Fiat Panda & Thule 591 Pro Ride Bike Carriers

Dunedin397

Hello Everyone

I've just received a Fiat Panda with Fiat's own roof bars to take my existing Thule 591 Pro Ride bike carriers. The problem is that they won't fit. The clamps won't reach around underneath the bars as they did on the previous square bars, the new bars are oval shaped. I saw the same bars and carrier clamped is their Line Accessories brochure so I thought I'd be ok.

The dealer is saying they get everything they need in the box when they fit the carriers, and Thule are saying I'd either need to use the T bolts in the bar track, which I don't seem to have, as they don't have big enough clamps. But Fiat seem to be clamping the carriers in place.

If anyone has had a similar experience or is knowledgeable about bars and carriers, particularly for Fiat cars with these carriers, any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Dunedin397

SoSimple

I've got those racks and use them with Thule Wingbars. I know the racks come with the U bolts and also the T track fixings. Had a quick look at the Fiat bars and if they havent got the T track in the top, I dont think the U bolts will fit as they are designed for square section bars.

I'm sure you could get slightly bigger bolts but if the bars are curved, it will probably look crap and you'll knacker them as the aluminium is isnt designed to have bolts tightened over them.

If you've got the T track, you'll just need to get three bolts for it, which I'm sure you can pick up cheap on ebay

Dunedin397

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19629652#p19629652]SoSimple[/url] wrote:

I've got those racks and use them with Thule Wingbars. I know the racks come with the U bolts and also the T track fixings. Had a quick look at the Fiat bars and if they havent got the T track in the top, I dont think the U bolts will fit as they are designed for square section bars.

I'm sure you could get slightly bigger bolts but if the bars are curved, it will probably look crap and you'll knacker them as the aluminium is isnt designed to have bolts tightened over them.

If you've got the T track, you'll just need to get three bolts for it, which I'm sure you can pick up cheap on ebay

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply, it actually got me thinking. I took the foot cover off a bar and it looks like the black strip running along the bar is a single piece of rubber which can slide out. Once removed I think T-track bolts can be inserted and then attach to the carrier's clamps. I'll need to be sure to get the correct set of bolts though.

I have attached the bars in a different manner, but I may end up changing the carrier on the passenger side back to the normal configuration to then have it facing the rear. At the moment I'm not sure if 2 mountain bikes would sit together without the handlebars clashing.

I may even remove that carrier completely as I may go for a slim roof box and use the tow bar carrier when taking 2 bikes.

I'd have avoided this if the Fiat brochure hadn't shown the carriers on their bars with the clamp, but you live
and learn.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Dunedin397

Dunedin397

At the weekend I looked at a few cars of various makes that had aero bars with 591 carriers and they all used T-track bolts to connect the two.

So from that I took the end plate off my Fiat bars and I believe the rubber piece can be slid out to accept T-track bolts. My carriers might be an older design which may need specific aero bar pieces that I don't have as they went on square bars originally.

To cut a long story short, the carriers are on the bars using industrial metal core tie wraps that cost £s per tie wrap rather than 100 plastic tie wraps per a couple of £. To tighten and cut them properly a special gun is needed (which is £50 new!, but thanks to eBay I got a little used 2nd hand gun). The carriers haven't moved a millimetre over the last few days so next I'll test a bike on top along local roads then the motorway.

I'll probably use the rear tow bar carrier when on longer journeys anyway and use the roof carriers for local events.

I've done a lot of googling and the law seems to state loads have to be secure and how that's done is up to the driver of the vehicle. The canoe and kaying community forums have been very helpful here as they carry heavier and longer loads on vehicles and whilst bought carriers are the norm, they all seem to add their own extra solution to secure loads.

Cheers,

Dunedin397