# Which roof rack 3/4 bikes?



## jamin100 (8 Apr 2015)

i have a 2009 ford Mondeo mk4 and need to carry 5 bikes. 2 are only small so they will go in the boot but the other 3 are full size 

Without breaking the bank which roof system do people recommend?

I do have a towbar fitted but have a roof box that I currently can't use as I have no bars hence wanting a roof bar system


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## Broadside (8 Apr 2015)

You will need to get bars on the roof before you can put bike racks on. You would get 3 x Thule 591 racks on there, doubtful if 4 would fit. The 591 racks are good but I swapped to a tow bar mounted system last year and it is a far better solution. Bikes don't get buffeted by the wind, better MPG, no risk on height restricted entrances, far easier loading, the list goes on. The expensive bit with a towbar system is usually getting the towbar fitted but as you already have it the choice seems obvious.


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## KneesUp (8 Apr 2015)

Obviously as this is an internet forum I'm going to ignore the fact that you have explicitly said you want a roof system and given a valid reason why 

I'd be tempted by a Bakrak - they look really useful for carrying all sorts, and are very adaptable. You could mount your roofbox to the bakrak as well.

Also, consider that when you use the roof box (holidays, I guess?) you will probably also want to carry the bikes, so a roof bike system will be no good.

The universal style carriers that go on roof bars will also go on the bakrak, so if you get a bakrak, some universal bike holders and some secondhand Mondeo-fit bars off eBay you will be able to:

carry all bikes on the roof with the roofbox on the bakrak
carry all bikes on the bakrak (perhaps with support straps to avoid exceeding the tow ball weight limit) and use the roof box on the roof
carry all the bikes on the bakrak thus avoiding having to lift bikes onto the roof of your car


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## ColinJ (8 Apr 2015)

I'll ignore the roof rack question too!

For the reasons mentioned above, Towbar-mounting is definitely the way to go. @Steve H has given me a few lifts to forum rides and his Thule rack is perfect. Here are a couple of pictures ...


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## jamin100 (8 Apr 2015)

Lol thanks for the replies so far.. 
Can't tow a trailer with a towbar bike rack though


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## fossyant (8 Apr 2015)

The cheaper Thule bike racks can be mounted in 4s on roof bars. I have 4 on my car. PS you will need two people to lift into place.


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## ColinJ (8 Apr 2015)

jamin100 said:


> Lol thanks for the replies so far..
> Can't tow a trailer with a towbar bike rack though


Put the bikes in the trailer?


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## ColinJ (8 Apr 2015)

I was so knackered after one ride that I could not even lift my bike into the back of a mate's car. No way could I have put it up on a rack on the roof of a car!

Apart from that and the noise/fuel consumption issues, I have seen several drivers trash the bikes on roof racks by driving into spaces too low to drive into. It would be so easy to forget that they were there ...


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## KneesUp (8 Apr 2015)

ColinJ said:


> I'll ignore the roof rack question too!
> 
> For the reasons mentioned above, Towbar-mounting is definitely the way to go. @Steve H has given me a few lifts to forum rides and his Thule rack is perfect. Here are a couple of pictures ...



That Thule rack is a more expensive, less versatile copy of the bak-rak


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## jamin100 (8 Apr 2015)

KneesUp said:


> That Thule rack is a more expensive, less versatile copy of the bak-rak



I'm looking at the bak rak but can't see how you attach bikes too it. I can see the pole rak but that's not what I'm looking for


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## summerdays (8 Apr 2015)

I've seen a couple of trailer mounted racks before, but on the motorway so I don't know any details about them.


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## KneesUp (8 Apr 2015)

jamin100 said:


> I'm looking at the bak rak but can't see how you attach bikes too it. I can see the pole rak but that's not what I'm looking for


You bolt any generic bike holder to it - like this one for example (nothing specifically good or otherwise about that one - just one of the first that came up on an eBay search - obviously you can also use them on the roof if you want)


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## KneesUp (8 Apr 2015)

summerdays said:


> I've seen a couple of trailer mounted racks before, but on the motorway so I don't know any details about them.


You can get trailer 'load bars' that are basically roof bars for trailers. They seem to be about £150 a set.


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## fossyant (8 Apr 2015)

My bikes will stay on the roof. Not having them in harms way dangling off the back. What if you get rear ended. Bye bye bike


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## KneesUp (8 Apr 2015)

fossyant said:


> My bikes will stay on the roof. Not having them in harms way dangling off the back. What if you get rear ended. Bye bye bike


I don't think the bike would be my major concern. Plus in c.350,000 miles of driving, it hasn't happened to me, thus I conclude that it's quite unlikely.


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## fossyant (8 Apr 2015)

The Cheaper Thule is the Freeride 532. I managed to get the Halfords Advanced version at two for 1 a few years back. I do see that Halfords don't do it anymore other than the Thule. The Halfords one was re branded and was the same units.


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## bikingdad90 (8 Apr 2015)

My set up is a set of mont blac rails something like this http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/mont-blanc-crb2-classic-roof-bars-for-rails-p174400 and then a pack of Halfords exodus bike carriers (twin pack) http://www.halfords.com/motoring-tr...cks/exodus-twin-pack-roof-mount-cycle-carrier.

The carriers go down to 20 inch wheels and have thin tyre adaptors. Comes with both types of fixings so it can fit T bars as well. I have found they hold the bike secure even carbon and come with locks for the bike and rack.


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## ColinJ (9 Apr 2015)

Er ...


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## Drago (9 Apr 2015)

TBH with that many bikes on the move at once I'd buy a van or a pick up. In fact I did!

Erde trailers can be fitted with carriers, and I think you'd get 3 on, plus whatever load you crammed in to the trailer proper. You're looking around 400 notes for trailer and racks.

If you do roof mount bikes wrap a rag around the headset to stop the slipstream from forcing out the grease. Took me a few years of head scratching to figure that one out.


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## jamin100 (9 Apr 2015)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far 
I'm actually leaning towards the bakrak idea 

I could then pick up a cheap set of bars off ebay for the roof box and if needed move one or 2 of the bike racks off the bakrak and onto the roof rack 

Keep the ideas coming though


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## I like Skol (9 Apr 2015)

My personal recommendation for 4 bikes is to get the Thule roof bars and 4 x 591s. These leave the boot easily accessible and the bikes are up out of harms way. All the scaremongering about driving under height restrictions is just that, scaremongering. Yes there may have been instances of morons driving in to height barriers, but to be fair, these people probably shouldn't be driving anyway!

The Thule system will often transfer between cars with just a change of footpack. The Rack set-up I purchased about 10yrs ago for an Astra estate is currently on a VW Passat saloon so if I spread what might seem like a high initial price over the current period of ownership I am looking at about £3 a month and I still fully expect to swap this rack to my next car.

Put them on the roof and they stay put even with enthusiastic driving and 'normal' motorway speeds.


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## KneesUp (10 Apr 2015)

I like Skol said:


> My personal recommendation for 4 bikes is to get the Thule roof bars and 4 x 591s.



Genuine question as I don't own either (I stick the bikes in the boot at the moment) - what do the £55 Thule 591s offer that is functionally different to, for example, these £17 Cruz carriers?

(And of course any type will go on the roof or an the bak-rak)


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## I like Skol (10 Apr 2015)

KneesUp said:


> Genuine question as I don't own either (I stick the bikes in the boot at the moment) - what do the £55 Thule 591s offer that is functionally different to, for example, these £17 Cruz carriers?
> 
> (And of course any type will go on the roof or an the bak-rak)


The Thule racks have built in wheel straps that remain attached to the rack (so don't get lost) and the frame clamp is tightened and locked from roof level by an ingenious ratchet mechanism so there is no need to stand precariously on the car door sills to secure the bikes, particularly awkward for the bikes in the middle I would imagine. I am also a big believer that, in most cases, you get the quality that you pay for. After 10 years of living outside, either on top of the car or stood in a corner of the back garden, my Thule rack still works like new. Buy cheap, buy twice, etc.....


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## KneesUp (10 Apr 2015)

Thanks - like I say I've never really weighed them up - I only had working roof bars for one season (and they were genuine Citroen ones that rusted solid - buy Citroen, buy every year  )



I like Skol said:


> Buy cheap, buy twice, etc.....



Sometimes though it is 'buy a branded version and get the same thing plus a big bill to cover the marketing budget'


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## I like Skol (10 Apr 2015)

KneesUp said:


> Sometimes though it is 'buy a branded version and get the same thing plus a big bill to cover the marketing budget'


An astute buyer can do that and get a good quality product at a lower price but that is not buying cheap in the way I was suggesting. However, 10 years after buying my roofrack I can still go to Thule for spares should I be unlucky enough to break something, can you normally do that with an own-brand alternative, even when it is made by the same manufacturer?


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## KneesUp (10 Apr 2015)

I like Skol said:


> An astute buyer can do that and get a good quality product at a lower price but that is not buying cheap in the way I was suggesting. However, 10 years after buying my roofrack I can still go to Thule for spares should I be unlucky enough to break something, can you normally do that with an own-brand alternative, even when it is made by the same manufacturer?


When I called Citroen to suggest that designing £120 roofbars with a hole on the top that allowed rain water to collect around the only moving part - which they had thoughtfully made out of unpainted mild steel - and not allowing anywhere for the water to drain was a bit daft, and that perhaps they might want to give me a replacement set, they basically told me to do one.

Paying more for what is supposed to be a superior product doesn't always work. I do however generally agree with your setiments - but Thule products always seem to be way more expensive than seems justifiable. I note that many of the spares for your 931s are more than the £17 cost of an entire Cruz carrier, for example.


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## I like Skol (10 Apr 2015)

I'm not looking to argue with anyone over this, and obviously it is a generalisation with exceptions, but on the whole, buying items from the mid-price range and above is a policy that has served me well over the years. I have many items that are a pleasure to use, are aging well and have proven reliable. Cost of ownership has been low over the period of ownership.

A perfect example of this is bicycles. We could all be riding around on £99 BSO's as following your logic, the cost of just replacing a wheel on a higher end bike will be more than the entire cost of the £99 version. Why are we not all riding £99 bikes?

Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing 

EDIT: All the above is said with good intent and not intended to deride anyone's choices or circumstances, I consider myself very lucky to have the choice.


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## marknotgeorge (26 Apr 2015)

I've used three of the Cruz roof bars from roofbox with my old Ford Fusion. For the low-end of the market, I can highly recommend them. They hold mine and the girls' bikes securely enough, and coupled with Equipe roof bars from a local motor factors have been on the car on and off through rain and shine, and still work fine. A fold-flat collapsible step eliminates balancing on the door sill, and I've bought extra straps both to strap the upright mounting arms to the base when not carrying bikes and to strap the front wheel to the frame to make it easier to lift the bikes onto the roof. They may not have all the bells and whistles of Thule kit, but given that all they are are a channel for the wheels and a couple of uprights to clamp to the frame, they work fine.


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## I like Skol (22 Jun 2020)

I like Skol said:


> The Thule system will often transfer between cars with just a change of footpack. The Rack set-up I purchased about 10yrs ago for an Astra estate is currently on a VW Passat saloon so if I spread what might seem like a high initial price over the current period of ownership I am looking at about £3 a month and I still fully expect to swap this rack to my next car.


Just an update after I received some likes on this thread today.

My Thule roofrack system has indeed been swapped to another car. We bought an Audi (I know!) in 2017 and with a change of footpads (£20ish) the rack swapped straight on. Rack is now 15yrs old and is perhaps starting to show it's age as has required some attention (lube and a few quids worth of spares parts, really just small change bits) but is still going strong and is expected to last at least as long as the current car is kept, probably another 5+yrs. Good value IMO


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## fossyant (22 Jun 2020)

As skolly knows, I'm another Thule fan. I have the cheaper freeride model and my rack must be 15 years old at least. Never had anything break and its taken anything from kids bikes to road bikes to long and large trail bikes.

They are a good investment.


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## Gunk (5 Jul 2020)

When the kids were younger we used to have four bikes on the roof of our BMW three series touring using four Atera Giro AF carriers mounted to BMW roof bars, the problem is that the weight with four bikes makes the car corner like the QE2 as the centre of gravity is so much higher. IMO the best solution is a tow bar mounted system, however these days I use a couple of BMW branded Thule 561 carriers which hold the bike in the front drop outs which means the carrier doesn't touch the frame of the bike, making it ideal for carbon framed bikes.


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