Anyone have a good solution to carrying a couple of bikes in the Prius v. In my previous Subaru Outback I had a Yakima roof rack permanently mounted, but it required removal of the front wheel, and I never liked the system. I want something easy and fast to use that does not carry an MPG penalty.
Three are several threads on racks (hitch, roof, bumper mounted, etc.). Here's one: Show Us Your Rack! | PriusChat
That's a Prius regular thread. It's not clear if these, especially the trunk mounted racks would work with the Prius v. My thinking is that best solution in the long run is installing a hitch and getting a hitch mounted rack.
That's kind of where I was going with that... but for a truly minimal mpg hit, you would carry your bike(s) inside the rear cargo area, out of the airstream.
I haven't carried a bike in my Prius v yet, but in the past I've carried two bikes in the back of a minivan and in the back of a pickup with a canopy. I would think that you could get a couple of bikes in the back of a Prius v. Of course, you'd have to take the front wheels off but that's easy if you have quick-release hubs. There'd be no mpg penalty and the bikes would stay clean. It should work fine if you have no more than one passenger and not too much extra gear. If the bike(s) will fit in the back of the Prius v, then attach some of the parts from your Yakima rack system to a narrow piece of plywood and put it in the back of the Prius. That will allow you to mount the bike(s) to the hardware on the board and the they'll stay upright.
I know that a couple of bikes will fit in the back of a regular Gen3 Prius, because I've been doing it for three years. They fit almost as well as in a Subaru Legacy wagon, and much better than in a Honda Accord hatchback. That said, a hitch was added a few days ago to allow more than one passenger, and to ease the strain on my aging back. But it has not yet been used. Hitches are available for all flavors of modern Prii.
I had a roof rack on my GTI and I have a hitch mount bike rack on my 4Runner. The hitch is vastly superior. I'm still pretty young (29), but putting a bike on a platform that is at knee height is far better than holding the bike up over your head. I don't mind throwing my road bike in the back of my cars, but a muddy mountain bike is a different story.
