The Roof Rack Chronicles

RocketMedic

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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So, I drive a little red Ford Focus. It’s great on gas, sporty and does everything an urban American needs it to do. With that being said, I also frequently move my bike, currently using a strap-on mount by Allen. This isn’t the best solution as the metal clips of the mount pull on the sheet metal, scratch paint and the whole assembly pulls on the hatchback to some extent. I’m looking to get into more outdoorsy things (kayak?) and have decided to put a roof rack on. Coming from a bare roof, I’ve got a lot of extras to buy.

Now, the semi-custom high-end Thule and Yakima rack systems are expensive, so I’m currently researching the Sporttrack SR series 1010, which is made by Thule as an off-brand. Any feedback on these, and would I be better off installing a hitch mount instead?
 
What year Focus? I have lots of random Thule stuff from years of different cars. Maybe we can reduce the number of new items to buy?

Year?
2-dr/4-dr?
 
First, get a pickup.

If you just can’t, I’ve used Yakima round bars and racks for years with great success.

They aren’t cheap, but often you get what you pay for.
 
gotbeerz001 said:
What year Focus? I have lots of random Thule stuff from years of different cars. Maybe we can reduce the number of new items to buy?

Year?
2-dr/4-dr?
Click to expand...
2015 focus hatchback. It’s the same body dimensions for all hatchbacks between 2012 and 2019 and the only Focus-specific thing I need from Thule is the mounting feet/towers, everything else is universal for all models

I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews on the Sporttrack mounts, mixed with good, and the cheaper ones visibly look YouTube crappy.
 
Update: trying the Sporttrack 1010s, they’re working well so far. A bike holder mounts securely to them and wind noise isn’t bad at all. Much better than the strap on thing I had before
 
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