Roof mounted bike carriers

[nammynake]

Thinking of getting one of these for my Clio, e.g. the Thule roof bar and bike attachment system. Question is how stable is the bike once fitted? Do you have to drive more steadily, or is the bike completely and rigidly secure? I'm not think of doing dognuts or anything, but would like to know if you can still drive aggresively with one attached, or like Miss Marples on a Sunday afternoon?

[carreauchompeur]

Dognuts

I have the Thule aerobar set up, with Atera Giro bike carrier on top- In most of the reviews it's rated slightly higher than the Thule carriers.

It's as solid as a rock, really- And very easy to get the bike on the roof once it's set up- Just close the ratchet clamp-arm malarkey onto the downtube which locks the bike in place and the wheels are tied down with ratchet straps. Job done!

I didn't have any concerns whatsoever about high speeds- Looking through the sunroof it stayed put fine. The only things which WILL annoy you are-

1. Heck of a lot more wind noise/resistance
2. Slight increase in fuel consumption
3. Crosswinds!


The latter aren't a massive problem, although I certainly noticed it driving across Derbyshire when it was blowing a hoolie sideways! 1.9 tons of Barge drifting slightly askew

[dirty doug]

nammynake said:

Thinking of getting one of these for my Clio, e.g. the Thule roof bar and bike attachment system. Question is how stable is the bike once fitted? Do you have to drive more steadily, or is the bike completely and rigidly secure? I'm not think of doing dognuts or anything, but would like to know if you can still drive aggresively with one attached, or like Miss Marples on a Sunday afternoon?

I had a similar set up to yours on a MR2 mark 2 for a 300 mile trip to Cornwall. The MR2 only had a gap between the feet of about 18" which did concern me at first so Miss Daisy driving was the order of the day. But it didn't move at all apart from a slight nodding under braking. The clamps WILL NOT let go if you adjust them correctly. You will need to be 'aware' of it, drive a bit smoother, but you will have no problems on a Clio.

[henrycrun]

The potential issue is not with the bikes (unless a very low bridge is encountered) but check that roof bars on a gutterless system are properly clamped to the car.
Give them a good wriggle before setting off, then stop a mile or 2 down the road and check.

[Ynox]

Another Thule/Atera user here.

I've got an Octavia vRS estate so just clamp the bars onto the roof bars. Then chuck the bikes on and tie them down with a ratchet strap too (I had a bike go off the roof a few years ago so I'm paranoid!).

Used properly they won't budge. Got to watch for low car parks/drive thrus etc though.

I'd consider a tow ball mounted one if I bought again though.

[Pupp]

Thule roof system every time... even had may mate's tandem on mine (Goona estate) with just an extra tie down for peace of mind. Stonking kit

[hullbilly]

henrycrun said:

The potential issue is not with the bikes (unless a very low bridge is encountered) but check that roof bars on a gutterless system are properly clamped to the car.
Give them a good wriggle before setting off, then stop a mile or 2 down the road and check.

I second this, I lost my snowboard and entire roof rack on the M25 once.

[Chris71]

How universal are the attachments used to secure it to the car? ...If I ever went off and bought some sort of exciting 2 seat coupe thing as a daily driver would I stand a reasonable chance of actually being able to attach a carrier to it?

I presume the basic requirement is some form of guttering?

[pdV6]

Chris71 said:

How universal are the attachments used to secure it to the car? ...If I ever went off and bought some sort of exciting 2 seat coupe thing as a daily driver would I stand a reasonable chance of actually being able to attach a carrier to it?

I presume the basic requirement is some form of guttering?

Bars that attach to old-fashioned gutters are truly universal (for similarly-guttered vehicles) but as most cars these days are gutterless (is that a word?), the bars themselves are universal but the feet that attach them to the car are usually specific to a specific model (or small group of models). Normally they grab onto the door openings, sometimes with specific attachment points built-in to the car. e.g. Our old Focus had some holes hidden under the door rubbers which the feet located into.

Small coupés are particularly hard to cater for; if there's not much roof space, often it's tricky to get the rear bar attached at all. I think I've seen some where the rear bar attaches to the front bar (so the front is all that's holding both onto the car) and then sit on suckers to try to take some of the strain. Not sure how good they would be at resisting sideways loads from a tall bike, though.

[blueST]

I'm getting a pair of Thule Freeride 530s at the end of month http://www2.thule.com/Thule/ProductPage83149.aspx . How secure from theft are the bikes? My roof bars lock to the car and Thule claim the carriers lock to the bars and the bike locks in the carrier.

We've got a euro camping jaunt coming up which involves an overnight stay in a hotel. I'm concerned about the bikes being on the car roof over night. I've thought about taking the bikes up to the hotel room rather than leave them on the car!

[Pupp]

I once left a bike on the roof in an area where I shouldn't, with a Thule system. Next morning, the bike was lying almost horizontal as the wheel ties had been undone and the bike rotated but the locked frame clamp was still tight and intact on the bike. All they got was my pump, the scrotes... the locks are pretty sturdy both on the frame clamp and the rail saddles; mine still work flawlessly over 7 years after fitting. I doubt anyone would be disappointed with the quality

[Ynox]

If I'm parking my car up for any time with bikes on the roof I use a cable lock through the frames and attach them onto the roof bars on the car roof (another + point of estates).

Guess you could attach it to the horizontal bars too, if nothing else it's another deterrent.

[Chris71]

pdV6 said:

Small coupés are particularly hard to cater for; if there's not much roof space, often it's tricky to get the rear bar attached at all.

I feared that'd be the case!