originally Posted by mikes_matrix

I have the same hitch / bike rck as above..........works great

I think trxr4kds 2005 and mine were seperated at birth .....same cosmo same hitch .....now you need the teins.............

I know Im sitting in front of your pro kit

MIKE

I think I got mine first though (July 30, 2004), I was just a little slow at starting the mods. And I'll never get to where you are Mike, but with your help, I'll get where I want. That's what's most important. July 13th will be the next mod for me, the pro kits. Then wheels, strays and STB before I call it quits.

Back to the hitch, bike rack is awesome. And without swinging it down, you can still open the hatch window for small stuff like bike helmet, etc,

[acrylucs]

I'm actually going to go for the Thule T2, which is a tray system since my bikes are Downhill bikes, they have odd frame designs. It has that great fold down feature to get the hatch too. But Matrix's are Class I hitches and can't fit the 2" version which can take an adapter for a third bike...which i wanted. I was thinking of cheating a bit, and pushing it, but decided the car is worth more. Anyhow, anyone tried the T2 on a matrix?

[joel_musicman]

Regarding the tongue weight issue, don't worry. A rack and a few bikes won't exceed 100 lbs or so. Tongue weight for the Matrix should be around 200 or so.

[acrylucs]

well i thought i'd share my Thule T2 experience. I love it. convenient, quick, stable and sturdy. No regrets!





gotta LOVE the tilt function!