Roof cycle racks

[Sir Trev]

Never actually seen/noticed one of these things Mav. Being a bit precious about my paint finish I'd be a bit wary of them but the space saving and ease of fitment would be a huge bonus.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

Never actually seen/noticed one of these things Mav. Being a bit precious about my paint finish I'd be a bit wary of them but the space saving and ease of fitment would be a huge bonus.

agreed, but saves a lot of faff Sir Trev. Plus you don't need any specific fittings, so you could use them on any car, which means you don't have to fork out for another fitting kit for the next car

Why cars can't just have conventional gutters to clamp a roof rack on I don't know, but that's progress

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by maviczap

Why cars can't just have conventional gutters to clamp a roof rack on I don't know, but that's progress

The gutters of old contributed to wind noise and drag so I'm not surprised they're long gone. Plus it's probably a con perpetuated jointly by car and accessories manufacturers to sell more parts like foot packs. My 19-plate Focus Estate has different profile roof bars to the 11-plate Focus estate I part-ex'd for no apparent reason, which proves my point!

[Kenzie]

I've heard those complaints many a time at work. We sell Thule products and there are so many different components now.

Sent from my Xperia using Tapatalk

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

The gutters of old contributed to wind noise and drag so I'm not surprised they're long gone. Plus it's probably a con perpetuated jointly by car and accessories manufacturers to sell more parts like foot packs. My 19-plate Focus Estate has different profile roof bars to the 11-plate Focus estate I part-ex'd for no apparent reason, which proves my point!

Similar thing with my Zafira roof bars, wouldn't fit the Astra that replaced it, even though they had the same roof just a bit narrower

[johnnyrod]

Well I'm not going anywhere soon but I have picked up a pair of Toyota roof bars that look a lot like Thule aluminium ones, and two Atera Giro bike holders. These got good reviews and are easy to use and solid (in the driveway!). My daughter's bike is a bit of a fiddle though as the frame is small (24" wheels), so I was thinking of getting a Thule Freeride for it and also it means a different fixing system which could be handy in the future. One question though, when the wheels are strapped to the little tray things, are they still able to move around, or does that somehow fix them in place? The Atera ones have a clamp screw. Thanks all!

[maviczap]

In olden days we used toe straps from old fashioned pedals to hold the wheel down.

Saved one bike when the forks came out of the holder at 70mph.

[keith_d]

I have a spider style rack which secures to the tailgate, but my last car (Golf GTi) had a plastic spoiler along the top of the tailgate which got bent out of shape by the top straps. So I'd suggest a few checks before buying one.

a) If the feet are going to rest on the bumper is it solid enough and not just a flimsy plastic moulding
b) If you have load anchors in the boot are they in convenient places for the bottom straps
c) Do you have a flimsy plastic spoiler along the top of the tailgate that will be damaged by the top straps.
d) Will the bikes obscure your lights. If so do you have a trailer socket you can plug a light bar into?

I've also used my mate's roof mounted carriers and they're great for road bikes, but getting my heavyweight hybrid up there is a two man job when it's windy.

My final solution was to get an estate car and put the back seats down.

[Kenzie]

Johhny, if I remember correctly the Freerides have a plastic buckle type strap that goes through the wheel and you pull it tight. Plastic version of the strap Mav mentioned.

[shiftin_gear98]

Two cents. Always use straps.
Having seen a bike fly off a car roof on a motorway there can't have been much left of it once it was recovered.
The impact might not have killed it, but the truck behind it would have.

If you like your bikes, then buy extra straps.