Bike carriers for cars

jamlala

Hi all, does anyone have any good suggestions for a 4 bike car carrier to fit to a car? I have an estate car, and would consider either roof racks or a rear mounted carrier. Something half decent rather than cheap or cheerful.

g00se

Upper range Thule are good. Like the Proride 591 roof carriers. The new 598 looks good, especially if you're paranoid about clamping carbon frames - though I've never heard of problems using the 591, just don't be heavy handed tightening up the clamp.

However, you don't need to go with the Thule roof bars themselves (across the car) - there are half decent budget ones on ebay.

Flâneur

I'd go rear mounted if you have a tow bar. (less chance of dinging your car with a slip or a moment of tiredness) I have been using a Thule which apart from being secure and away form my paintwork has a kick down feature allowing access to the boot without taking bikes off.

I've not done any fuel measurement with it or against roof bars. I just went for the easiest and safest way to carry bikes, MTB or road.

Though with 1 bike I just throw the seats down

lostboysaint

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19783055#p19783055]Flâneur[/url] wrote:

I'd go rear mounted if you have a tow bar. (less chance of dinging your car with a slip or a moment of tiredness) I have been using a Thule which apart from being secure and away form my paintwork has a kick down feature allowing access to the boot without taking bikes off.

I've not done any fuel measurement with it or against roof bars. I just went for the easiest and safest way to carry bikes, MTB or road.

Though with 1 bike I just throw the seats down

That.

Before I went back to driving a van with a Fiamm rack on the back I tried everything, roof rack fittings, Bones, other hatch/tailgate mounted racks and the best solution by a long way was a Thule towbar rack which, as Flaneur has suggested, is very secure for the bikes. As he also says it's worth looking for one with the "kickdown" lever to tilt it so that you can access the boot without any dramas. Strada Atera DL worth looking at as well as that slides out of the way!

fatdaz

I have a Saris Bones and I find my mate's towbar mounted Thule rack to be way better. If I was choosing again I would definitely have got the Thule

dabber

I've had my Strada Atera DL for a few years and regularly drive down to southwest France with it. An excellent bit of kit. Very secure, easy to attach bikes.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php?20384&gclid=CJuo55umucoCFaLnwgodfCADGA

Chris James

I've got Thule bars and Thule 591s on the roof of a Mondeo estate. I can only fit three carriers on, not four. I believe the cheaper Thule, and some other makes, have a smaller footprint and you can fit four carriers on. I'd do a bit of research on the car / bars / carrier combo before buying if you need to fit four bikes on.

dyrlac

A second vote for the Strada. Tow ball for sure for that many bikes. Actually more of a vote for roofbox.com which goes into exhaustive details of use cases and pros cons with a degree of candor that is extremely surprising for a retailer.