[funkdrummer]

I'm curious if anyone has had the roof bars installed after taking delivery of their MINI?

I'm wondering if it's even a possibility and then if it would be a good idea or not.
Thoughts??

 

[jeremybingham]

They told us on our factory tour it's a no. The roof arrives at the factory as a different pressing. I wouldn't want to drill into my roof any way so dont think it's a good idea at all.

 

[funkdrummer]

I figured it was going to be that way.

Another option is the sport link from mini fini. It's quite pricey, but you can tow up to 1,400 pounds. I also like the idea of putting a bike rack behind the car instead of on top.

 

[jeremybingham]

sounds interesting is there a link. As you say I'd prefer bikes on the back!

 

[funkdrummer]

http://www.minifini.com/catalog.php

Click on Sport-Link and tow hitches. The system bolts on to existing frame with only needing to cut two small holes for the receiver points. You'd have to get the sport-link 3, the attachment base, and a receiver. $640 before installation. I'd imagine it's pretty solid.

 

[jeremybingham]

That is brilliant and could answer a lot of peoples issues of space. Thank you.

 

[Angib]

Beware that in the UK, the F56 is not approved for a towbar. No problem with the MiniFini carrying a bike rack, since that doesn't have the ability to tow. But don't expect anyone like a towbar centre or dealer to be willing to fit the MiniFini for you, since that would be skating very close to the law that prevents unapproved towbars being fitted.

Adding a MiniFini just to carry bikes is a bit pointless since it must be cheaper to use Mini's own rear bike rack that fits into the two towing sockets that all F56 have. I have the R56 version of this (as I specc'd my car with 'bike rack prep') and it's a quality piece of kit. The R56 version was about £400 but that included the electronics box to make the lights on the rack work so I would expect the F56 version to be less. I see Mini UK no longer offer 'bike rack prep' on the F56, so I don't know what they will be doing about electrics for extra lights on the rack - on my Roadster 'bike rack prep' was a second towing eye (like the F56 has) plus a trailer lighting socket under the bumper. At present the rear bike rack is only shown on the German Mini accessories web site and even that no longer seems to be accessible from my PC.

 

[SimonT]

I have just noticed that MINI now offer Bike Rack Preparation for £110 in the Exterior Equipment section. How annoying is that as it wasn't available in September when I ordered?
I wonder if the prep can be retrofitted?

 

[Angib]

Wow - that must have been added in the last few days. That will be for just the electrical socket, I guess, since the F56 has everything else.

Retrofit might have been possible if Mini were to offer a kit so dealers could do it - but that doesn't seem likely now that they offer it as an original option.

I bought my bike rack second-hand and it didn't have the electrical control box to make the rack lights work. Since I usually only carry one bike, I just don't bother with the lights. Even though my Roadster had bike rack prep, an extra control box is still needed to do things like make the lights work and disable the rear parking sensors when the rack is connected. So maybe the F56 bike rack will be the same, when it becomes available in the UK - and so maybe around the same £400 price.

 

[jeremybingham]

Good stuff. As you say you don't see many people bothering with the extra lights!

 

[Angib]

It looks like I just wasn't waiting the minute or so it takes the Mini.de accessories web site to load.

http://www.mini.de/accessories/model_selection/index.html

Here is the F56 rear bike rack, with lights.

This site does appear to show the (longitudinal) roof rails as an accessory, though the "Price: on request" suggests they won't be cheap.