There's a pretty good car accessory place here in Saginasty called ProStyle. Their prices are fairly good and their service is excellent. I purchased a Hidden Hitch for a 2k6 Civic (part number 60822 if anyone cares). It's a no-drill install so it should be easy to DIY if you have the equipment to get the car off the ground safely. I don't have any jackstands or even a decent hydraulic jack so I let these guys take care of it.

The bike rack is a Thule 917 T2. It grabs the rear wheel with a ratcheting strap and the front tire/fork with a swingarm instead of a pair of arms locking onto the top tube like most other racks in the marketplace. Expensive but super easy to load and unload.

The bike is a Giant Sedona DX. It's a hybrid which means I've added a hybrid to a hybrid. Or maybe I've doubled the "hybridness" of the car. Yeah, that's it I'm going to ride that for a few weeks until I get at least partially back into shape. Then I pull out the Giant OCR C3 carbon fiber road bike

Da front


Da back


Da bike


Not so hidden, is it?


Folded away

 

That is really sweet. You have to purchase the hitch, the rake and the bike ... all separately? Correct?

 

Yep. I bought the hitch from a local auto accessory store, the rack and locks from orsracksdirect.com, and the bike from a local bike shop.

One more thing, after driving around with the rack folded up today, it looks like it should extract minimal mileage hit (maybe 0.5-0.8mpg due solely to the high weight - approx 50lbs for the rack and 30lbs for the hitch). Yesterday when I went riding, it was windy so my mpg wasn't so good but I can't tell if it was from hauling the bike around. Today should be much calmer and I'll be going for another ride. This solution is far superior IMHO to a roof rack as far as mileage is concerned, but it does cost more. On the other hand you don't risk dropping your bike on the top of your roof and scratching the paint.

 

Great shots! Thank you for posting these. I was wondering how a rack would look on my silver HCH... and how far out the hitch would stick out. Looks like it sticks out farther than I'd like, but I guess there's no other option. How much did the hitch and the rack cost?

Before I go and purchase these items, do you know if your Giant OCR will fit into the trunk with both wheels removed? I have a Giant FCR1 and a very small Cannondale (that my 12yo son rides!). I need to haul both up to Seattle (from So. Cal) in July for the Seattle to Portland ride. Hoping I can squeeze both bikes in there and put luggage (and maybe a wheel or two) in the back seat.

 

I doubt a wheeless OCR will fit in the trunk. I bet it will fit in the rear seat with wheels removed.

The T2 rack I bought is a larger than normal rack. If you get a "regular" style rack that holds the top tube, it'll be smaller.

 

Neat Install and glad to see there isn't much of a fuel penalty. I was thinking about putting roof racks on my car to carry around my Specialized Roubaix but the hit i would take due to air resistance as well as messing up the clean lines of the car seemed too much of a price to pay. So i continue to carry them around in a small SUV - not that that's too logical either.

 

Well, the wife was hoping to come on the trip, too. With three of us, I'd need some space in the rear seat... unless she's okay with riding in the trunk. Maybe not!

My concern was with the hitch protruding... not with the rack. I just don't want the looks of the car to be altered with an ugly bar permanently hanging off the bottom of the bumper. Guess I could paint the bar silver so it blends in better.

Could you tell me the approx cost for your setup (hitch and rack)?

I'll have to experiment with trying to get the frames into the trunk. I'm pretty sure the frame itself would fit... but the handlebars might be a problem. My FCR is a road bike but has straight handlebars, so it might be a little easier. Guess I could also remove the bar. My son's bike is very small, so I'm certain it would fit.

 

$170 for hitch and installation. Rack was $350 shipped. You can find traditional hitch racks for $150 or so for a two bike model.

The bar really isn't too noticeable seeing that it's black and under the bumper. Painting it may make it more visible.

 

That's awesome that you can get a hitch for a bike rack on the 06 HCH without having to go custom.

I put a hitch for a bike rack on my 04-- I had to have in custom installed because I could not find a hitch that was officially endorsed by Honda (or that listed the HCH as a car the hitch would mount onto) for the HCH1.

The custom installation cost about $300, and the rack about $150. There has been no noticable change in MPG when driving around with just the hitch on it. The bikes did cause some drag, but we still got over 40, I think, mpg on our long trip with the bikes (it was last year, I'd have to look in my notes). It's not the best I've done, but it sure kicked *** compared to my in-law's Suburban! (we were caravaning)

I could take pictures if anyone is interested.

On another note, I have also fit my bicycle (small women's Trek road bike) inside the car, behind the front seats. I took off the front wheel, of course, but once that was off it fit fine.

--A

 

Finally had an opportunity to see if it is physically possible to fit two road bikes into the trunk of an '06 HCH. The answer? YES!!!! Just needed to take the wheels and one bike seat off. I had to remove the trunk floor and the foam thingie which holds the jack. There's plenty of room left in the trunk to house a bag with the jack, and all our other biking gear. Now I can save some $$$ on a hitch and bike rack!