bike roof racks

Hi Guys/Girls

I just bought and fitted some 'RACK' roof racks
http://www.roof-racks.com.au/ that are Aussie made and are not avail in
motor retail places except motor dealers selling them as options.

I also bought the bike accessories that you use to secure the bike to the
racks to transport the bike, I seen so many racing cycles carried this way
so I thought it to be better than fitting a towbar then a rack, number plate
etc,. I'm just wondering if a bike other than a light weight road bike would
be safe carrying this way. I tried to fit my Fuji Touring bike on it and it
was a hell of a struggle for me to lift up and try to place it in the
attachments. the front having the fork screw down bit like as if you were
tightening up a front wheel and a rear peice that has rubber boot on the
inside so it hugs the rear wheel.
The rear attachment is lockable by key so it can't be stolen (remains to be
seen)and it locks the rear wheel into place.

If anyone here uses these kind of roof rack arrangements, do you use
anything else to secure it or do you trust the attachments to keep your bike
stable in transit? Are they suitable for anything much heavier than a racing
bike?and lastly, whats your technique on lifting the bike up to the racks
and placing it into the attachments, I can do it but it's a bit of a
struggle by myself trying to keep a 14kg bike steady while i place and
tighten it down without it falling over on me or worse, the car roof.

If anyone has any experience, advice, suggestions etc etc please let me
know, I'm just wondering if I'm doing it right.

Thanks in advance

DJ

DJ wrote:

Hi Guys/Girls

I just bought and fitted some 'RACK' roof racks
http://www.roof-racks.com.au/ that are Aussie made and are not avail
in motor retail places except motor dealers selling them as options.

I also bought the bike accessories that you use to secure the bike to
the racks to transport the bike, I seen so many racing cycles carried
this way so I thought it to be better than fitting a towbar then a
rack, number plate etc,. I'm just wondering if a bike other than a
light weight road bike would be safe carrying this way. I tried to
fit my Fuji Touring bike on it and it was a hell of a struggle for me
to lift up and try to place it in the attachments. the front having
the fork screw down bit like as if you were tightening up a front
wheel and a rear peice that has rubber boot on the inside so it hugs
the rear wheel. The rear attachment is lockable by key so it can't
be stolen (remains to be seen)and it locks the rear wheel into place.

If anyone here uses these kind of roof rack arrangements, do you use
anything else to secure it or do you trust the attachments to keep
your bike stable in transit? Are they suitable for anything much
heavier than a racing bike?and lastly, whats your technique on
lifting the bike up to the racks and placing it into the attachments,
I can do it but it's a bit of a struggle by myself trying to keep a
14kg bike steady while i place and tighten it down without it falling
over on me or worse, the car roof.

If anyone has any experience, advice, suggestions etc etc please
let me know, I'm just wondering if I'm doing it right.

Thanks in advance

DJ

I use 5-year old Thule roof bar racks to carry a mountain bike and a
Mongoose Randonneur (touring bike with rack, mudguards etc, but I took
off the saddle bag and other easily removable bits & pieces.) This has
been fine for long distances eg Melbourne to Bright. The Thule
attachment seems plenty secure - in the front section you push down a
lever that squeezes the dropouts in place. The back is a simple
ratchet strap that holds down the rear rim. I didn't feel the need for
extra attachments. You have to wipe the bugs off the bike at the end
though :-)

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!

Andrew Reddaway Wrote:

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!


Get a lower car, one of those sportscars that disappears below
regular rearview mirror.
Also, you won't have to worry about taking out your garage with th
bike

--
aeek

yeah, definitely remember that your car is 1m+ higher than normal when
approaching undercover parking or overhanging trees etc...

"aeek" wrote in message
...

Andrew Reddaway Wrote:

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!


Get a lower car, one of those sportscars that disappears below a
regular rearview mirror.
Also, you won't have to worry about taking out your garage with the
bike.


--
aeek

Andrew Reddaway wrote:
DJ wrote:


snip

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!

What he said.

I don't have a garage so I'm statistically better off than those who do.

I've used it for road and MTBs with no problems, but I always get
paranoid about it falling off.

Also, at highway speeds they tend increase fuel consumption more than
you might expect.

I've read somewhere (on the Internet, so it's obviously true) that
100km/h is enough pressure to force headset seals open, but who knows
how accurate that is.

Roof racks are especially useful for MTBing because the filthy muddy
bike stays outside the car.

--
Nick

"NickZX6R" wrote in message
...
Andrew Reddaway wrote:
DJ wrote:


snip

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!

What he said.

I don't have a garage so I'm statistically better off than those who do.

I've used it for road and MTBs with no problems, but I always get paranoid
about it falling off.

Also, at highway speeds they tend increase fuel consumption more than you
might expect.

I've read somewhere (on the Internet, so it's obviously true) that 100km/h
is enough pressure to force headset seals open, but who knows how accurate
that is.

Roof racks are especially useful for MTBing because the filthy muddy bike
stays outside the car.

--
Nick

Yeah Nick thanks, that's something I never knew(about the headset), I guess
I'll have to keep my speed down a bit anyway but you know how speed kinda
creeps up on you eh.

And about the low trees, yes something else i have considered already and
will be looking out for.

With my bike, I also have full mudguards front & rear (plastic) that even
when on the racks will not touch the roof but i'll have to tie the SPD's to
the frame as they will touch the roof when they rotate, anyway, I'll just
take the bike for a short run around local to see how it goes.

Whilst I was driving around today working,(in me bus), I took notice of a
few different set-ups around Sydney city going past just fast enough for me
to have a good gander of their brackets and how they're set-up (nah, don't
worry, i didn't run over any cyclists or pedestrians in the process) . It's
funny how many of roof rack/cycle clamps you notice after you've bought a
set up and wished you had what HE had.
I think because the touring bike is longer, the roofracks might be spread
too far apart for my car, It's 93 magna so it's not a long roof, so I think
I might buy the extra rack strip that goes lengthways from bar to bar so
that the back wheel is actually sitting on that strip rather than on the
crossbar only supported by a plastic & rubber rear wheel clamp and bring the
2 bars in closer together.Although these bars are aerodynamic in shape (like
an aerofoil) they still get a decent hum up at speeds around 110kph.

DJ

DJ wrote:
"NickZX6R" wrote in message
...

Andrew Reddaway wrote:

DJ wrote:



snip

My only tip for putting it on is to hold the bike low down on the seat
tube and low down on the fork, and don't be short!

What he said.

I don't have a garage so I'm statistically better off than those who do.

I've used it for road and MTBs with no problems, but I always get paranoid
about it falling off.

Also, at highway speeds they tend increase fuel consumption more than you
might expect.

I've read somewhere (on the Internet, so it's obviously true) that 100km/h
is enough pressure to force headset seals open, but who knows how accurate
that is.

Roof racks are especially useful for MTBing because the filthy muddy bike
stays outside the car.

--
Nick


Yeah Nick thanks, that's something I never knew(about the headset), I guess
I'll have to keep my speed down a bit anyway but you know how speed kinda
creeps up on you eh.

And about the low trees, yes something else i have considered already and
will be looking out for.

With my bike, I also have full mudguards front & rear (plastic) that even
when on the racks will not touch the roof but i'll have to tie the SPD's to
the frame as they will touch the roof when they rotate, anyway, I'll just
take the bike for a short run around local to see how it goes.

Whilst I was driving around today working,(in me bus), I took notice of a
few different set-ups around Sydney city going past just fast enough for me
to have a good gander of their brackets and how they're set-up (nah, don't
worry, i didn't run over any cyclists or pedestrians in the process) . It's
funny how many of roof rack/cycle clamps you notice after you've bought a
set up and wished you had what HE had.
I think because the touring bike is longer, the roofracks might be spread
too far apart for my car, It's 93 magna so it's not a long roof, so I think
I might buy the extra rack strip that goes lengthways from bar to bar so
that the back wheel is actually sitting on that strip rather than on the
crossbar only supported by a plastic & rubber rear wheel clamp and bring the
2 bars in closer together.Although these bars are aerodynamic in shape (like
an aerofoil) they still get a decent hum up at speeds around 110kph.

DJ



I'm not that convinced about the headset story, but if you're paranoid
you can just wrap a bit of tape around the headset cups.

As for the windy noise they create, I use the age old remedy of turning
up the music

--
Nick