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wsbca said:
I'm hoping Yakima will come out with mounts for a roof rack, on which to carry bikes, surfboard etc using our existing crossbars and accessories.

I am thinking they will like they do for any new model car. It would just be new clips and maybe the towers too.
 
Kat,

Any idea if the Thule 961XT Speedway 2 Bike Trunk Rack will also fit a Prius?

Thanks,
Mitch
 
1051 said:
Kat,

Any idea if the Thule 961XT Speedway 2 Bike Trunk Rack will also fit a Prius?

Thanks,
Mitch

Not sure, Mitch. I just posted a picture of that one to illustrate a trunk rack that needs no hitch. But I have something very similar and I have used it on all different kinds of cars. I just adjust the straps to fit the type of car.
 
Has anybody who has a leaf found out if they can mount a receiver hitch? I have two bike racks and they both mount onto receivers. I had a receiver mounted on both my gen 1 and gen 2 Prius and my fiancé has one on her Kia soul. Anyhow I'd like to install one on my leaf once I get it and was wondering if anybody has already done some of the legwork finding a way to install one.
 
Kataphn said:
wsbca said:
I'm hoping Yakima will come out with mounts for a roof rack, on which to carry bikes, surfboard etc using our existing crossbars and accessories.

I am thinking they will like they do for any new model car. It would just be new clips and maybe the towers too.

My car is being measured by Yakima so they will likely have something soon.

So far I have been folding down the rear seats and throwing the bike in the back. Kind of a pain.
 
>>I would like to put a trailer hitch style rack on the back if possible for my road bike.

I'll be looking for one of those too.

Shaun
 
palmermd said:
Has anybody who has a leaf found out if they can mount a receiver hitch?
I hope to some day be able to get a hitch installed on the Leaf for carrying bikes as well.

I am no fan of the clip on style rear bike carriers and I am only slightly fonder of the roof type bike carriers. For now I can fit one bike inside the back of the Leaf without much trouble but a second bike with two passengers and gear might be kinda tight. Anything more than this would be a real stretch.

The thing about the bottom of the Leaf is that it is sealed up pretty good with plastic panels and I have not had a chance to pull them off and see if there are appropriate mounting points for a hitch. My concern right now is that there really is not any mounting points already available to be found under the plastic. I hope I'm wrong.
dyhopper said:
My car is being measured by Yakima so they will likely have something soon.
I don't suppose they will be looking underneath the car for a hitch style rack would they?
 
dyhopper said:
Kataphn said:
wsbca said:
I'm hoping Yakima will come out with mounts for a roof rack, on which to carry bikes, surfboard etc using our existing crossbars and accessories.

I am thinking they will like they do for any new model car. It would just be new clips and maybe the towers too.

My car is being measured by Yakima so they will likely have something soon.

So far I have been folding down the rear seats and throwing the bike in the back. Kind of a pain.

If more people go here:

http://www.yakima.com/

And select Nissan "Leaf' from the drop down menu, Interest from Yakima can only increase.

I've carried boats and bikes a lot of miles for many years and I have a general preference for Yakima products.

Most likely any of their present hatchback models would work on a Leaf but they don't presently have a Leaf recommendation.
 
Adding a hitch or a roof rack although would add weight and wind resistance causing the range to decrease significantly but I presume that is a given and understood and is out it scope for discussion. Would love to know from u guys what he affect on range is though to get a better idea.
 
dyhopper said:
Kataphn said:
wsbca said:
I'm hoping Yakima will come out with mounts for a roof rack, on which to carry bikes, surfboard etc using our existing crossbars and accessories.

I am thinking they will like they do for any new model car. It would just be new clips and maybe the towers too.

My car is being measured by Yakima so they will likely have something soon.

So far I have been folding down the rear seats and throwing the bike in the back. Kind of a pain.

Same here. I mounted an aftermarket trailer hitch on 04 Prius before and plan to look into the same. Haven't done it yet.
 
csriram45 said:
Adding a hitch or a roof rack although would add weight and wind resistance causing the range to decrease significantly but I presume that is a given and understood and is out it scope for discussion. Would love to know from u guys what he affect on range is though to get a better idea.
I don't think the racks impact on efficiency of the Leaf is outside the scope of this discussion since it would certainly be a deciding factor for me depending on what rack I ultimately get. The fact that I don't have a rack at all for the Leaf certainly impacts my overall efficiency now since we drive the Prius that has a bike rack instead when we take more than one bike. :D
 
Spies said:
csriram45 said:
Adding a hitch or a roof rack although would add weight and wind resistance causing the range to decrease significantly but I presume that is a given and understood and is out it scope for discussion. Would love to know from u guys what he affect on range is though to get a better idea.
I don't think the racks impact on efficiency of the Leaf is outside the scope of this discussion since it would certainly be a deciding factor for me depending on what rack I ultimately get. The fact that I don't have a rack at all for the Leaf certainly impacts my overall efficiency now since we drive the Prius that has a bike rack instead when we take more than one bike. :D

lol. agreed. as long as the drive is not too far it should not be an issue but still something that everyone should think about. I hate the IPhone auto correct feature. Always ends up making my sentence look incorrect.
 
Which Thule roof rack system will fit the Nissan Leaf?
I looked at Thule's website but it wasn't helpful at all....

Thx.
 
So I had some time this afternoon to investigate the feasibility of installing a hitch on the Leaf in order to allow a hitch type bike rack. My back up plan is to purchase a Yakima roof rack system now that they have measured a Leaf and have mounting and ordering instructions.

So the good news is that a hitch on the Leaf is certainly feasible and removing the plastic pan was fairly trivial especially when using car ramps. The bad news is that it would take quite a bit of cutting and drilling and engineering of the hitch to make it happen. Unlike the Prius that has tow hook mounting points on both sides of the frame from the factory the Leaf only has one on the passenger side. There is space on the frame to drill and/or weld mounting points on the driver side but would take a little work and skill. One would also need to cut the plastic pan to allow for access to the newly created mounting points but should be trivial.

I am sure someone with the skill and desire could find a hitch that could be modified for the Leaf or even make one from scratch but that is beyond what I intend to do at the moment. Hopefully someone will make a hitch kit for the Leaf soon.

I took a few pictures while the pan was removed and will post a link once I get them off my camera.

Off to look at Yakima roof rack systems. Anyone have an opinion of the different bike mounts they offer or perhaps a different manufacturer? I plan to be able to carry at least two fairly traditional road bikes and would prefer not to remove the wheels when racked.
 
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