Road bike roof rack mount vs wheel mount

majster

Hi all

I need to transport my bike and travel about 150 miles

I've got a roof rack with a bike holder (Thule 532 Freestyle) which anchors both the frame and the two wheels

However, looking at other cars with roof mouted bikes there seems to be a lot of wobble in the bike especially with speed

I don't want the frame or the wheels get buckled in anyway

Am I better off getting another roof rack mount that would avoid this issue - would a front rack mount work better than wheel mount?

Many thanks

cougie

I've never heard of anyone buckling a wheel or frame with the carrier you've got.

StillGoing

Hear and seen downtubes getting damaged by mounts that grip the downtube. I've always used front fork mounts, but recently moved to a towbar mounted 4 bike rack as I'm now too old to be messing about lifting bikes on and off of the roof of a Touareg 4x4. Leaves the roof clear for a roof box too if going anywhere with a lot of luggage.

Edited to correct Apple's insistence that it knows what I'm supposed to be writing! Aaarrrggghhhh!

gdcfc1

philthy3 wrote:

..... but recently moved to a towbar mounted 4 bike rack as I'm now too old to be messing about lifting bikes on and off of the roof of a Touareg 4x4. Leaves the roof clear for a roof box too if going anywhere with a lot of luggage.

Which one do you have? Looking for best way to carry 4 bikes behind my car (Audi Q3) so I can have roof box on top too.

Thanks

trekvet

On the roof you risk going in a car park with a height bar, or getting bike nicked? Are you sure you can't take the wheels (and chain) off and put it inside?

Craig_Broadbent

Carbon bike manufacturers recommend against frame clamping. Those thin walls, sharp cornered for aero frames, do not like being crushed, by clamps, but don't take my word for it.
https://auxtail.com/2018/06/09/clamping-your-carbon-frame/
Clamping the frame also allows the front wheel to rotate, which can cause a wobble.

fenix

I always use a bit of foam pipe lagging - you dont need to crush the frame - just make sure it's supported. Done thousands of miles with no issue.

imafatman

I have a front fork mounting bike rack. Holds the bike very steady. It's the only thing I'd trust cos the others just wobble around. Fine if you want to poodle at 55mph all the way but that's too slow for me.

fenix

All of the team cars in the tour have 'complete' bikes on top - secured by the frame as far as i can tell. They blat it at speed at times. If it can cope at 55mph it can cope at Mway speeds.

norvernrob

This is an interesting thread. Soon I’ll be travelling 1600 miles to France and back, twice in a month, with 12 grand worth of bikes. My intention is to buy 3 Thule 598’s, as my mate and his Mrs who are coming with me already have 598’s on their car and haven’t had any issues.

I wondered if fork mounts might be better though, or I even considered a Saris Bones 3 but haven’t had the best experience with rear mounted racks (dented car even with wrapping everything that could come in contact with it in bubble wrap).

StillGoing

gdcfc1 wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

..... but recently moved to a towbar mounted 4 bike rack as I'm now too old to be messing about lifting bikes on and off of the roof of a Touareg 4x4. Leaves the roof clear for a roof box too if going anywhere with a lot of luggage.

Which one do you have? Looking for best way to carry 4 bikes behind my car (Audi Q3) so I can have roof box on top too.

Thanks

This one with the adapter.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Thule-92701-Ve ... _91093.htm

photojim

I still use 40 year old San Remo fork mounted bike carriers on the roof. So simple, just pop the front wheel out, clamp the front fork drop-outs, rest the rear wheel on the rear roof bar and strap that with an old toe-strap. The front wheel can either go into the car or stand on a pedal with a strap against the bike frame. We can carry up to 4 bikes this way and the beauty is that when the bikes are off, the roof clutter is minimal. The bike being 'knelt down' with no front wheel also means a much lower centre of mass - so much more stable - no wobble even on a French motorway....

Only drawback is that once about 35 years ago I forgot I had a bike on the roof and drove into a multi-storey car park. The first I knew was hearing a bang and a bike appearing on the rear window.... Luckily it was only the sister-in-laws bike...

I really struggle to understand most roof-mounted bike racks - unless you are in a team car and need instant access to complete bike. They must generally appeal to the sort of rider who is nervous about taking a wheel out - which I would sort of understand with a novice or non tech savvy cyclist.

Decent tow bar fitted racks also seem good - apart from inhibiting use of boot/tailgate and being easy to have shunted in traffic or parking.