[oempls]

Looking at picking up the OEM crossbars for the time being and wanted to know if anyone has been able to use their Thule or Yakima bike attachments. I know there are alot of the subaru attachments but wanted to see if I could use my equipment from my other bike rack.

 

[gathermewool]

Interested in the same.

I'm also wondering whether our '14s can utilize previous MY's cross-bars. Looking online, the '14 cross-bars are more expensive for some reason, though the same-looking stock photo is used and at least one Amazon review states that the older cross-bar works.

The Part Numbers are:

'13 Forester Aero: E361SSC000

'14 Forester Aero: E361SSG000

Not sure why that 'G' in the PN costs $16.55 more...

 

[oempls]

I ended up just going hitch mount. Hope someone can chime in for future owners though.

 

[Vanguard]

We're trying to decide on a roof rack for our 2014 Forester that has rails. Once we have the cross bars, we will get the attachable ski racks.
Subaru parts: the aero bars appear, from photos, to attach directly to the rails and are essentially no higher than the rails themselves. Downside is that they appear to be permanently attached. Can anyone confirm this?
The round bars, again from photos, appear to attach to towers that attach to the rails and are several inches above the rails. They are also more expensive.

After market (Thule or Yakima): Both companies appear to have rounds or aero bar setups for the 2014 Forester.

Does anyone have positive or negative experience with any of these racks?
Any clue what they do to gas mileage?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[sway162]

The factory aero bars are not permanently attached. You can remove at will anytime. No wind noise or gas mpg decrease. With the cargo box, MPG takes a toll. I was avg up 28/29 mpg to 22/23 with box. I can't review on ski racks though.

 

[oempls]

That solves the initial question I think. Never realized how thin the OEM crossbars were.

 

[sway162]

Yeah there's a subtle "bounce" to them when a loaded box is on it. I could see one breaking if someone was to overload their cargo box. I think the weight limit on these bars is 150ish.

 

[Wyldcat89]

I have 48" round yakima cross bars that were mounted on my 2010 and currently on my 2014. They have lowered the mileage by 2mpg consistently on both vehicles.

 

[atron80]

The factory aero bars are not permanently attached. You can remove at will anytime. No wind noise or gas mpg decrease. With the cargo box, MPG takes a toll. I was avg up 28/29 mpg to 22/23 with box. I can't review on ski racks though.

I have the factory bars, and I'm running a Thule Evolution 1200 for the winter. It fits fine, and only makes noise over bumps (when it's not loaded down). I think I will have an issue when mounting bike trays on these rails. The mounting area of the bars extend too far in, taking up a lot of usable bar space. 2 mtn bikes with wide handle bars might not fit. I wish I had held out for a lockable thule or yak setup. I think the Yak whisper bars use up a lot of bar space similar to the factory bars.

 

[FujiForester]

Just turn the other bike rack facing the other direction.One facing forward and backwards. If u want a good bike mount look at the RockyMounts Tierod
RockyMounts TieRod- car racks, bike racks, roof racks, bike carriers, bike mounts

or get a Hitch and 1upusa rack (what i have been using now for 4yrs) No gas mileage with it mounted on the back. If you have mountain bikes they affect the gas mileage alot when on the roof. Road bike dont affect as much but still will notice it. Just from my experiences. Roof racks do look cooler tho lol :rock:

 

[oempls]

Everyone is always talking about those 1 UP racks. I think they look awful and for my wide FS bike I would need a hitch extenstion to keep them from hitting my tailgate which would put it an additional 16" out behind the car.

As for roof racks, I gave up on that route. I prefer conveinence over looks.

 

[atron80]

Good call about having them face opposite directions. I have 2 pitch forks I was going to convert to the tie rod to work on factory rails. I also have the old square Thule bars that I could just buy the correct fit kit and go that route. I much prefer the clean looks of the aero bars, but it's hard to justify that when I own the factory rails or cob together the square bar setup.


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