Roofbar/Cycle Carrier

The Hogester

Im looking at getting some roof bars and a roof mounted carrier for my car. Do any of you guys have experience with these, and/or can offer advice on which to get.

Im aware that the Thule range are meant to be one of, if not the best. They are also quite pricey though.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Surf-Matt

Got a Thule rack and 571 (I think) Pro carrier x 2 - utterly brilliant and often for sale on offer (ours were). Very simple to use, well made and they almost look quite cool too.

pdid

Surf-Matt wrote:

Got a Thule rack and 571 (I think) Pro carrier x 2 - utterly brilliant and often for sale on offer (ours were). Very simple to use, well made and they almost look quite cool too.

+1, I believe they are 591`s though.

Excellent racks and bars, just be careful though as the position the carrier clamps the downtube can be impeaded by some suspension systems.

The Hogester

Are Thule the way to go then? No other brands worth a look? I've never used a roof rack before, are the bikes really secure?

Cheshley

I use Mont Blanc Discovery racks and find them to be better than the Thule ones. No issues with the clamp being impeded by some suspension geometry as mentioned above as the clamp holds the down-tube from underneath. Been using these and the predecessor to it, the Barracuda, for 10 years and never had any problems, plus I like that the main support arm locks down to the body of the rack when not in use. unlike the Thule system.

Surf-Matt

pdid - oh yes! Oops!

I just like the simplicity of the Thule system. I think the weight limit is lowish though so maybe not good for DH monster rigs (plus they'd be very hard to lift onto the roof anyway).

Scottland

I've recently picked a set of the Halfords Advance cycle carriers, which appear to be exactly the same as the Thule Freeride 530. I'm pretty happy with them, they're easy to get the bikes on and off, and they feel strong enough.

The only thing I have done is bought some luggage straps to wrap around the carriers and the bike frame for a bit of added security.

Only tried them with a HT mind...

The Hogester

Cheshley wrote:

I use Mont Blanc Discovery racks and find them to be better than the Thule ones. No issues with the clamp being impeded by some suspension geometry as mentioned above as the clamp holds the down-tube from underneath. Been using these and the predecessor to it, the Barracuda, for 10 years and never had any problems, plus I like that the main support arm locks down to the body of the rack when not in use. unlike the Thule system.

I'll have to give those a look, thanks for that.

keirtristan

Forget the overprice Thule's you really just need something to do the job.

I got some Fapa roof bars and the Cruz Bici cycle carrier from www.roofbox.co.uk.

Do the job as well as any others, don't cost the Earth like Thule.

The Hogester

keirtristan wrote:

Forget the overprice Thule's you really just need something to do the job.

I got some Fapa roof bars and the Cruz Bici cycle carrier from www.roofbox.co.uk.

Do the job as well as any others, don't cost the Earth like Thule.

Does the bike feel really secure on it?

Surf-Matt

I thought my Thule kit was fine price wise - £120 for the roofrack (my car has roof rails), £70 for each carrier. Quite happy with that.

Scottland

I ordered some of those Cruz carriers, and I thought they were pretty good for the money, but didn't fit my bike properly.

couldashouldawoulda

+1 for the cruz. Basic I guess but does a fine job.

Yes it's very secure as I found out when misjudged the height or a car park entrance. it was at low speed fortunatly. The bike stayed on and upright. The bottom rail On the carrier bent down but an equal and opposite force restored it to working order. Btw bar end prevented any damage to the bikes.

keirtristan

The Hogester wrote:

keirtristan wrote:

Forget the overprice Thule's you really just need something to do the job.

I got some Fapa roof bars and the Cruz Bici cycle carrier from www.roofbox.co.uk.

Do the job as well as any others, don't cost the Earth like Thule.

Does the bike feel really secure on it?

If you mean secure as in as in wouldn't fall off the car then yes, was happy to tootle up the motorway (50mph though) to Sherwood Pines with it on my car.

If you mean secure as in no one could half inch it if I left it alone then I'd say I wouldn't leave it alone even if I had a Thule, some chap posted on here with pics of his Thule after thieves made short work of taking the secured bikes off the roof.

I got some returned roof bars so got them cheaper, didn't spend more than £70 on roof bars and cycle carrier.

Decathlon do a very similat cycle carrier for a similar price.

The Hogester

keirtristan wrote:

The Hogester wrote:

keirtristan wrote:

Forget the overprice Thule's you really just need something to do the job.

I got some Fapa roof bars and the Cruz Bici cycle carrier from www.roofbox.co.uk.

Do the job as well as any others, don't cost the Earth like Thule.

Does the bike feel really secure on it?

If you mean secure as in as in wouldn't fall off the car then yes, was happy to tootle up the motorway (50mph though) to Sherwood Pines with it on my car.

If you mean secure as in no one could half inch it if I left it alone then I'd say I wouldn't leave it alone even if I had a Thule, some chap posted on here with pics of his Thule after thieves made short work of taking the secured bikes off the roof.

I got some returned roof bars so got them cheaper, didn't spend more than £70 on roof bars and cycle carrier.

Decathlon do a very similat cycle carrier for a similar price.

Yeah i mean securely fastened, i know that they offer little security from thieves. I'll give these a serious look, thanks for the advice.

chrisf70

I must agree with the recommendation for Mont Blanc Barracuda racks. I've had two for about seven years, and the ease of fit and security is fantastic. The biggest plus point I've ever found for them is that it takes seconds to adjust the rack to fit any bike, so if a friend needs a lift to a ride with their bike there is no problem.

Just got new roof bars for my Signum the other day and fitted the Barracuda's really quickly.

The Hogester

Are there any problems with this style of carrier and full sus bikes? Or would it be bike specific on that one?

chrisf70

The Hogester wrote:

Are there any problems with this style of carrier and full sus bikes? Or would it be bike specific on that one?

Good question, unfortunatley though I've never had a full sus bike so haven't had to put one on them.

nicklouse

some frame designs dont like some bike carriers.

I took the some of the bikes in before i landed with a thule 591 also looking to add the 561 as well.

I also have a tow bar mounted thule bike carrier.

I like thule.

Rich Hcp

I have the Thule bars and pro racks, totally solid

Easy to take bikes on and off

You can lock the rack to the roof bars and the bike to the rack

My mate is ditching his Halfords Advance, it's falling apart, rack for Thule Pro

Underscore

Just to add another name to the mix, I have 2 Atera Giro AFs:



I find them absolutely rock solid and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them

_

The Hogester

Underscore wrote:

Just to add another name to the mix, I have 2 Atera Giro AFs:



I find them absolutely rock solid and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them

_

I was actually looking at these. Roofbox do package deals with Atera or Thule bars. The carrier seems very similar to the Thule 591.

Have you used them with any full sus bikes?

Underscore

The Hogester wrote:

Underscore wrote:

Just to add another name to the mix, I have 2 Atera Giro AFs:



I find them absolutely rock solid and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them

_

I was actually looking at these. Roofbox do package deals with Atera or Thule bars. The carrier seems very similar to the Thule 591.

Have you used them with any full sus bikes?

No, 'fraid not. Only used ours with various hard tails. If your frame has a fairly conventional downtube, I would think that it might fit but FS frames vary sooo much...

_

The Hogester

Underscore wrote:

The Hogester wrote:

Underscore wrote:

Just to add another name to the mix, I have 2 Atera Giro AFs:



I find them absolutely rock solid and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them

_

I was actually looking at these. Roofbox do package deals with Atera or Thule bars. The carrier seems very similar to the Thule 591.

Have you used them with any full sus bikes?

No, 'fraid not. Only used ours with various hard tails. If your frame has a fairly conventional downtube, I would think that it might fit but FS frames vary sooo much...

_

Well i currently have a hardtail, im just thinking of in the future. I guess i'll just have to cross that bridge when i come to it.

rogue pieman

Sorry 'bout digging up an old topic....

I've got an Atera Giro roof rack. Brilliant with hardtails, but a mate's Specialized Enduro won't fit at all. :? After spending all that spond on the rack my urine was well boiled.

RupertCommunicator

What roof rack carriers would fit my bike? It's a 2005 SC Bullit.



Cheers. 8)

gareth84

why don`t any roof carriers have a locking system that goes 360 degrees around the down tube? this seems crazy to me as there always the chance of it slipping up or sideways.

rogue pieman

Jon_sillito wrote:

What roof rack carriers would fit my bike? It's a 2005 SC Bullit.

Cheers. 8)

My friend with the Specialized Enduro uses a Thule, one of these:

http://www.thule.com/Thule/ProductPage____83145.aspx

It involves putting the front wheel in a carry bag, attaching the bike via the front forks and strapping the rear wheel down. There are fork manufacturers out there, like Fox, that will flush your warranty down the toilet if you use this method tho, apparently.

The Hogester

Would i be right in saying that a bike would need a conventionally positioned down tube with enough clearance for the clamp to fit?

So that doesn't rule out FS bikes completely, just massively narrows your choices.

Stevo_666

I think most FS bikes will fit provided the down tube is within the Thule size limits which are something like 80x80 or 80x100mm. I tried my Thule 591's on my Anthem and it took about 10 seconds to find a handy point on the down tube to grab with the 'pincer'.

The biggest faff is getting them up there - if you have a people carrier or 4x4, the base of the carrier is nearly 6ft off the ground so I needed asmall step ladder to get them on first time (although not for getting them down). With a bit of practice you should be able to do away with the step ladder and just stand on the rear door sill but you need a bit of upper body strength to get it into position from there (nearly dropped it once :oops: )

A good quality piece of kit, though as said above not cheap and also not sure how long it would take a determined tea leaf to get past the locks?

Steve.

irishdan13

I have a set of the Baracudas and have no problem carrying either the Hardtail GT or the F/S Trance X2 on them.

The only issue I have ever had with them is the tyre size they take. They are supposed to take 2.1s but depending on the tread you may occasionally have to let a bit of air out of the front tyre. Not a problem though as I always carry the track pump when loading the bikes onto the roof. This is more of a problem with the GT (Nevegal DTC) rather than the Giant (Nevegal Stick-E)

Both bikes feel really secure once attached, which is easy.

Cheers