I'm looking for a bike rack. I would prefer one that is easy to remove from the car and that isn't very expensive > $150. I don't want one on the roof, I would prefer either hit or trunk mounted. I also don't need anything too rugged because it is just for taking beach bikes to the beach (only one fits well inside). I've done some looking online, but nothing jumped out at me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have one or two of the older style racks that hang on the rear hatch with straps & clips. I have never tried to fit it on my X3, but I could check. Are you ever up in the Bay Area? If so, it's yours if you want it.

(I could possible take a pix, if that would help.)

That would be a great alternative I feel. I could probably put it on the Z4 if I don't have the X3 that weekend. Pictures would be great. I'm typically not in the Bay Area, but I'll work with you on shipping and make it worth while.

Here are a few pix...


The rack, shot from the bottom angle.
The rack, shot from the top angle.
The rack on my X3. (If I were to do this over, I'd re-adjust (*) the straps to lower the rack--making it easier to load bikes--but not so far that they put any stress on the spoiler.)
Close-up of an upper clip on the X3. (The trick was to slide the clips in from the side with the rear door fully open as the gap is bigger on the sides than in the center. As I suspected, the bottom strap does not do a good job of holding things steady.)
The rack, just sitting on the M Roadster trunk. It looked like it could be adjusted to fit reasonably well, but I'd worry about what to attach the bottom strap to. Is there anything reasonably solid back there?


I could probably disassemble the rack and ship it. It doesn't weigh too much, but my scale is several floors away, so let me know if you want a real estimate.

(*)Note: I did not even try to set this up evenly or at a good position. The straps are the way they were the last time I used it, which (I think) was on a 1975 Lancia HPE hatchback.

Yeah I would love a real estimate, it looks great.

Give me a day or two, and I'll come up with a few options. First a couple of questions:

(1) What is your Zip code?
(2) Will it go to a street address or a PO Box?
(3) Does shipping time matter?

92867, street address, shipping time doesn't matter, ground is fine.

The following quote is very approx. and for Fedex Ground. (I have an acct with them, so I wouldn't have to wait in line.) I think the rack will weigh about 8 lbs all packed. Fedex ground is 2-3 days and the price seems to be $10.19. But there is a note from the estimating web site that the price actually depends on the size of the carton, not just the weight, so it could run a bit more.

If you want to go ahead, send me your name, shipping address, and phone number (Fedex likes phone #s) via a PM or email. I'm willing to wait until I ship it to get a real quote. ( I don't think the $10.19 is far off. If it is, I'll send you another note with the cost before I ship.) You can then send me a personal check or the money via PayPal.

Feel free to suggest an alternative process.