About 90% of my audience is old enough to drive, and the rest of you will be driving soon enough. Even though I’d like less cars on the road, they’re a big part of living in America—besides, many of us use our cars to get to the mountain bike trails.

If you just started cycling, chances are you got caught off guard the first time you needed to transport your bike somewhere. In an SUV or hatchback you can usually fit a bike easy enough, but if you can’t fold the seats down you’re stuck taking at least one wheel off. I need to take off both wheels to fit my hardtail in the back of my Mazda, that is if I leave the seats up.

If you’re doing this, watch out for the dreaded pedal to the rear window, which could ruin your week big time.

It’s no wonder that the vast majority of cyclists choose to transport their bikes with a rack. I moved down to Florida in a mini Cooper with a Saris Bones rack on it. This is one of the most common trunk racks, and it’s arguably the best one on the market, but it’s still a trunk rack. At the end of the day the only benefits of a trunk rack are cost and portability. They block the whole trunk, they’re a pain to take on and off, they mess with your cables, and they don’t work on a good number of bikes.

If you don’t mind spending a little money, you can get something way more convenient and secure.

Roof racks can fit on pretty much any car, and hitch racks require a receiver, which can be installed on pretty much any car. I prefer upright hitch racks though because they keep the bike close to the ground and don’t make contact with any part of the car’s body. For mountain bikers especially, I think they’re a great option.

The day I picked up my Mazda, I had a 2 inch receiver installed for about $175. I don’t plan on towing anything, so it's fine for bike racks.

There are tons of great hitch racks out there, but I’ll show you my Saris Superclamp, which I really like, and never remove from my car, ever. This goes against best practices, but I like being able to load my bike up on a moment’s notice.

The Superclamp holds your bike in place using only the wheels, so at no point does it make contact with the frame or cables. It even has these cable locks, which aren’t quite sufficient for overnight parking, but do secure the bike during pitstops. The lock also serves other functions. In well under 30 seconds, I can load up two bikes and drive off. No scratches on my car, no setup time, and no pesky straps.

I still haven’t tried putting the swing bike on it, but as far as I know it can carry anything but a recumbent.

As someone who’s owned roof racks, trunk racks, and hitch racks, I can tell you my personal favorite is the hitch rack, and in the mountain biking community I’m not alone. Sure, roof racks are nice, and they’re especially great for leased cars since they don’t require a hitch, but you usually can’t take them through a carwash. Hitch racks are bolted directly to your car’s chassis, and are the most secure by any measurement. They don't pose a risk to your paint, and they're by far the easiest to use. As long as you don’t get rear ended, your bike will be safe and sound.

So whether you're throwing your bike in the trunk, using a hitch rack, or sticking those crazy suction cup things on your window, it's fair to say that you're putting your car to good use.

Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.

The Superclamp: http://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-2
Support your local bike shop: http://www.saris.com/dealer-locator