roof rails for 850 estate

Hi Mike

I do still carry the bikes on top..

The bike carriers I have are Halfords Professional ones, they were about 15 quid cheaper than Thule ones...they really are quite expensive though, something like 60-70 each.

They mount securely onto the bars, which does take about 10 minutes even when you do it regularly. The ones I use have an arm which attaches to the downtube of the bike, this is probably not as good one which you remove the front wheel..but I was worried about the disc brake caliper on the fork getting in the way.

I never travel over 60mph with 2 bikes on the roof although I am 100% sure that they would be fine at speeds well above this, there is never any wobble or anything like that.

Volvo do some lovely ones, which have an assisted lifting arm which makes it nice and easy to put the bikes on the roof. If you are short or weak (dont mean to sound rude) then it could be difficult to put the bikes up there. But then if you ride you should be fit! The Volvo ones are v. expensive but are the ultimate solution.

Pop down to a biggish Halfords if there is one local, they have a wide range and you'll quickly get the idea about what you like/dislike.

Oh

ALWAYS check how low the anti-pikey gate is at the carparks :)

So it looks like i'm going to have bite the bullet and fork out for the roof rails first if i want to fit the rear bar further to wards the rear?

Unfortunately I think so...unless anyone else knows better.

The only thing is, Volvo must have put the holes where they are for a reason..no?

I assume because of ease of access to the fixing points.

[Simon Linton]

Rear-mounted bike carriers are much better for aerodynamics and access, unless (like me) you have spindly racers that are a) very light and b) hardly there at all as far as wind goes.

As somone else has said, roof mounted bikes can be forgotten when you're entering a car park with height limitations - a very expensive error!

However, rear-mounted bikes mean you can't open the tailgate (though you can often open a boot, depending on the system).

As I found out, it also means that you're vulnerable to shunts - my racer was totalled by a Fiesta that didn't brake for the lights. (It also make a hell of a mess of my rear panels.)

There are quite expensive but very effective fold-up carriers that can take up to four MTBs and have integral number plates and lights - even better, they can be dismounted when not in use and also used to carry other things when they are.

Sweaty lycra bike mags have much info on this...

Cos that's where the doors are.

No probs with travelling at 90+ with bikes on the roof, and you can catch a glimpse of that £2k beauty through the sunroof. Used to have a Pendle but two bikes flew off and ****ted a car behind - the split pin failed - also lights and number plate are a real pain in the #####.

As for low entrances, I put a sticky on the instrument glass that reads "Bikes on Roof", so far , so good.

Also for mounting a roof box, it needs to well forward so as the tailgate (with spoiler, of course) can still open).

John

Cannondale F900, Shimano XT, Magura HS22, Flite Titanium, Fatty Headshock, Riser Bars, Hope Hubs, Mavic 618s, Blackburn Tool Pouch, Contis, SPDs, Crud Guard, Daves Chain Device, Lidl Baby Seat.

But the holes are towards the front of the doors, if they had put them at the rear of the door opening they could have made it further back along the car...

Why a DCD on a cross country bike by the way? I have friends on the Olympic downhill team who don't use chain devices when practising..

I used a Pendle 4-bike towbar rack until late last summer when the bikes flew off the back without me realising. I was driving from Dover after a holiday and stopped off for petrol and a pish. When i came back i noticed some young yobboes having a malarkey at the back of the car. Having chased them off and getting the usual 'Where's your travelling rug, you Volvo-faced tosser?' I set off on my way.
Travelling in the dark I next saw the bikes at Newark when I stopped again. Someway further up the road I was stopped by a van driver flashing his lights. There was one bike left out of 4, hanging precariously by one bar, its nether regions ground away by the M6.
I later found out that the other 3 bikes had flown at terrific velocity and hit the car and caravan combo behind. I was travelling at 85-90 so it must have been quite spectacular! Luckily I was well insured and got the bikes replaced with no problem.
I do not recommend towbar racks because you are never sure who has tampered with them, or indeed how perished your bungee rubber has become.
Roofbars are my new favourite, although not the Halfords ones. I bought those first and experienced severe premature wear in the pivots for the uprights. So much so that one of my bikes fell over. I now use Atera bars, made in Germany with full TUV approval. They are not cheap but have in ingenious clamp which fits all sorts of weird downtube orientations.

Hope this helps
Hunter

PS with my pendle I too found that my shins were constantly scuffed and scratched. I certainly don't miss that aspect now!!

[Mike Smith]

Well this certainly moved on from the original query! but netherless very interesting points here, thanks Alex & Hunter
I will check out these alternatives for bike travel
any one want to buy a pendle carrier???????
only joking
Regards Mike

[Mike Smith]

Whooops forgot to thank John & Simon aswell!!
Regards Mike