Roof Rack & Carbon Bikes

fludey

Hi I currenlty have 2 Thule Roof Racks, they have straps around front and rear wheel and a lift up arm with rubber frame clamp which I use for my alloy bike and MTB.

I have heard that you shouldnt use this sort on carbon frames, does anyone know if this is the case and should I buy a 3rd rack that removes front wheel and clamps front forks? (although to me this looks like it puts more stress on the bike!)

Dont wanna wreck my carbon frame!

:?

topdude

I suppose the potential problem is doing the clamp up too tight and crushing the downtube.
However carbon is tougher than you think.
If the clamp on the rack has a curved gripping surface then it should be ok. But if it is flat then you might have to do it up tighter to hold the bike in place.
I would go for a front fork clamp, it can't cause any more stress than riding the bike would

john_wr

From what I have read on websites such as roofbox.co.uk, fork mounting racks are not suitable for bikes with all carbon forks, which especially includes the drop-outs.

If you feel uneasy about using a clamp on a carbon frame, my advice for a bike with all carbon forks would be to buy a lighweight bag and carry the bike in the car, if it is possible.

John.

Monty Dog

The same questions has been covered umpteen times on here - unless you massively strong-arm the clamp then there's no problem and there's absolutely no evidence anywhere of a fork failure due to a roof rack mount - FWIW stresses from riding are far greater. If you're worried about the former, look on youtube for "Cannondale Taurine vs Hammer".

Pigtail

I have an alu bike, but the grippers on my thule roof mounted carrier are fairly hard plastic and I was worried about damaging the paint primarily.

I cut a piece of rubber from an old car tube and wrapped it round the downtube before tightening it. It worked okay, again be careful about how far you tighten it, but it would be difficult to close the bit with the lock on it if you had overtightened it.

fludey

My forks are all carbon including the drop outs but as you say no less stress than riding.

So then can anyone suggest a decent fork clamp type rack as not seen many about?

Pinner

I use a roof rack similar to your Thule on my Specialized Tarmac SL2, It won't do any harm except if your rack damages the paint, which mine hasn't. I use this style of rack as I am also a mountainbiker and this is the easiest option for my bikes with 15mm axles.

Monty Dog

A lot of the pro teams use Thule

proto

fludey wrote:

My forks are all carbon including the drop outs but as you say no less stress than riding.

So then can anyone suggest a decent fork clamp type rack as not seen many about?

Thule 561

I've got two of these, work perfectly. And my bikes have carbon fork drop outs :P

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehs ... VEAx,..D.r

fludey

That looks just the job, thanks

oldwelshman

Personally I would not put backs on roof due to the wind resistance they add and the batterring they take.
Much better to get thule tow bar mounted one.