Home > Clothing-Gear-Tools

Yakima to Unveil WhispBar Ultra Quiet, Fuel Efficient Roof Rack Cross Bars

8 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

yakima whispbar quiet fuel efficient vehicle roof rack crossbar

Coming this summer, Yakima will unveil their all-new WhispBar roof rack cross bars at Outdoor Retailer in early August., Designed with a super aero-profile, their launch invite says they’ll be the “world’s quietest, most fuel-efficient vehicle rack.” Stay tuned…

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
topmounter
topmounter
12 years ago

They look an awful lot like my factory crossbars…

jaas
jaas
12 years ago

My Thule rack that I used to have on my old Honda Civic took the gas mileage from 34 mpg to 25 mpg….that was without a bike

sean grady
sean grady
12 years ago

And I’m sure that these won’t be compatible with my current Q-towers…

uglyyeti
uglyyeti
12 years ago
topmounter
topmounter
12 years ago

Anyway… Once you go receiver hitch mount, you can’t go back.

Paul Rivers
Paul Rivers
12 years ago

If they actually produce bars that don’t hurt fuel economy, I would be totally interested…

“Anyway… Once you go receiver hitch mount, you can’t go back.”

The best racks I’ve used have actually been the strap-on-the-trunk kind. I know, bizarre, right?

The hitch racks – bizzarely, because you’d think the opposite, just aren’t as secure. I’ve tried 3 of them, and their fundamental problem is always the same – they bounce the bikes. Sometimes only a little. Sometimes a lot (depending on model). They’re also a pain to take on and off the car – more work than the strap models, again, unexpectedly. You can leave them on the car, but they’re all made out of steel and they start to rust (especially since I live in Minnesota and bike in the winter).

A good strap rack attaches securely and non-bouncily to your car with 3 attachment points on each side of the rack – up, down, and to the side. It’s like giving the car a hug. A hitch rack, on the other hand, attaches at only one point. And while my Saris Bones rack kept my bikes tightly and securely attached to my car, all of the hitch racks I’ve used bounce up and down slightly to egregiously (depending on the model) independently of the car.

I could write more, but – that’s been my experience. All the hitch racks I’ve tried, including the Saris Cycle-On that I use now, will bounce around behind the car a little. My strap-on racks (had a Saris Bones) had a rock solid attachment that never bounced the bikes. Because the rack was made out of solid plastic, never had issues with the rack rusting either.

Caleb
12 years ago

Not exactly new… Yakima brought new zealands leading roof rack company (Pro Rack) earlier this year… http://www.whispbar.co.nz/

I have been running them on my Mazda station wagon for just over a year and have been very impressed.

Mao Bautista
Mao Bautista
12 years ago

Nothing new here. I have had a Saris rack for 15 years and has exactly the same design as this one, including the cross-sectional profile and the center channel attachment point. The main advantage of the Saris is that it had a long threaded bolt that allowed centering the rack over the car by turning ONE knob on either side of the rack, allowing you to tighten the grip (boy, and what a grip!) while remaining centered! This technology/design is OLD. The only problem is that SARIS no longer makes this rack but I have 2 that fit Toyota Camry/Corollas and Nissan Pathfinder/Sentra.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.