[phatfreeheeler]

Hey everyone, I did a search, but no luck.

My question is, have any of you tried using a Thule sidearm (formerly sportworks) roof rack in any other position than facing forward with the bike facing forward? To get a lot of bikes up I need to stagger them. Have you tried them backwards, or can I just put the bike in backwards with the rear wheel in the sidearm and the front strapped on. It seems way burly, and the bike fits that way, so it may work fine. By the way, it'll be a 40 lb bighit (24" rear) in the rack for a while.

 

[KillingtonVT]

You can mount the rack in the opposite direction... or if you need it to go the other way, take the rack apart and configure it for the other direction. I love the rack by the way.. my 50lb Canfield doesn't move at all when I'm driving down the road!!!

 

[phatfreeheeler]

Thanks KillingtonVT
Yeah, I figured you could probably mount it backwards ok, but it seems like you could just put the bike on with the rear wheel locked with the sidearm locking it and just strap the front wheel instead. I'm not sure if having the strapped wheel being the fork side will make it unstable at speed. Anyone tried this? The racks will fit much better facing forward on my WRX wagon, but I always run with 4 racks for shuttling. When I spin either of the middle ones backwards the rear glass hits every time I open the trunk. I already never have the rear spoiler up cause then the roof racks are useless.