Cycle Carrier Recommendations
Discussion
Is anybody able to recommend a good cycle carrier large enough for two adult and a childs bike please?
I have a MK3 Mondeo hatch with no tow bar (or electrics) so that rules out the tow bar mounted ones and anything that involves me needing a tail board and lights (or is there a way around this without getting full on wiring fitted…I doubt there is)
I bought a high mount carrier, a Mont Blanc. You can buy them in Argos but mine was a used e bay special. It’s in good condition, no missing bits etc. I have downloaded the fitting instructions.
This one in fact:
http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/our-products/bike-rac...
It’s even shown fitted to the same car as mine.
However. Despite me spending hours on the driveway it won’t fit correctly. When driving the side support straps keep popping off and if you have them too tight they resonate and at anything above 30mph it’s like having your head inside a beehive. I’ve tried my best to ensure it’s fitted correctly but something is wrong.
I’m sick of it and dread the wife suggesting that we take the bikes out for the day.
Are the any better ones? What are the roof ones like? Do you need to keep a set of steps in the car to load and unload the bike?
I have a MK3 Mondeo hatch with no tow bar (or electrics) so that rules out the tow bar mounted ones and anything that involves me needing a tail board and lights (or is there a way around this without getting full on wiring fitted…I doubt there is)
I bought a high mount carrier, a Mont Blanc. You can buy them in Argos but mine was a used e bay special. It’s in good condition, no missing bits etc. I have downloaded the fitting instructions.
This one in fact:
http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/our-products/bike-rac...
It’s even shown fitted to the same car as mine.
However. Despite me spending hours on the driveway it won’t fit correctly. When driving the side support straps keep popping off and if you have them too tight they resonate and at anything above 30mph it’s like having your head inside a beehive. I’ve tried my best to ensure it’s fitted correctly but something is wrong.
I’m sick of it and dread the wife suggesting that we take the bikes out for the day.
Are the any better ones? What are the roof ones like? Do you need to keep a set of steps in the car to load and unload the bike?
I have used a rear mounted carrier in the past, but much prefer the roof mounted ones I have now.
I have a pair of these http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/our-products/bike-rac... although second hand Ebay bargains rather than new.
Unless you have some monster pig-iron framed bike, lifting them up onto the roof shouldn't be a problem on a Mondeo (unless your a short-arse of course)
A complete set of roof bars and 3 carriers is going to come in at quite a cost though, so search out the bargains. There is a twin pack offer here http://www.montblanconline.co.uk/category/55/Roof-...
I have a pair of these http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/our-products/bike-rac... although second hand Ebay bargains rather than new.
Unless you have some monster pig-iron framed bike, lifting them up onto the roof shouldn't be a problem on a Mondeo (unless your a short-arse of course)
A complete set of roof bars and 3 carriers is going to come in at quite a cost though, so search out the bargains. There is a twin pack offer here http://www.montblanconline.co.uk/category/55/Roof-...
thule.
get the aero bars and the cycle carriers, (i think they are called freeride or proride), you should have enough room for two adult bikes and a small one on a mondeo roof. they fit well once you get the horizontal bars to the right width for the car and the cycle carriers themselves are very secure both in terms of holding the bikes and they are lockable. i have had two fairly heavy mountain bike up there in a gale on a motorway doing 70 with only very minor wobbling.
get the aero bars and the cycle carriers, (i think they are called freeride or proride), you should have enough room for two adult bikes and a small one on a mondeo roof. they fit well once you get the horizontal bars to the right width for the car and the cycle carriers themselves are very secure both in terms of holding the bikes and they are lockable. i have had two fairly heavy mountain bike up there in a gale on a motorway doing 70 with only very minor wobbling.
You should be able to get 4 adult bikes on the roof of a Mondeo with Thule's products - 2 facing forwards and two rearwards. I had two adult bikes and my son's 20"-wheeled MTB on the roof of my Legacy (roof no wider than a Mondeo's) for my holiday last week, with lots of room to spare.
As said though, Thule's products are expensive but IME of theirs and other manf's products, they are expensive for a reason - they work, and are largely foolproof. I have roof rails for both of our cars, 3x 591 ProRide bike carriers for the roof rails, and a 909 towbar bike carrier (which is an utterly incredible piece of engineering).
I have a Mont Blanc roof rack which I kept from an earlier car, and a Paddy Hopkirk bike carrier (you fit the bike to it upside down). It's OK but never left me with that "problem free" feeling that the Thule kit does.
I have also fitted a rear-mounted rack with straps to another car before going on holiday. It was OK but you do need to tighten the straps a fair bit. If the consequence of doing that is that they "drum" then I'd say that's better than the carrier falling off the car. Personally I'm convinced by Thule's "bolt-on" products but then I can afford to buy them. I concede that what I've spent on roof racks, roof boxes and bike carriers would have bought me a high-end DH MTB.
As said though, Thule's products are expensive but IME of theirs and other manf's products, they are expensive for a reason - they work, and are largely foolproof. I have roof rails for both of our cars, 3x 591 ProRide bike carriers for the roof rails, and a 909 towbar bike carrier (which is an utterly incredible piece of engineering).
I have a Mont Blanc roof rack which I kept from an earlier car, and a Paddy Hopkirk bike carrier (you fit the bike to it upside down). It's OK but never left me with that "problem free" feeling that the Thule kit does.
I have also fitted a rear-mounted rack with straps to another car before going on holiday. It was OK but you do need to tighten the straps a fair bit. If the consequence of doing that is that they "drum" then I'd say that's better than the carrier falling off the car. Personally I'm convinced by Thule's "bolt-on" products but then I can afford to buy them. I concede that what I've spent on roof racks, roof boxes and bike carriers would have bought me a high-end DH MTB.
Try the likes of Gumtree and any local classifieds, or any local bike clubs that might have a classfieds section on their website. Roofbars and carriers can be expensive to post so trying locally might get you a lucky bargain. When I sold my towbar-equipped car I sold my towbar rack locally, and recently bought roofbars for the wife's car via Gumtree locally.
Sometimes the OEM roofbars can actually be very good, so worth not ruling them out. Thule stuff rocks though.
FWIW I don't trust any strap-on rack!
Sometimes the OEM roofbars can actually be very good, so worth not ruling them out. Thule stuff rocks though.
FWIW I don't trust any strap-on rack!
OEM stuff can turn out to be Thule, I think a Focus roof rack I once had was.
The cheapest Thule Proride 591 oddly comes from Ford or Mazda, don't forget the VAT though.
http://mazda-3.sgpetch.co.uk/pages/accessories/det...
The other thing I've heard, could be hearsay, is that the Halfords Advanced roof cycle carrier is actually Thule. Haven't looked into that though.
The cheapest Thule Proride 591 oddly comes from Ford or Mazda, don't forget the VAT though.
http://mazda-3.sgpetch.co.uk/pages/accessories/det...
The other thing I've heard, could be hearsay, is that the Halfords Advanced roof cycle carrier is actually Thule. Haven't looked into that though.
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