Roof Bars - First Time

[cobra kid]

Afternoon all. I'll be buying my first pair of roof bars to carry a couple of cycle racks on. The car in question is a Hyundai i40 estate.

I'm happy to fit myself and wondered if there's an obvious place to start shopping and anywhere obvious to avoid?

[Aunty Pasty]

www.roofbox.co.uk I found were really good. Good guides on what you need.

[Hanslow]

I bought some Yakima Aero bars from www.roofbox.co.uk and happy with the bars which were easy to fit and also with the service from roofbox. No experience with what best suits Hyundai or your needs specifically though. They at least allow you to put in your vehicle details which should allow you to choose from a list of compatible ones.

[cobra kid]

Thanks chaps.

I had a quick search and ended up there anyway! Looks good to me.

[Zetec-S]

Another vote for www.roofbox.co.uk from me, bought a set ages ago and there was some sort of issue, can't remember exactly what, possibly missing/wrong parts, but I do remember they were very helpful and sorted it out straight away.

[JQ]

Aunty Pasty said:

www.roofbox.co.uk I found were really good. Good guides on what you need.

Used them several times and always had good service. You can phone them up and have a good chat about your requirements and they'll be really helpful.

[Baldchap]

I remember carrying three bikes on the roof of my Golf Estate. Full on paranoia all the way, but certainly the Thule bike carriers are actually very good.

[ScubaBiker]

It's worth a look for a set 2nd hand (Facebook marketplace and eBay are good) as roof bars are expensive new, but generally cheap 2nd hand as the resale market is limited. I would stick to a decent brand like Thule or OEM, which are probably Thule anyway.

[Tickle]

Yakima Aero bars paired with Thule bike racks. Speak to roofbox incase you need additional T bolts (longer) for installation of rack on bars.

[Scrump]

Roofbox also has my recommendation.
Aero bars are worth the extra cost over square or rectangular bars.

[cobra kid]

Thanks everyone. I'll go with Roofbox tonight with Aeros.

I have a guy lined up with 2 x Thule bike carriers so pretty much sorted.

Thanks again.

[MDMA .]

I have Thule aero bars and their Pro-ride carriers.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

As above, roofbox.co.uk when I've used them before have been superb.

Never had any bother with Thule bike racks (in comparison with the Atera stuff which isn't as good IMHO). For bars I generally used to go Thule but I've had Yakima aero bars on my van for about 6 years now and have just fitted some Yakimas to my Merc estate too. Zero additional wind noise, barely notice they're fitted visually etc. Not sure if Thule have changed their aero bar design since I last used them but the Yakima bars you don't need to faff removing the plastic trim etc to fit the T bolts, they push down on top of it which makes it easier...

[Dapster]

If you have a pan roof, make sure the bars are certified for use on cars with a full glass roof. If you use the steel roof rated bars on a glass roof car and end up cracking the glass once it's loaded, you are in a world of pain. Not only will it be hideously expensive to repair but it will likely never be factory perfect (or covered under insurance).

[BUG4LIFE]

Not to jump on the OP's thread by I need to buy roof bars and a bike carrier for the OH's Kia Sportage. Putting in the cars details on the Roof Box website, I've got a choice of Cruz 'aero' bars for £135 or the Thule equivalent for £254 [they are currently out of stock of the mid-price Atera and Yakima bars].

That's quite a price difference between Cruz and Thule...any reason I shouldn't go with Cruz [you guys rate Roof Box so I'd be surprised if they'd sell a product that wasn't up to the job]?

Edited by BUG4LIFE on Tuesday 7th January 17:16

[MDMA .]

Paying for the name really with Thule. But they are very well made and I’ve sold previous sets and got good money back for them.
Have a new set of Thule Edge Wingbars on the 3 series at the moment.