[Rygel XXV]

I've been looking for a bike rack solution for my X6 for a while now and after pricing numerous different solutions, I finally stumbled across the BMW OEM rear mount bike carrier. The was after looking at roof racks, both OEM and aftermarket (Thule and Yakima), hitch-based solutions, and portable rear mount carriers.

Price-wise, it's MSRP around $650 or so, but on Amazon I found a dealer selling it for $570, with shipping total was around $600. No tax charged either. The upshot is this solution is about the middle of the pack for price. The portable carriers were cheapest at around $400, and the rest of the options were into the $1000 and up range.

As you can see from the pics, this is a nicely integrated solution that plugs right into the tow hitch eyes (how many of you knew these actually existed?), which are covered by a small removable plastic panel. Installation or removal can be done with one person and take about 5 minutes. The rack can tilt even if bikes are loaded so you can open and access the trunk. It's also expandable to carry a third bike.

The big negative is that the straps holding the bikes are just nylon, so I wouldn't leave the bikes unattended, or look into other security solutions. Obviously, this rack can't do anything for you if you also want to carry snow equipment or cargo boxes, but if you just want to carry bikes, I'd definitely recommend considering it. Also works for X5.