Roof rack?

[XitUp]

I have an MX5 and my girlfriend has a Ka. Neither are great for transporting bikes. With our mountain bikes on the back of the Ka, they stick out about a foot at each side.
Can anyone recommend a decent roof rack that would go on the Ka and take two bikes, ta?

[Speed addicted]

The Thule racks are good, the one that you take off the front wheel and clamp your fork via the quick release seems to be the most secure (think its a freeride but not sure). My mate has one and it's been tested on his S3 at fairly high speeds with no issues.
I have an X5 and fitted a towball mounted rack as I can't safely put bikes on the roof.

[CoolC]

Pretty much any of the roof racks will be fine. The main point is just getting the correct bars for the car.

I have a couple of the Baraccuda (sp?) ones. They are very secure, and cope with high motorway speeds

If your prepared to be patient there are bargains to be had with poorly listed racks on Ebay, I got both of mine for £32 that way, and a colleague got 2 Thule racks for ~£26.

[XitUp]

Yeah, Thule do look good. I think we'd need one that attaches to the wheel, not the fork as I don't think two wheels would go in the boot of a Ka.

How do the racks attach to the roof when you don't have roof rails? I think the front bit goes round the door frame but I can't figure out where the rear one would go.

[Antony Moxey]

Speed addicted said:

The Thule racks are good, the one that you take off the front wheel and clamp your fork via the quick release seems to be the most secure (think its a freeride but not sure).

I'd say that depends on the bike. If you have an MTB with disc brakes removing wheels is a five second job, but if you have non disc brakes it's a proper pain in the arse trying to fit the tyre between the brake blocks.

[sjg]

Yep, Thule are great.

As said, plenty on eBay. Dont just look for those specific to your car - it's a modular system of bars, foot packs and adaptors so you can often find that ones from another car may fit yours with new adaptors (the cheapest bit) as long as the rest is right.

[Animal101]

XitUp said:

How do the racks attach to the roof when you don't have roof rails? I think the front bit goes round the door frame but I can't figure out where the rear one would go.

You will need to buy the short roof adapter kit. You will end up with 2 clamps on the doors and the rear bit rests on the roof.

Here are a few pics on my 3 door Focus, appologies for the blueness of the photos not sure what was going on with my camera.





It all feels rock solid, no problems with it so far!

[Mars]

Not seen that short roof kit before. Thule really think of everything..!!

[XitUp]

Aha, so that's how they do it.

Lets hope the rear doesn't lift under heavy braking.