Originally posted by Carolyn:
Does anyone have an aftermarket Yakima roof rack that attaches to the factory roof rack with X towers? I need to carry 2 kayaks flat rather than on edge and need 78" bars. Is there any other option out there? Thule?
Thanks,
Carolyn
I'm using Yakima X-Towers with 58" bars and am very happy with them. Check the Mtn. Biking Forum for past discussions by others on racks.
All of my accessories are Thule, so I originally planned on getting the Thule bars and mounts. The Yak X-Towers were awesome though (see discussions where people have changed the position of the cross-bar to lower them, or give it a cleaner look), and I decided to use them instead.
I've gone around in a big circle trying to get my Thule accessories onto the rack (they're old and don't support the round bars) though. I went as far as fabricating a mount from aluminum and Delrin to allow the Thule bars to work with the X-Towers, but gave up after spending an entire weekend to finish just one.
I've settled on using the Thule C-12 clips to mount most of the accessories to the round bars, and will keep looking for ways of getting the others mounted (or sneak over to the local college that has powered shears and brakes and make my own).