Women's bike (and bike rack)

[Susie]

Under $200 may be tough. What do you want to use it for? Bike paths? Unpaved trails? Roads?

Racks are generally one of three types: ball hitch mount, rooftop, or trunk mount. Among trunk mounts, I like the Saris Bones. I got my mom one for her Jetta.

We have Thule roof racks for our bikes.

[shorewife]

You could try to find a used bike off Craigslist?

[sadlebred]

Please don't go to Walmart/Target/Local Sports Mega Store! Sorry, but you won't find a quality bike for under $200. You need to spend about $300-350 at your local bike shop. All of the major brands like Specialized, Cannondale, and Trek make good bikes. At that price point the bikes are almost the same. Pick what fits and the paint scheme you like. See my bio for bike buying advice.

A good rack can run hundreds of dollars. I'd look at a trunk mount. I agree with Susie that a Saris Bones is your best bet. My bikes go inside my SUV or on a Yakima roof rack or a Thule hitch rack...or...(I have several racks).

[gnomesweetgnome]

We have the Saris Bones on one of our cars and a Hollywood Racks on the other. We haven't used the Saris yet, but I hear great things about them. The Hollywood rack is easy to get the bikes on, but tough to strap them down. It is pretty inexpensive if you don't mind the hassle, though.

[amesmarie]

Have to agree with pp you will have a difficult time finding a decent bike under two. You might want to try craigslist. My husband got his there for a great deal. Just be careful, you never know what you might be getting. We have a Thule for the trunk. Its really easy to use. Ours carries three and it was a little over a hundred.

[joenali]

We have a Thule with a hitch mount, I live it.