Bike carriers

Dr M

I'm sick of putting my bikes in the boot of the car (Audi A3) so am cthinking of getting a roof or rear carrier.

apart from fuel economy suffering, any other disadvantages of roof ones?

I like the idea of a rear one more, but am worried in the winter the bike is going to get covered in salt spray which will get everywhere on the bike :-( Are there any covers that you can get for the bike to protect it on the carrier?

Thanks in advance

Bromski

Ive bought a "high" bike carrier that I used with an Audi A6

It worked very well - didn't take long to set up and I calculated the economy loss to less than 5%. It was made for 3 bikes but I only used it for 2.

It was high up, so that the police were happy and the spray didn't seem to cause much of a problem.

I was most worried about scratches on the car and more importantly the bike, but it was fine.

It was from Halfrauds - I wanted the Saris Bones but it was 100+ quid.

I've bought a van since, so I dont use it anymore.

clanton

I've used and own both systems. Back mounted ones are a PITA IMHO. You can't get into the boot, they don't hold the bikes securely and have no integral locking systems and aren't secure onto the car.
Good quality roof mounted ones are far superior, again IMHO. They hold the bikes securely, can be locked, easy and much quicker to use and are fit and forget, you don't have to keep mounting and removing the damn things.
Your fuel economy may be better with the back mounted ones but TBH I wouldn't buy them.

The Big Cheese

I had a rear mounted carrier - was a bit of a pain to load the bikes on to it and secure them properly. And I ended up getting frame rub, no matter how hard I tried to protect the bike.

I am about to buy one of these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 0Bag%20Set

Just stick the seats down in the back of the car and whack this in - plus your bike is a hell of a lot safer - I know its a pain but ultimately better for your bike

nferrar

I have a similar dilemma, got a 3-series coupe and not really seen a rear carrier that looks like it would fit well (it's got a spoiler to complicate things), also as someone above said it means you can't get access to the boot either.

I came close to buying a Thule roof bar system but it was going to be like £175 with just one bike fitting and would have been pants the 90% of the time I drive without carrying my bike (plus it sucks you can't carry a mate's bike without spending another £70 and you can't exactly ask them to pay for a second bike fitting ).

For now I just bought a giant tarpaulin from B&Q (£4.99) and shove it inside (just fits with the front wheel off). I looked at getting a bike bag but haven't really seen one that totally encases it but with the rear wheel still on at a sensible price.

Wish I'd got the removable tow-bar option with the car now but it's an £800 retro-fit option so I'll probably just end up buying a small van

formerlyknownasbonj

vans are the way to go

HJ1976

I borrow my mums discovery....fits 2 bikes, riders and misc crap in and as it is on LPG costs less to run than my clio!