etrailer | How the Saris Bones EX 3 Bike Rack Fits on a 2017 Mini Cooper

Click for more info and reviews of this Saris Trunk Bike Racks:
https://www.etrailer.com/Trunk-Bike-R...
Check out some similar Trunk Bike Racks options:
https://www.etrailer.com/trunk-bike-r...

Search for other popular Mini Cooper parts and accessories:
https://www.etrailer.com/vehicle/2017...

https://www.etrailer.com
Don’t forget to subscribe!
   / etrailertv  

Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-s...
Hi everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer. And today, we taking a look at the Saris Bones EX trunk-mounted bike rack, right here on our 2017 Mini Cooper. Your Mini Cooper is a lot of fun in a tiny package. If you wanna be able to carry around your bikes with this vehicle, you're gonna have to get a little creative. So one of the options that I highly recommend is to get a hitch on your car, but I know that can be tricky to do, tricky to find the right bike rack for that hitch, or if you cannot get a hitch, what are your other options That's gonna be a trunk-mounted bike rack like this. So this is the Saris Bones EX.

It has a special design on it just to help it over the spoiler on your Mini Cooper, allowing you to carry up to three bikes with this car. So there's gonna be some options for you. You can actually get this as the two-bike version or the three-bike version. It's gonna work the exact same way, the difference is just pretty much the space it takes up and how far out it goes. I personally recommend going ahead and getting the three-bike version so you have that option when you need to.

But if you're limited too, you can get that one instead. We'll talk about this bike rack and how it works with our car here. The main thing I want you to know though is what types of bikes can you carry with this rack. This does have a weight capacity of 35 pounds per bike. So keep that in mind.

Your extra heavy electric bikes, probably not gonna be a good fit. The way our bike is mounted here is we have three touch points. So one, two on top, and the third, which is my favorite, is this anti-sway. So notice how little movement we have here. Very important for a trunk-mounted bike rack.

Now you are gonna have a little bit of movement on the front, so make sure to use a strap to tighten everything down. You can also get an extra cam buckle strap here at etrailer if needed for those front wheels. But with this tightened down like it's here, I'll show you the difference it makes when you loosen it. You press this lever, and then this will allow you to push out on that strap. So with that released, look at how much more sway we have, very important. So we'll do the other two straps. You just press that lever, pull on the strap. Here's the other one. And once all three are disengaged, you'll then just grab your bike, bring it through the arms. And just like that, you're ready to go on a bike ride. I'm a huge fan of the Saris Bones EX, especially in terms of style. Just look at the arched arms. You also have the option of moving this around. So you're gonna have a lever or I guess a knob on top of those arms. You bring it in towards the inside, and this allows you to move this up and down. So if you have bikes with alternate frames, this will allow you to adjust it so that your bikes stay level. Now once you have more than one bike on there, you're probably gonna have to keep it up like this, and then you're gonna have to get a frame adapter bar, we have that here at etrailer, to make sure your bikes stay level. The insides of the straps have these little grips, which I think make it look cool but also cushion and add grip to your bike's frame when it secures it. You have this pull strap here, so that secures your bike's frame. And then one and two. I recommend putting away these straps, even when your bikes are not on them. That way, they're not flopping around as you drive around, and then they last longer that way. Now this is gonna add a little bit of length to the back of your Mini Cooper. So let some measurements to see exactly how much. I'm gonna measure over here by our bumper, since that's the furthest point. We're gonna go out to the end of this rack, and that sits at about 25 inches. The two bike version is gonna sit a little bit closer than that. The distance apart for your cradles is going to be center to center, let's say 6 1/2 inches. So that's gonna be the difference that makes. Definitely something worth to keep in mind when you're backing into your garage or you're trying to park into a tight spot. I know you don't pick up much space with your car, but you have those extra things to account for. Now big question with trunk-mounted bike racks is, "What is touching the trunk of my car" So let's take a look at where we have this mounted. Your bottom feet are gonna be sitting in your license plate well, then you're gonna have your top feet. These are articulati