Roof Mounted vs Tow Bar Mounted Cycle Racks

Hart1969

I need a cycle rack to carry 4 bikes - two adult & two childs.
I'm considering a Thule tow bar mounted system & also 4 Thule Proride roof mounted racks.

My car is quite high (Renualt Grand Scenic) so getttig 4 bikes up there could be a struggle - if 4 bikes will actually fit? Also will fuel economy be an issue with bikes on roof?

I must admit I prefer the idea of having the bikes securely mounted on the rear of the car.

Any advice on tow bar carrier vs roof racks.

Thanks

slowbike

Lifting and fuel economy are the two main reasons we went for towbar rack. Those plus I've seen some disasters when the driver has forgotten the additional height of the bikes on the roof and gone under a low bar ....

rafletcher

Towball mounted without a doubt. The windage of roof mounted stuff is horrendous, both in terms of drag and in side winds - plus the car'll roll much more with them on top, plus any ferry costs will go up due to overheight etc etc. and the aforementioned heigh barrier/bike interface issues (thankfully not done that. And these days the Thule rear mounted ones hinge to allow you to open the boot/tailgate without de-mounting the bikes.

navrig2

Tow bar for me although I find the roof mounts more convenient for a single carry.

HertsG

I have both but only ever now use the towbar rack.

The last time I used the roof rack mount, I drove to Holland on my own with just one bike on the roof. My mpg was slaughtered!

Zerotails99

Unless youre doing serious motorway mileage roof rack is the best.

gloomyandy

Not always that case with ferry costs. I've traveled a number of times to the Hebrides and Orkney with bikes. In both cases they asked me about the location of the bikes and I was told that roof mounted bikes were fine but that rear mounted ones *might* cost more due to the overall length. Probably depends on the type of ferry being used. On the above routes there are not really any height restrictions (the same ferries carry a lot of freight traffic).

Other things to think about are overall cost. I suspect that the initial cost of a tow bar mounted option is higher (unless you already have the tow bar), but as others have said the running costs may be higher (though on a recent trip to North Uist, I got about 62 mpg with two bikes on the roof, normally get about 70mpg). Probably depends how often and how far you plan to travel.

southdownswolf

Slowbike wrote:

Lifting and fuel economy are the two main reasons we went for towbar rack. Those plus I've seen some disasters when the driver has forgotten the additional height of the bikes on the roof and gone under a low bar ....

You obviously saw me at 4am going through Rouen one day in August 3 years ago.....

southdownswolf

I have all three types that I use.
A roof mount if there is just one bike.
Rear mounted cycle carrier if no trailer on.
Tow bar mount (attaches to a special plate that sits behind the tow ball) if I have the trailer on.

As my wife has a new car and the lights will be obscured by the rear mounting of bikes, I am going to have to get a number plate board, which means that the rear mount will probably not be needed anymore.

kingstonian

Go with towbar mounted. Roof mounted are a pain in the arse to use, kill fuel economy, are noisy and I don't believe you can use them if taking the Eurotunnel.

overlord2

Long distances - rear.
Short distances - roof.

Plus you have 4 bikes the weight limit for roof bars is about 20-25kg

me-109

Think the weight limit on my roof bars is 50Kg. I find three bikes are quite a squeeze, but that is also affected by the particular bike carriers that you use. Certainly cheaper than towbar mounts - dealer fit for my current and last car were about £500 and other makes only slightly cheaper. Then the added cost of a rack for the bikes.

Roof-mounted certainly kills the mpg though. Fortunately mine don't go on the roof all that often and with only one or two bikes they go inside the car.

StillGoing

Hart1969 wrote:

I need a cycle rack to carry 4 bikes - two adult & two childs.
I'm considering a Thule tow bar mounted system & also 4 Thule Proride roof mounted racks.

My car is quite high (Renualt Grand Scenic) so getttig 4 bikes up there could be a struggle - if 4 bikes will actually fit? Also will fuel economy be an issue with bikes on roof?

I must admit I prefer the idea of having the bikes securely mounted on the rear of the car.

Any advice on tow bar carrier vs roof racks.

Thanks

I'm a short arse and drive a VW Touareg with roof mounted bars. I have no problem putting a bike up or getting one down on my own even if it is sometimes other riders weigh a ton Specialized Allezs rather than my carbon frame bikes. The racks I use are fork mounted ones rather than down tube and both wheel mounted.

I went for roof mounted instead of tow ball mounted simply because I can get in and out of the boot area without needing to remove the bikes, I know they're there and haven't fallen off, and they don't hang out the sides.

Dippydog2

I have both. The roof one is going to go on ebay as.

1. Fuel economy is carp.
2. It's a pain lifting things onto the roof.
3. It's noisy.
4. The bikes get dirtier.
5. When I reverse I always look behind. No problem. When I drive forward I never look up. Potential problem.

This is my favourite.
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehs ... e5K%7BW%7D

cattytown

Carrying four bikes, you may need to look at the weight of them all - you *may* need to use both roof and rear to distribute load. Remember when looking at the weight loading you need to add the weight of the carriers as well.

I have no idea what bikes you have. You may have four bikes that challenge UCI weight limits, or you may have four tesco heavyweights. Four heavy bikes and a carrier can mount up. Children's bikes in particular can be surprisingly heavy.

Paul.

northpole

Four bikes are much better placed on rear towbar mounted rack. Only things to bear in mind are when reversing your vehicle is now significantly longer (not sure what rear parking sensors make of the rack etc - may shout a bit at you!); and if you stop there will be greater risks of theft from what will often be a concealed view. Otherwise the rear rack is much better concept with bikes much better sheltered from the elements and much easier to place on a rack than the roof - if you pull a muscle (my back has just gone 'twang' on me!) you'd be well and truly in trouble with the roof rack. As others have said, economy and wind noise will be much better with a rear rack. Main demerit would be storage space required.

Peter

Wunnunda

The reversing sensors (and rear camera if you have one) become as useful as a chocolate tea-pot once the rack is on.

The matter of weight is also important to keep in mind. Tow-bars have two main weight numbers to worry about : the draw weight (the weight of caravan or trailer you can pull) which is irrelevant here, and 'drop' or 'nose' weight (which is the vertical weight allowed) which is key. This is not the tow-bar itself (which generally over-engineered) but the design of the car and the capacity (if that's the right word?) of the suspension.

My (now quite old) Thule weighs nearly as much as two MTBs and with 4 MTBs on will total nearly 90kgs. Road bikes would be a LOT less than this obviously. Cars can have a 'drop' weight of anywhere from 65kgs (small hatchback) to <120kgs) for an SUV, and it's not obvious from the appearance of a car what that number is. For example a VW Tiguan looks like a roughty-toughty SUV but is actually based on the same floor pan as a 4x4 Golf and has a surprising low weight limit.

Having said that a bar mounted rack is a no brainer for me as my family's idea of travelling light requires I fill a roof box as well as the luggage compartment.... :roll:

mroli

Kingstonian wrote:

I don't believe you can use them if taking the Eurotunnel.

Untrue - used it in July with 2 bikes and a roof box on. Don't think it cost us any more money and you just have to go in a separate queue for high vehicles...

type:epyt

Nearly every post above decrying roof mounted racks cites 'fuel economy' ... Not in my experience.

We have used our Thule roof carrier on 200 mile trips (so 400 there and back) in our mini cooper with 2 bike and have noticed no real difference in mpg (maybe 1 or 2 mpg difference) whether we have the bikes, the carrier or nothing at all on the roof. Granted we're not tanking down the motorway but usually it's the A1 then dual carriageway so driving between 60 and 70-ish mph. There's always a fair breeze blowing as well.

My buddy has the same carrier and he swears it affects his mpg, but then he drives like a nitwit so struggles with that anyway.

kingstonian

mroli wrote:

Kingstonian wrote:

I don't believe you can use them if taking the Eurotunnel.

Untrue - used it in July with 2 bikes and a roof box on. Don't think it cost us any more money and you just have to go in a separate queue for high vehicles...

Ah, thanks for clarifying. We are going the last week of August and they told my wife we couldn't have roof mounted bikes, so maybe it was just because all the slots for high vehicles had been booked.

Anyway, it was no issue as we are going for a rear mounted rack.

me-109

Just came across this on eBay - this is what you need to look pro on holiday:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/road-bike-/281409034290?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276