Question:
Do I really need the front spoiler for wind noise from the rack or is it more decorative ?

Answer:
it’s hard to say for the element…racks that mount inside the door frames will definitely generate more wind noise than others, making a fairing very effective. the rack on the E is set farther back on the car, and i don’t really know that it will create wind noise.
my suggestion would be to drive around a bit with the rack on there….if you notice unbearable wind noise, we’ll get you into a fairing for the car…otherwise, if you like the fairing’s looks then you can add one regardless.

Question:
Hi, I have a 2005 pontiac vibe. It has luggage rack cross bars on the rear part of the roof and if you’ve seen the car the roof angles up. I am interested in either the Thule 450 crossroad or the Yakima 0118 lowrider. Here are my questions. Which of the two gives me more roof clearance, and can I use the Yakima 0120Q stretch kit to extend the roof rack forward on the car? Thank You Rich

Answer:
both of the racks are going to offer the same, 1 1/2″ of clearance above the sidrail on the vibe. i have seen the vibe closely, and realize that the siderail on the car is set on the very back of the car, making long bike trays hard to use, unless you mount the bikes backwards…or…mount bike trays on the outboard side of the tower.
the q stretch kit would only work if you were using q towers on this rack application and will not work with the lowrider. thule’s 477 short roofline adapter will not work either, unfortunately.
the best application for this car would be a hybrid, meaning a set of qtowers on the front of the car, and then a set of lowriders on the siderail…analagous to the thule aerofoot and crossroad.

Saturday was a great day for riding here. While the sun was out, and it was kinda hot, the breeze was perfect for climbing to the top of the rim trail.
The trail just opened a couple days before, and we’ve had some good rain, so everything was nice and packed - super grippy for fast riding.

Dave was messing with his Marzocchi shock for most of the day, trying to dial in how much air pressure he should be riding with. I was surprised that he was only using between 25 pounds of air, but he assured me that the technology was different than my Fox shock.

We bumped into a few riders on the way out on the ridge, a couple of them riding the trail in reverse, which i must admit doesn’t seem that enjoyable, but I think i will try it one of these days - leaving from horse ranch and riding to Sinclair Road, and then out to Stark’s Rock and back to Mountain view.

Having begun as a windshield repair shop in January, 1996 much has changed in the industry since then. In fact, the entire industry is different than it once was in several aspects.

First, windshields and autoglass are being designed with new features and qualities. No longer is the glass merely to keep debris out of your teeth. Glass and windshields play an extremely important role in the vehicle’s overall safety. Further, an intact windshield that is installed properly is designed to minimize crushing of the roof on the passengers, heaven forbid one is involved in a rollover accident. Now, more than ever, it is critical that your vehicle’s windshield be installed using proper techniques and quality adhesives by trained and certified technicians.

This is where the problems arise in the glass industry. Since a vehicle’s glass falls under the comprehensive portion of one’s insurance policy, the insurance industry has delivered a stranglehold on the entire glass replacement industry.

Networks and third-party administrators have been contracted by the insurance companies to process and handle autoglass claims. Safelite Glass Network and Lynx Services, for example, handle glass claims from initial report of loss, all the way to payment to the glass shops. In exchange for their services, the networks charge the insurance companies a percentage fee based on every claim they handle.

The insurance companies claim that they pay a fair market value for the services that are provided by autoglass replacement shops. The methods that they use to calculate “fair market value” are based solely upon how cheaply they can get a job done. The major problem associated with this type of practice, is that insured’s are getting poor quality installation which can compromise their vehicle’s safety features.

Autoglass replacement shops are unable to charge a fair and reasonable price for their services as a result of insurance companies and their networks. As an example, shops are paid a flat fee of as little as $35 to replace a windshield. Keeping in mind that windshield installation takes roughly 90 minutes to complete with 2 qualified and trained technicians - it is easy to see that the insurance companies methods of calculating “fair market prices” is skewed and completely unrealistic.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, from glass shops to end users, there is little accountability for this type of practice. Networks employ teams of lawyers that script phone conversations to coerce and intimidate the insured’s, warning them that they may be liable for out of pocket expenses if the shop they choose to use won’t agree to their pricing, or that the insurance company will not warranty the replacement if they choose a shop that is not on their preferred list. This is just a fancy way of saying, “The shop you have chosen to do your windshield replacement isn’t the cheapest around, so we’re not going to pay for the work.” The reality is, few if any, glass shops would actually consider passing along additional costs to their clients. We just absorb the lost revenue because the energy and time it takes battling with hard-headed insurance companies and their networks just isn’t worth it on a day-to-day basis.

Eventually, the insurance companies will be found in violation of antitrust laws and the networks will be found guilty of steering, coersion, and intimidation. In my professional opinion, though, this won’t happen until someone is unfortunately killed or severely injured as a result of poor installation because a glass shop cut corners on proper installation, or was forced to use inferior materials to complete jobs, just to stay alive in this industry.

Often times we’re asked, “Which rack is better - Yakima or Thule?”. Most of the time, I say the same thing, “Which do you like better, Coke or Pepsi?”

There really is no definite answer to this question. It is, of course a subjective debate. True, however, there are some products that I prefer more than others, but mostly they are driven by a specific application.

For example, if someone is looking for a hitch mount bike rack, my decision making process would depend largely on the type of car they have, the type of bikes they have, and how often they might use the rack. Thule’s Expressway or Trailblazer racks work best with pickup trucks or other vehicles that have a hitch recessed far below the bumper, because of their longer stem on the rack.

In regards to Cargo boxes, more often than not, the type of vehicle drives the type of box I recommend. Someone who drives a small SUV or station wagon wishing to mount a cargo box that will carry long skis may find the Yakima Platinum 18 or Blacktop 18 a better choice than a Thule box because the Yakima box will mount further back on the roof without interfering with the back hatch glass than a Thule box.

Truly, before one can answer the question, “Which is better - Yakima or Thule?” one must ask the right questions, and look at the application very closely.

It’s about time to sing some praise for this product. In my opinion, every vehicle owner should own their very own Thule 850 Clamp Lamp.

First of all, this light is extremely versatile. While it is not designed for navigating through dark trails, it is perfect for illuminating broad areas, like the inside of a cargo box, or the inside of your dark trunk on a dark night, or even the inside of a tent while camping.

The light has a built-in clamp that will attach to just about anything, like the lid of a cargo box, or a bike tray on your roofrack, or a seatbelt in the back of the car. The inside of the clamp has a rubber strip that gives it gripping power when mounted against gravity. While camping in Moab, I hung my clamp lamp to a rubber bungy cord that i have stretching across the interior of my Honda Element. It worked perfectly to illuminate the entire car’s interior.

Best of all, this light has a rechargable battery equipped with a built-in, 12volt charger that plugs into a cigarette lighter or any other power port. Once you’re finished charging the battery, in about an hour, the plug stores neatly in it’s own compartment inside the lamp by removing a small cap on one side of the light. This cap even has its own leash so when you drop it in the sand at night, you won’t have to look for it while the rest of your cronies are hanging out by the fire.

Thanksgiving day is always good for 3 things.
1. Skiing opening day at one of the ski areas.
2. Taking a nice long nap afterwards.
3. Eating until you’re uncomfortable.

This years opening day wasn’t stellar, but it didnt’ suck either. Everyone was surprised at how good the snow was considering we haven’t had a ton of it yet. The manmade snow midmountain skied like the East, so I’m told - icy and fast.

The storm that came through this morning should have left at least 6 inches on top. Another storm is expected to come through this weekend….so we shall wait and see!

One would think that a ski rack would mount easily to the existing factory crossbars. Especially, a Thule ski rack, since they manufacture the factory crossbars.
The Thule Fat Mouth Clamp was designed to work on factory crossbar applications for cars that didn’t have a specific Thule Clamp-On fit. However with the size and shape of the Touareg factory crossbar, the Fat Mouth Clamp just doesn’t fit.

There are plenty of options available to mount a ski rack to the Touareg:
1. Go with a cool base rack system. The Thule Tracker II Foot, with the TK1 Tracker Kit is an excellent base rack system that will afford you all of the versatility in the world to mount a ski rack, bike rack, kayak rack, etc…Yakima also makes a great system with the use of the Control Tower and a couple sets of the Landing Pad 1.

2. We’ve said it before, but a cargo box is the best way to carry skis. In the case of the Touareg, the factory crossbars are totally sufficient for mounting a cargo box. I recommend using a shorter roofline box, like the Thule Evolution 1600, or the Yakima Platinum Pro 16s. The reason these are recommended is because the factory crossbars have specific mounting positions along the track system that is builit into the roof. To avoid rear door interference, don’t overdo it with a super long box, or you’ll be looking at it through the windshield.

Winter is rapidly approaching in Aspen and that means 2 things. First, it means that ski season is close. It’s hard not to get excited when you look up, and see snow on the ski area. The 2nd is local bears are getting ready to hibernate for the winter, and that can’t come soon enough for many local vehicle owners and residents.

Being an autoglass replacement shop, we have seen an unprecedented number of bear break-ins this summer into vehicles. It’s not enough for a bear to gain a stronghold on a local restaurant dumpster. Instead, they have taken to the streets and have begun having their way with cars.

Here are some of the more memorable stories we’ve heard this year when customers have come in for replacement glass. (more…)

Moab Fall Biking Trip

We racked up the bikes on the Element and headed out of town on a very snowy Friday afternoon in Aspen. Allen’s bike, however, doesn’t have a quick release front hub so we had to toss it in the back of the truck with the coolers and other gear. Allen rides a unicycle.

For the rack system, I chose the Thule Tracker Kit with the TK9. I use the Evolution 1600 cargo box mounted in the center of the load bars, with 2 of the V2 fork mounted bike racks on each side. For the front bar, I used the standard 58″ length but for the back bar, I used a 65″ bar so that I could mount Thule Wheel-On wheel holders next to the back wheel on the rack, instead of tossing them in the car. I like the bikes loaded on the outboard side of the towers for easier loading, and like the symmetry I have with the box in the center. Rarely do I have both bikes on the roof and need to get inside the box, so it’s not an issue for me not being able to access the box.
(more…)

Aspen lifestylers agree that a rack for your vehicle is the gateway to enjoying life in the mountains. With so much to do, most of our mountain sports are pretty gear intensive. Throw the dog into the mix, and it’s easy to run out of real estate in the car.

A rack not only provides good function for carrying all of your toys, a rack is a total lifestyle enhancement that helps people make time for their favorite activities. (more…)