In order to make this method slightly safer you need to remove the front wheel as well as non drive side pedal and then place a blanket on the roof before securing the bike.
How to use roof rails to transport bike.
If you carry your bikes on the roof you must use a rack specifically designed for the purpose.
Use a tie down that wraps around the item and the rails.
What types of tie downs work best.
There are a large range of racks made to attach to the existing roof rails fitted to many wagons and suvs and carry one or more bikes.
Whether you actually want to do that is another matter.
On each side of the roof you ll see a rack that runs the length of the roof of the vehicle.
First loop the strap under the roof rack s crossbar and drape the loose ends over your oblong load i e.
Lease return will mean you d have to pay mucho dinero to fix up the dings and scratches on the car from a dropped bike.
The traditional bike car rack a roof rack uses all that empty space above your head.
Others require them to be upside down.
They are fine to transport on roof racks providing you use one which is compatible with larger diameter down tubes.
If your 08 mariner is a lease you probably don t want to use the roof rack unless you are sure you will be real careful.
Flip the two front bars up around the front wheel to finish locking the bike in place.
Some racks allow the bike to be carried upright.
It was kind of hard on my back to load the bike onto the roof rack too.
As for the front fork clamping style of carrier these are also fine.
This way you can transport the bike with the handlebars facing up but inevitably you will end up with a dent in the roof if done regularly.
With the third option crossbars with side rails you can secure an item to the side rails and run tie downs from front to back securing them to the crossbars.