Roof-racks for bikes

After just a little too much time spent in the rain just lately
attaching bikes onto a boot-mounted carrier, I think I'd like to get a
roof-rack based system.

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?

Daniele

On 19/08/2007 16:23, D.M. Procida said,

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?

The Thule Proride 591 is the only one worth considering :-)

http://www.thule.com/Thule/ProductPage____45881.aspx

Note that this is the rack itself - you will still need roof bars of
some sort to suit your specific car. If you have a full-sus mountain
bike though, check that the area of the downtube where the clamp fits is
clear of suspension gubbins :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

D.M. Procida wrote:
After just a little too much time spent in the rain just lately
attaching bikes onto a boot-mounted carrier, I think I'd like to get a
roof-rack based system.

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?


Thule is the usually quoted maker of decent bits, but you need roof bars as
well (they make/sell them). There are also gizmos to aid the lifting
process if lifting a bike to that height isn't a good thing for your
back/arms. www.roofbox.co.uk have a decent website and a reasonable
reputation for mail order supply of such stuff.


Alternative, and worth considering seriously, is tow-bar mounted. This
assumes a tow-bar can be fitted relatively cheaply and easily to your car.
The better tow-bar racks will hinge away from the boot allowing access, but
still keep the aerodynamic drag to a reasonably low figure, avoids risk of
collision with very low-bridges (one locally to me would see a bike off the
roof of a tall people-carrier), carpark barriers and garage doors, and avoid
the need to lift the bike onto the car roof.



- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

"D.M. Procida" wrote in
message
...
After just a little too much time spent in the rain just lately
attaching bikes onto a boot-mounted carrier, I think I'd like to get a
roof-rack based system.

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?



I think a bike with a roof rack on it would look a bit silly. And being top
heavy would make cornering interesting to say the least!
A jacket with a hood might be better, and some mud guards.

D.M. Procida wrote:
After just a little too much time spent in the rain just lately
attaching bikes onto a boot-mounted carrier, I think I'd like to get a
roof-rack based system.

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?

Daniele

Get a folding bike. Bung it in the boot. Wish I'd done it 10 years ago.
--


Martin Bulmer

D.M. Procida wrote:

After just a little too much time spent in the rain just lately
attaching bikes onto a boot-mounted carrier, I think I'd like to get a
roof-rack based system.

Is there something that is particularly well recommended?

We've just returned from our holidays, carrying a bicycle to Italy on
top of the car using Halfords Advanced Roof Mount Cycle Carrier,
currently 70 quid a pair. http://preview.tinyurl.com/259mxg

They come with locks to deter the casual thief and take only a couple of
minutes to attach to roof bars.

Cheers,
Luke


--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire http://www.shrimper.org.uk

Ace wrote:

Clearly you've got to get roof bars and/or rails on which to mount it,
which will of course depend on your car and your budget, but I guess
the question is more directed at the actual cycle mounting aspect?

All of them actually.

I understand that roof bars are the ones which attach directly to the
car, and obviously those have to fit a particular model of car. But then
you need bars whch go across from one roof bar to another, and the cycle
mounting parts are fixed on those bars.

I'd prefer the kind which can let you put a bike on with the front wheel
removed if that's what you want.

Daniele

On 20/08/2007 17:55, D.M. Procida said,

I'd prefer the kind which can let you put a bike on with the front wheel
removed if that's what you want.

If you mean the ones that use a quick-release on the rack to clamp onto
the fork, then you might need to be aware that some suspension fork
manufacturers don't recommend that. If you don't have suspension forks,
then you won't be the slightest bit interested in that snippet :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:57:40 GMT,
(Ekul Namsob) wrote:

We've just returned from our holidays, carrying a bicycle to Italy on
top of the car using Halfords Advanced Roof Mount Cycle Carrier,
currently 70 quid a pair. http://preview.tinyurl.com/259mxg

They come with locks to deter the casual thief and take only a couple of
minutes to attach to roof bars.

Cheers,
Luke

I second the choice of Halford carriers. I have a mondeo estate that
is fitted with roof rails, I opted for the Thule roof bars and a pair
of the Halford carriers. Once they are adjusted to size they are easy
to fit and remove from the car and seem to be pretty strong and
stable, and both are fitted with locks. Be aware though that with
bikes on the roof the drag makes a big difference to the fuel
consumption, and I mean BIG.

Artleknock wrote:

We've just returned from our holidays, carrying a bicycle to Italy on
top of the car using Halfords Advanced Roof Mount Cycle Carrier,
currently 70 quid a pair. http://preview.tinyurl.com/259mxg

I second the choice of Halford carriers. I have a mondeo estate that
is fitted with roof rails, I opted for the Thule roof bars and a pair
of the Halford carriers. Once they are adjusted to size they are easy
to fit and remove from the car and seem to be pretty strong and
stable, and both are fitted with locks. Be aware though that with
bikes on the roof the drag makes a big difference to the fuel
consumption, and I mean BIG.

Do bicycles on the roof cause much more drag than ones on the tailgate?
After all, the ones on the roof present a fairly small profile, whereas
the ones on the back present every bit of the bike to the wind.

Daniele