Yakima has updated their entire rooftop portfolio, making them more modern looking and more aero, with options for various budgets. We saw these at Interbike, but the official launch and specs weren’t final until now.
Borrowing from sister company Whispbar, they now have aerodynamic crossbars using a new JetFlow shape that’s an advancement of what they’ve learned. Whispbar is still their premium line and is quieter and more aero, but these come very close and are similar to competing products. Alloy and steel versions will be offered, and they use the push-down rubber track on the alloy ones.
Towers get updated styling to match the aesthetics of newer vehicles. They also have more adjustments built in to fit more vehicles, including pitch and tow, so they can follow the compound curves of modern cars and SUVs. Now, all the adjustments happen on the towers, without spacers so the bars sit flat and at the right angle. Available in numerous clamp-on and fixed mount versions to fit almost any vehicle, most retailing for $199 for a set of four.
The top end JetStream alloy crossbars will come in silver and black ($195/pair). The CoreBar ($119/pair) is the first steel aero bar, which is stronger and less expensive than the alloy ones, but heavier. Click to enlarge the photo to read all the specs.
Their classic round bars aren’t going away, they know a lot of folks have a lot of legacy stuff that only fits that shape. And their new towers will fit round bars, but aero is the new hotness.
The new LiteRider is a 19b hitch rack for two or three bikes. Zip Strips come all the way off and slip down over the top tube. The arms fold down, and it’ll fit in both 1-1/4″ and 2″ hitches.
The Zip Strip cradles and strips are both cushioned, meaning nothing hard should touch the frame. You’ll find these strips on the updated SpareRide spare tire-mounted rack, too.
