The daring person that i am sometimes i decided to take the bracket that is in the roof out of the roof and take pictures of it. I was able to get to it by just pulling the door and window gasket off.

Here are some pictures of the bracket that is in the roof.

As is it is night time here and it started to rain as i was putting it back together i did not get any pictures of how it mounts but maybe tomorrow.

 

Well, finally it works. Thanks to Zeddy's post, I made a pit-stop to my local bike shop. They had the Thule fit kit (# 2145) for the Mini Cooper (I already hav the bars and the Aero 400 foot). I told him that it should fit. And he told me that I can bring it back for refund (very nice shop http://www.rackultra.ca).

I can understand why people had difficulty installing it. The bolts are really on the last thread when you try to slip the end under the gutter. Unscrew half a turn too much and it falls out of the hole. But once you get the hang of it, 5 minutes and it's installed. Perfect fit. Only 60$ if you already have the kit. And you can space the bars to fit your equipment (the gutter ruan all the way to the back on the car.

I can go on vacations with my new toy.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Looks good, but I can't tell if you are using the cut out slots or the actual plastic rim that goes around the edge. If its the plastic rim you are mounting to, I thought about going this direction but to me it didn't look or feel like it could carry any kind of load since the rim felt too flexy. Looks like a good fit though.

 

Excellent!!! Have fun on your holiday.
I'm inspired now to get my Yakima rack to work either with the roof slots or like your thule.

 

I'm using the rain gutter (plastic black trim), like in the regular Cooper. Not the cutout holes. Looks very strong to me.

 

He used the plastic which is what Thule did in their test fits. Earlier today I posted a series of 3 emails I had from the thule fit specialist that did the tests in Connecticut. He was confident that the fit worked and said up to 75-110 lbs. However he was less pleased that in field testing half the people had trouble getting the bracket to reach the foot so Thule is not promoting it as the solution. Since Myromini is going on vacation soon and had all the other parts needed I suggested to him that he tried that fit kit so he could take the clubman on holiday. Glad it worked out for him.

 

Schatzy--
What is the orientation of that bracket in the roof? And what are the dimensions of the depth, width and length of the groove/hollowed -out portion?
I'm trying to figure out which Yakima Q-clip...straight in, angled up, angled down etc. I currently have Q2 clips. If you feel like looking, this web site has profile pictures of all the Q clips on pages 68-81 of the site. Any opinions?
http://www.rackoutfitters.com/car-ra...0&order=2&SKU=

 

I had tried this an it was very unstable. In fact i found that with just very little effort, less than 38.5lbs lbs (test routine listed below) of of pull the on the crossbar the bracket would come loose because the rain gutter is a rather flexible rubber/plastic that bends very easily. This is NOT a secure mounting. It was also very very very easy to get the racks to slide along the roof edge thus again making them not secure enough to hold any weight.

Testing was done with a large fish scale that had a range of 15 to 50 lbs.

I put the rack parts on and tightened the foot and kit until there was just a slightest (less than 1/64 inch) flex in the rain gutter on all four feet.

I then took the fish scale and hooked it around the end of the crossbar and pulled horizontal toward the front, then the back and then vertical straight up. I did not test by pulling vertical down.

Every time the i did a pull test on any of the cross bars the bar released and pulled off the rain gutter before getting to 50 lbs of pull. the weakest pull was on the front bar on either side pulling toward the front. These released at 38.5 lbs and 39 lbs of pull.

Now some people may say who cars what the pull preasure is to get it to release toward the front. Well just remember that what ever weight you have up there will put forward force on the bars during slowing or stopping action of the car.

Now lets take the weight of a bicycle at 40 lbs. What is the force that the bicycle is putting on the rack when it is on top of the car and trying to be stopped. It can vary from just around 40 lbs at a slow down (0 to .1 g's) to to well over that, depending on the rate of slowdown.

I could get into all the mathematics behind it, but it could easily be as much as 2 g's or twice the weight of the bicycle. That means that hte bicycle is exerting 80 lbs or more of force against the rack in a forward motion. Even with both front and back crossbars mounted at both ends to the car this could still spell disaster for just one bicycle. Now put tow or three put there and the forces are multiplied.

I do not see this as a good solution.

I just pray that you do not loose any thing that you put on your rack.

EDIT:

Also one other thing that i did not mention is on the placement of the foot on the side of the "Dune"

In putting the foot on he side of the dune like you have also spells for disaster. When the objects on the rack press down on the foot they can make the foot slide down the side of the Dune and in turn loosen up the bracket (clip) that fits over the bottom of the rain gutter.

Again in this situation g-forces must be taken into account. The downward g-force on that foot for a 40 lbs bike can exceed 4-5 g's (bike now weighs 160 to 200 lbs) of force as you hit a pot hole or other immovable object. Putting that much down force on that foot WILL make it move some and even as little as 1/64 of an inch will cause the bracket (clip) to be to loose to hold the rack in place.

I would suggest that you grab the bar and lift yourself off the ground and see how much that foot moves and how much the bracket (clip) loosens up. I think you will be surprised.

 

How are they going to use a door frame that does not exist on the drivers side there is not clubdoor on the drivers side. So if they were to use the door frame then the cross bars would be only about 20" apart. and both holding onto the door frame of the front doors.

This will not work.

I wounder if these people even have an idea of what they are dealing with.

 

Yakima Research cont.

Yakima racks installed. I was able to modify the Q47 clip and have a class A fit. I am installed in the slots. I cut .5cm off each side of the clip since the clip was too wide by 1 cm. Attached is a pic of before (right) and after (left.)

Q47 has been discontinued (guess my bike shop unloaded his on me.) It is a fairly generic clip. I'll post actual measurements on them. As I look at some of the clip profiles online...maybe Q5, Q6, Q35 or Q73...they look like close to the profile I used.

Peter in Sarasota

 

More pics on Yakima install. Some measurements: 30" crossbar spread. 36 1/4" between Front towers. 35 3/4 between Rear towers. Clip has a 9 cm rise to it. That is very key as this rise allowed me to install the Q tower on the top part of the ridge.

 

It looks like you have a slight bulge on the rain gutter above the clubdoor, but it is hard to tell from the pictures for sure.

Does it cause any leakage.

How about shaking the racks do they feel like they are very very very secure. When i shake my OEM racks it shakes the whole car and does not move.

I still do not like the foot sitting on the side of the Dune but with it in the slot that gives it a lot more stability than using the rain gutter.

I was just wondering if there was a way to cut the Q47 (or other clip) to have it a little wider and lock into the bracket in the car a little better. I guess that would take a bit more accuracy on the part of Mini on the roof brackets under the roof.

I will probably have more questions on this approach as time goes on and i investigate it a little more.

 

Schatzy,
As for any bulge, not detectable. With the current angle of the clip, it does touch the rain gutter. I also did monkey with that particular clip over the club door to make sure I had an excellent angle on the clip. I may monkey a .5 Milimeter more with it. I notice no difference in the seal but I can affect the angle of the clip ever more slightly to give me some room.

At 5 cm width..I am at the tolerance of the slot. I may have a milimeter on each side. The clips have vinyl stickers to prevent metal/metal contact so it is not tight to put them in but there isn't any play either. Since it is a one piece clip, there wouldn't really be a way to "lock" them in independent of the rack. Nice part is that there isn't a mechanical piece to deal with with the clip itself. The design of the oem rack concerns me...alot of pressure on that 1 clip fixing bolt/nut.

There is no play or movement when I yank on the racks/crossbars. I"m engaging the car suspension with the force. I've installed several hundred Yakimas and I would say it is class A fit. Unfortunately for the masses, it is not off the shelf. The clips need to be modified for the fit.

As for having a foot touching the roof. That is probably more of a philosophical approach than anything. That ridgeline is a solid part of the car. The top ridgeline then slightly canters out for that secondary ridgeline. I'm not concerned about the rack going down the ridgeline and loosening the clips. The design of the yakima is compressing down and in. An overloaded rack may be able to do that but I'll bet you'd bow those steel crossbars first. All aftermarket non-oem/non-roof-rail roof racks make contact with the roof. Yakima and Thule prime examples. I personally would prefer an OEM rack that does not contact the roof..but there is a REAL shortage of warm and fuzzy coming from the manufacturer on their own OEM rack. That being said...I could kiss the person that put the slots in. HUGE HUGE HUGE advantage. No way in hell I would mount the rack to the rain gutters...because the slots are there.

That's where I am with it. Let me know any questions. I don't own a pressure washer anymore so I'm not pointing one at my club window anytime soon. We get monsoons in FL most everyday so I'll check the water integrity as well.

Cheers,
Peter

 

This sounds like a winner. Now if you can just get some money out of Yakima for doing their job for them.

I had tried the same thing with Thule Kit 2145 with the slots and it was just not going to happen with the thickness of the plate and the bend in it. The as i have stated above, I tried it under the rain gutter and it was jsut to easy to get it to move or come off completely.

I am still unsure of the foot placement. personally I would like to see it on a more horizontal surface or maybe one that spanned the peak of the Dune/Ridgeline (what ever people want to call it).

As for the Slots in the roof i agree that was a smart idea. Hopefully they keep them there in future generations.

One thing i am still concerned about for people that do not purchase the OEM rack is the Clips that go into the roof when the rack is not on the car. You are in Florida so you do not have freezing weather, but for those that are in northern climates having water get in the slot and then freezing could be a problem. I am not saying that the OEM clips will keep out all the water but the will keep out a majority of it. I will be visiting my dealer tomorrow and will see if they can look up to see if the filler clips have a part number that can be ordered.

As to these two points.

After the rack is installed "properly" then there really is very little pressure on the fixing bolt/nut. As the plates are pushed in by the nut the design of the plate and the bracket in the roof assist in forcing the bracket in tighter as weight is added to the rack, and relieving the pressure on the bolt/nut.

As i have said many times i do not think anyone at Mini knows what the real problem is. Some say that all cars have bad parts in the roof, others say it is the rack not the brackets in the roof, and yet others say that there is a limited number of cars that are affected but they do not know which ones.

Then there is the Fix. Some at Mini say that the rack is being modified, others say there is a fix for the bracket in the roof and yet others say there will never be a fix.

So my question to MINI is "What is the real story?"

All I can say is that my rack fits very well and the two other peoples cars that I have physically seen with the OEM rack, it fits just fine. Two others I have shown my rack to and how easy it is to get on and off have installed the OEM rack and are very happy with it.

So in reality buying the OEM rack at $235.00 or the Yakima and modifying it , if you can get Q47 clips, at around $250 (150 for Q towers, 65 for bars, 35 for Q CLips) they are with in the same price range.

The only advantage that i see in the after market parts is that you can get longer bars and be able to possibly get more gear on top of your car.

I have longer bars on the top of my BMW than i really should have and i do bump into them at times because they stick out past the body of the car.

So load up that rack and let us know how it feels during some spirited driving.

 

Agreed the prices are similar, UNLESS, you already own a Yakima or Thule set up. Since Yakima and Thule weren't coming up with a fit kit for the Clubman I was set to sell my Yakima and go with the OEM except two things: (1) they pulled the Clubman rack (sort of) off the market and are being incredibly frustrating communicating the real deal to their customers and (2) I want to carry a canoe which is too wide for OEM bars--but I won't need the Yakima bars to stick out very far to get the width I need.

I'm also intrigued with the possibility of the Yakima stretch kit if more space between front and rear bars is needed. That would work with Ppawlus' set up.

I can't believe how much of a hassle gear carrying, whether it be roof top or hitch, has turned into for Clubman owners and how little response has come from Mini. A side-offset license plate probably would have allowed for an easier development of a minidomore hitch but with the barn doors and center license I can see how that's probably stymied design. Granted they did have a roof rack solution designed, but...

 

Schatzy,
Thanks for the feedback. I do have a big investment already in the Yakima setup...hence the desire for a good Yakima solution for the Clubman. My other car is an Outback with roof rails (that one is easy.) I'm hopeful that both Yakima and Thule will come out with an off the shelf fit for the Clubman. I already have 2 Yakima bike mounts, fairing & basketcase. I also prefer the round bars. I had the Yakima on my 06 JustaCooper but it was a rain gutter mount...sold it with the car (another cyclist bought my 06.) .

Key in my opinion for any rack is that the slots are utilized. Awesome car!!! 30" crossbar spread is awesome for a good rack.

I am disappointed with Mini's response to the Clubman's rack. Very different replies all along the chain. I gave my rack feedback when I received my rate the 1-5 dealer call last night. I am supposed to get a call back on the rack from them...I'll post what I find out.

btw, I would owe you huge if you discover a part # for that slot coverup dohickies. I will create something otherwise...thanks for posting the pics. I agree the slot/rain gutter access should be protected when not in use.

Cheers,
Peter in Sarasota

 

Good for you, Peter, for giving them MINI your feedback on this.

 

I totally agree if you have the set up the easy way and least expensive way is to use what you and maybe just buy a few extra clips.

My problem is that the other family members tend to loose the keys to the racks so it comes down to having a lock smith open one up so i can get the key number or drill them out if i am going to keep it. So i just end up selling the racks with the vehicle and let the new owner bother with the key issue. Then again i keep cars for along time as well and the rack are pretty beat up by the time the car gets sold. And why put an old ugly scratched rack on such a beautiful new car.

Then there is my Dodge Pickup, the bars on that are long enough to make two racks for a MINI, but the feet will not work as they are made for slots in the roof or the Yakima slot track which will not fit on the Mini between the sunroof and the Dune.

BTW how side is your canoe if it can not fit on a OEM Rack?

 

I think the canoe's widest point is about 35"; when I originally measured it and the OEM rack it came out that the canoe gunwales would sit on the OEM towers not just the cross bars; and on the outside edge of the towers--just didn't seem stable, like the canoe could easily slip down on one side because I wouldn't be able to get tie-down straps positioned correctly. If the OEM towers were more vertical and didn't slant in so much it might have fit.

Which dealer are you going to tomorrow? Here in Boston or north shore? I think they should have a part number for those slots covers because I remember reading that people needed them because the service department was throwing them out as extra "bits" when they did installs--then customers came back asking for them.

Regarding the Thule rain gutter set-up that Myromini installed for his vacation tomorrow--I'm sure you are right that it is not as strong as the slot installation. But there are copious posts on the Coupe 2nd gen forum about the same kind of install and no one there has indicated any failure with the set-up. I don't think the feet on the side of the dunes is a catastrophe waiting to happen because of the angle. Once the rack is tightened the upper edge of the rack foot is in closer to car midline compared to the lower foot edge, and since it is attached to the foot on the other side of the car it can't slip down. The distance between the top edges of the 2 feet on one cross bar limits where it sits on the dune--to slip down that distance would have to increase. It could happen if the dune were perfectly vertical, but the dunes have a significant angle to them.
Nonetheless, it probably behooves Thule owners to look for a clip that fits the slot as Ppawlus did for the Yakima.

 

Thanks everybody for your continuing efforts. I'm certainly hoping that Thule and MINI are monitoring this, because those are my two options. Meanwhile, like the other poster, I'm bicycle-less when I travel.

 

Since we're mostly waiting for a new miracle redesigned rack for the Clubman, and alot of people are desperate for something now, has anyone seen this:

Top Line Universal Disappearing Melrose Bicycle Roof Rack System

http://www.bikemania.biz/ProductDeta...Topline_ML2900

 

Well, their pictures aren't much, but doesn't that indicate at least eight holes drilled in the roof?

 

A note on the rain gutters. The Clubman rain gutters did not seem as structurally significant as my 2nd Gen 06 JustaCooper. Seems like more plastic/less metal on the Clubman?? I had the 06 pretty well fitted (and they were very snug) but I could get an inch or 2 movement back over a couple of weeks. Absolutely had to double check them if it was dewey out and you installed them in the morning...even after double drying the roof. Because there were the 4 points of contact and the bike mounts adding a framing effect...it was a fairly good fit. But...slots are superior!

Also some pics with bike mounts and bike on de rooftop!

Peter

 

Yes these seem to want you to drill holes in your roof to attach the mounting plate. These are similar to some earlier versions used by Mini.


I take any movement of the rack feet to be totally unacceptable. If it can move then there is definitely the possibility that it could come off.

I will not have a rack on a car the moves even the slightest bit.

 

You had me worried there. I made some tests. I lifted myself from the 4 ends of the bars (6 ft tall, 200 lbs). My feet got off the ground. Only one out of the 4 times did the clip move a little. I made half a turn more to tighten it up and no more movement. As previously stated by someone else, the bars are not free to move in the feet once you lock everything up. Also, the feet are at almost 45 degrees and are sitting on the lower ridge of the dunes.

I've been motoring around with a cargo box for th last 2 days, without a problem. So for 60$, it'll do for now (and it's not as if I had another choice). Once (or if) Mini finally comes up with the "right" bars, I'll see if I make the switch.

And for the bars sticking out and hitting my head, well, mine are not long enough for that to happen. Thanks for the warning.