For anyone that rides bicycles in here...what bike rack do you use? As all fellow MB lovers would understand, I would not want so much as a rub mark on my trunk!! Any recommendations?

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'86 420SE Euro
904 Midnight Blue, Gray Velour
Dad bought it new, now I own it.

"A Mercedes-Benz is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age."

I have a Road Gear rack that mounts on my trunk with straps. If you mount it carefully, it will not scratch the trunk edges. I would hate to scratch my car with it, but I love riding. And it has worked good for me so far.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

I used to work at a bike shop and I agree Rhode Gear does make a great bike rack. They make a Euro model which mounts the bike on top of the trunk by removing the front wheel. Only two bikes can be fitted with this model. If you decide on this type of rack be sure to carefully clean your trunk and any mounting points for the rack extremely well before mounting the rack. This will prevent dirt from chaffing your paint and causing a dull look.

Another thought which is a bit more expensive and may not appeal to you is mounting a 1 1/4" receiver hitch on the back of your car. This will allow you to mount a rack into the receiver which prevents any contact with your car. I personally don't care for receivers but some like this option. This will allow you to mount up to 3 bikes on the back.

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Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

Shoot, the reason I have a wagon is because of bicycles. A roof rack is the only way to go - it prevents boneheads from crunching your $$$$ bicycles while they hang off the back of your car in a parking lot. The great thing about a wagon is the rack is mounted to the roof rails - it doesn't touch the car's paint at all. I have a 58" Yakima rack. It will easily carry four singles, plus four wheel holders. I also have a tandem attachment to carry my tandem. It will hold three singles plus the tandem. This configuration doesn't do much for your gas milage

It depends on how much you want to spend. We have 3 bike racks -- a Rode gear, a Thule and a Yakima. The last 2 are trailer hitch mount and the Yakima provides the best platform for up to 4 bikes. I used the Thule on my ‘TE and ‘E without problem or mar to the surface.

A friend had a roof mount bike rack and forgot about it when she pulled into the garage after a long day biking. Trashed the garage door, part of the house, the bikes, and roof of the car. Being somewht forgetful myself I have opted for rear mount bike racks.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

After much research, I too am going for the rear-mount rack. Thule Hitchpost most likely.

While a hitch may look out of place on an E420, a simple black plug will disguise it well enough I reckon.

Also -
1.) Greatly reduced windnoise.
2.) No deforming of rubber door seals.
3.) NO contact with paint anywhere (rack or bikes/skiis)
4.) No chance of bike or skiis slipping and dropping onto painted surface - ouch! .
5.) No extra effort to lift a bike overhead after a hard day's ride (which increase the chances of #5 occuring)
6.) Takes about 2 seconds to remove when not in use.

Sure, they don't looke as 'sporty' as a roof rack, but for functionality, there's no comparison. And my car will thank me in the long run.

Regards,
- Ryan

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)