ok...
For some reason it looked to me as though the risers were different sizes, one taller than the other...

I have a Yakima yakstacker setup from my last car, and was waiting until the kayak show this weekend to see if I can get a new set of Yakima risers for the coupe or if I need to adapt the stacker to an MB rack.(Yakima reps will be there!)

I intend to buy new clips for my Yakima rack and so it will fit.

Rick,

Hey another river runner on this board! kewl!

I talked to the Yakima people and they do indeed have an extender for their 22 inch racks that make them long enough for a kayak. It's $99.

The snow pack this year is only 88% of normal, it means the rivers will be low all summer. I'm praying to the snow gods for a last min. blizzard.

Cheers,

Beth

The panoramic roof opens without problem even with the MB roof rack installed.

MB racks are made by ORIS:

http://www.oris-gmbh.de/english/produkte/dachtraeg.html

They seem to sell boat and surfboard carriers as well, that fit the MB rack, so I assume that the distance between the MB bars is enough. Which means there is no need for costly Yakima extenders.
I really like how the rear MB risers fit into the slot well behind the doors.

Beth....
We got zip rain and snow this year, so our rivers are down 27" below normal. My favorite river run is currently at 3-4 inch draft, 180-260 cfm (as opposed to 30-36" and 1500 cfm at the drops). Even the reserviors are low. Looks like I'll be sticking to the mountain lakes for water fun...and doing a LOT of hiking instead of floating.

Rick,

Yes, I know the rivers are low on the East Coast and that there has been no rain. My sympathy! I've read about the drought in the Sunday NY Times.

You know, you can always come out here; you’re welcome to come on our trips. California has awesome rivers, and now that I think about our mountains, deserts, and beaches are pretty nice too (OK NJ has nice beaches, I'll give you that, and water that is warm enough to swim in).

I'll pray to your rain gods too.

Cheers,

Beth

Hi All,

I'm looking for something to carry my mountain bike and skis on and wanted to know if any of you have purchased sport racks for the coupe?

If so, which brands are available and have any of you had problems with any brands? (i.e. Thule, Yakima, etc.)

Has any one gone with those sold by Mercedes? Do you know who makes them? My dealer wasn't able to tell me who makes them for Mercedes.

Thanx for you help.

There is a good long thread on this. Try searching. The best part of the MB rack is you can open the sunroof. The thread lists the OEM of the rack, so you can get adapters for any thing you might want.

Beth

I, too, am in the market for one. I think that someone told me that Thule makes the MB rack; I don't know if that's right, though.

According to the bike shop guy I talked to (who claimed to put a rack on another C230), you can still open the sunroof with Yakima's rack.

Having sold Yakima racks in a previous life, I can't see why installing one would block the use of the sunroof...

And I prefered Yakima over Thule, the shop I was at sold both. That was over ten years ago though, so maybe Thule has changed. (I didn't like their rectangular bars, and Yakima seemed to have more options available)

Here's the link of someone here who has the rack.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ight=bike+rack

Does this roof rack add a lot of wind noise while driving the vehicle?

Was planning on adding a ski rack at winter time. Have you noticed any scratches or marks on the paint once you removed the racks? How would you rate the overall quality of the MB rack? Thanks!

Although the MB rack is designed fairly aerodynamic the roof basic MB rack does add some wind noise especially at highway speeds, even more so with the bike attachments on. But I would imagine any rack would add noise and the MB rack seems to be quieter then previous systems I have used on other cars. The rack has little fins on the bottom to reduce lift.

The MB rack is well designed for the car and its quality is good. It’s a great fit where only rubber touches the car exterior and I have seen no scratching or marking after repeated use, but its only been 5 months.

It’s a good base rack, except a little expensive. I have read on this forum that other manufacturers components will work on the base rack and would likely cost less then the MB components, but I have not tried any yet.

If I was going to buy the system now, I got it as part of my deal, I would buy the base rack from MB for its custom fit and buy the attachments (Bikes, Ski’s, Boards, etc.) from some of the rack component companies out there.

Does anyon know if the OEM MB sport rack accepts accessories made by other manufacturers? i.e. Thule, Yakima?

Thanx,

The Thule ski carrier fits like a glove.
The Thule upright bike carrier also seems to fit no problem, but not the fork-down version (no adapter available).

Hi!

I'm interested in purchasing the base roof rack (for windsurfing boards, salis, masts, and other stuff) for my C230K. Can you tell me where did you buy it? how much did it cost? part numbers, if possible?

By the way, your looks very neat.


Your help willl be appreciated,

TSWIND

Posted in Classifieds, but more traffic here

I've have a mint condition original MB roof rack for the W203 4-door sedan, part no. B6 6 85 0255 that I would like to sell. Nice brushed aluminum finish with locking cores.

I've switched back to Thule, now that they have the fit kit so I can use my Thule accessories again

I purchased for about $270 new, so I would like $165 plus shipping. Email me if you have questions or would like actual pictures.

I am using the Saris' "Bones" bike rack with my C230K.
I am carrying 1 bike.
Rack fits well and is very stable. I got a few scratches within the edge of the trunk lid, tough.

Pedech,
Can you post some pics, and a url?
I've been looking long and hard for a trunk/hatch mounted rack.
Roof rack with a glass roof seems a little risky to me!

The MB rack is a great set up. The base castings are simply unmatched by others. I'm guessing that the tooloing cost alone for the 4 unique bases means that MB is not in this to make a killing , but to respond to customer requests. The way the cushion pads contact is fabulous. If you open the door, you'll see 2 arrows for positioning the froward cross bar. The back fits into the small gap at the window seal. No measuring. It comes with locks The bike racks are way cool.
The cross bar is an extrusion with a slot, unlike Thule or Yak. I still use Thule, and have for years on several cars, but the MB set up rocks. I was able to adapt my Thule ski box using some allen screws and the square nuts from the bike kits. ps. I sold a T-Bird with 4 bondo patches on the roof......No matter how fried you are after a day pedaling DONT drive into the garage!

We used to tell people to leave the garage door opener at home when there are bikes on top.

But that doesn't help when it's built into the mirror! :p

Another trick is to pull the power cord on the garage door opener.

No way am I putting my bikes on top and risk damaging the glass roof. No way.