Does anyone have experience with Seasucker bike racks? I’ve got a Kuat Sherpa 2.0 that I use on my SUV and with my old Honda Accord. I recently bought a 5 series and don’t really want to install a hitch on it, and these seem like an interesting option. Any feedback is appreciated.
1 Like
Have you considered folding down the seats in the 5 series and carrying bike inside? Did that for years in an F10 sedan and it worked great. My neighbor uses a roof rack.
1 Like
I have a sea sucker talon (1 bike). It’s funny, I have little reason to doubt it, I’ve never had an issue with it and I’ve driven up to an hour in strong winds in heat and cold with no horror stories to tell. But for some reason It always causes trepidation when I use it. I’ve put the things on my car sans bike and left them there all afternoon on weekends and lost very little to no suction. I’ve gone looking for horror stories on the interwebs and have found very few so they seem to work quite well when used properly. Maybe now that I’ve bought their window lock system I’ll have a bit more confidence in it since if the worst does happen at least I’ll have a cable around the thing and know it’s come off. That and some added security which unlike my saris hitch the sea sucker needs extra stuff. The only real downside I’ve found is that it leaves circles you can see when it rains on your roof after you use it. They’re not permanent but one amazon reviewer was bothered by it.
2 Likes
I’ve got the Seasucker Talon 1 bike rack and absolutely love it. Have used it in the most crazy conditions and never had a single issue. It fits into my bike bag so I can throw it on top of rental cars if I’m traveling. Last weekend I drove from Reno to Salt Lake in the most wind I’ve ever driven in and had no problem. The wind was so strong it was rocking the bike back and forth on the roof of the car, but the suction cups were so stuck on so secure it was just flexing the roof of the car.
This is not to say that my anxiety is not through the roof when it’s on there! Feeling the wind shake the whole bike violently back and forth for 8hrs last weekend was insane.
1 Like
I’ve been using one for about 7 years on different cars with no issues. I always make sure I clean the roof with a wet rag before applying. Have done drives up to 7 hours.
1 Like
I’ve never used one, but I researched the suction-style racks extensively and overall, they seem highly reliable. That said, there’s a part of me that would always wonder how secure it really is, and when driving I fear I’d spend more time looking in my rear-view mirror making sure my bike was okay rather than actually watching the road ahead, so I went with a standard rack.
However, I have to say that this SeaSucker commercial from a few years ago is one of the best commercials I’ve ever seen 
(It still shows up on this year’s TdF commercial breaks from time-to-time):
4 Likes
I have, but I’ve got two car seats in the back, so I’d have to take them out every time.
1 Like
Mine was dark grey, without any swirl marks in the paint. For that reason I’d go with a roof rack as the F10 had easy to access mounting points - thats what my neighbor did.
1 Like
Mine is white, do you know if the suction cups are known to do damage to the paint? I was under the assumption that as long as the surface is clean, it will be OK.
White is a better color at hiding imperfection (versus a dark color)…
1 Like
I’ve had no problem. Worry for me is theft though. They used one on the time trial stage of the Giro D’Italia this year I think. One of the teams had a sports car. Bahrain Merida maybe.
2 Likes
Keep the Kuat rack ditch the 5 series. BMW drivers are The. Worst. Drivers.
I have one and a 4 series coupe, most of the time I’d rather put the back seats down. I also carry 2 car seats but for whatever reason there is always a bit of doubt about using the sea sucker. When doing muddy cross races I won’t put the bike in the back of the car, I use the rack but even with quite a light cross bike it still flexes the roof quite a bit and it’s not a nice noise when driving, that’s probably why I’m scared to use it. I’ve never had any issues though and won’t get another rack anytime soon.
1 Like
I honestly can’t say if it’s damaging the paint, I’m not too sensitive to such things. It’s just a funny thing that happens when it rains. When it’s dry and sunny there’s no sign of it but the way the rain beads up on the roof you can see the circles where it was once attached. Paint should be fine. I’ve been attaching my sea sucker to my dark grey mazda 3.
1 Like
I’ve noticed this as well. Depending on how far from the edge of the roof I put it I get flex from the panel which is rather unnerving but doesn’t seem to effect performance. It seems to do that less when I try to get closer to the edge.
1 Like
I have a Seasucker Minibomber for 2 bikes and love it.
Like others I’m nervous when using it. I stick to the speed guidelines that they recommend (120kph) and have had no issues in long drives. I usually check the valves when stopping for gas but traveling with the rack and being able to throw it on virtually any rental car has been a huge benefit.
I would highly recommend one to anyone.
1 Like
i’ve been pleased with mine. I have one single and one double unit for 7 years now and never had any issues in that time.
1 Like
I have one and feel the exact same way. I’m constantly looking in my rear view mirror and any little bump makes my heart rate spike. The wheel holding suction cup seems to lose suction more than the fork holder on mine, but I think its because the areas I’m sticking it one are a little curved. I’m still trying to figure out the best spot. I do feel more comfortable when I leave a shallow back wheel on instead of a deep section wheel, it seems to be more stable that way and lose less suction.
I did have one scary moment where the front quick release came loose and my bike was bouncing a bit, fortunately I was able to find a rest stop to fix that, that would have been an expensive mistake. It’s been great though, so I really feel like I’m worrying about nothing.
Yes, this is almost 5 years since the last, but has anyone used a Seasucker for long (8+ hours) at highway speeds (75+ MPH)? I don’t needa rack all that often, but when I do, it would be for a truly long trip at highway speeds.
I just did this in October/November. Seattle to San Luis Obispo, CA, by way of Calistoga, CA. I have a Talon 1 bike on my Audi. Too much stuff in the car to store the bike inside.
No issues with the mount being secure. I made a point to wipe the surface before I attached it. I’d get up to 85 or 90 mph on occasion. It just worked. I would check the suction with every stop but I only had to pump again once or twice – even then, it wasn’t necessary, as the orange indicator wasn’t showing, it was just me being paranoid.
I purchased the lock option. I had my doubts at first, given the anchor is just using the gap between the trunk and the body, but the lock was fine for short stops. At night, I’d bring the bike in, while we were still in the drive phase.
I have a Kuat for my truck. I looked at adding a hitch to my Audi, but it would have been an $800+ engineering project. So, now I have options with the SeaSucker.
1 Like