# roof rack or rear rack?



## dellzeqq (30 Mar 2011)

We've got a Golf, and a rack that goes on the back. It's horrible to use, and scratches the bike. 

I'm concerned that a roof rack, which keeps the bikes standing up, will stress the bikes and make the car difficult to drive in a crosswind. Are these fears well-founded or misplaced?


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## threebikesmcginty (30 Mar 2011)

Misplaced Mr Dell sir, I use a roof rack for my bike and have never had a problem. Not with stressed bike, crosswinds or watching my bicycle, in the rear-view mirror, as it bounces down the road.


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## oldroadman (30 Mar 2011)

Rack that sits on a towball can be OK if you have a towball.
Otherwise on top will be OK with a proper bike rack, but hammer the MPG. Always secure the wheels if they are free to rotate, spinning unloaded at silly RPM can damage bearings. 
Best of all drop the back seat and shove it in the car, or just take wheels out and it will go in the bootspace.


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## Mark_Robson (30 Mar 2011)

The roof rack is a godsend. The bikes are safe and secure and they don't effect handling at all.


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## I like Skol (30 Mar 2011)

I used the thule 591 racks on the roof and on our old Astra estate and the VW Passat I have now and to be honest you won't even know they are there (unless you try to go into a multistorey carpark!) even with 4 bikes on top. As far as stressing the bikes I think they are in a superb position and the 'claw' has a soft rubber coating that keeps the bike still and probably squeezes no harder than a good tight hand grip.

Get one, you won't be dissappointed.


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## mark barker (30 Mar 2011)

I like Skol said:


> you won't even know they are there (unless you try to go into a multistorey carpark!)


You've had one of those moments as well? So embarrassing!


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## chillyuk (30 Mar 2011)

Don't go through Needham Market towards Ipswich and forget it's on your roof.

The voice of experience........


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## Thelma (30 Mar 2011)

Are there good rear racks? I'm somewhat vertically challenged and would never get anything on the roof.


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## corshamjim (30 Mar 2011)

I just went with what the car dealership offered which is one of these:

http://www.montblanconline.co.uk/product/79-55/Mont-Blanc-Barracuda--Roof-Mounted-Bike-Carrier

I love it because once the bike is in the moulded tray, the shape keeps the bike upright so you can take your time getting it strapped and clamped in. I found it's not such a good idea to load the bike when the car is parked on a steep hill though. 

It's great for my touring bike which is fairly light weight but I wouldn't want to heft my Pashley on to it too often.

As oldroadman mentioned, it's bound to affect mpg, but I don't use it too often so that doesn't worry me.


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## guitarpete247 (30 Mar 2011)

I got a Hollywood bike rack (like this




)when I got my first car, a fiesta, years ago. I used it on the Mk II Gti I used to have. It allows you to open the boot with the bikes on and you can use car parks with no worries. GF's son has it now but hasn't got a bike yet  .


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## ramses (30 Mar 2011)

I use a rear trailer on a tow bar, it's a Thule that holds two bikes and has the trailer lights on.

I personally wouldn't use a rack that sits on the boot door, as I have known people to have had issues with these, scratching the cars, scratching the bikes



and also the added weight can affect the boot door hinges. However they are cheaper, so depends on budget.

The trailer is one of the best things I've ever bought for the car, and makes the transporting of the bikes so easy. No scratches either. Plus I can see the bikes at all times, so don't forget they are there!


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## subaqua (30 Mar 2011)

only ever used rear mounted racks. 

my brother in Law uses a roof mounted rack . cost him £2K in repairs to bikes and car after he forgot it was there . apparently it made a rather large noise


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## fossyant (30 Mar 2011)

Roof rack here - Nissan aero bars (Thule) and 4 Halfords Advanced bike racks (Thule Freeride 532). No cross wind issues, just hammers your fuel consumption if you do a steady 80 . Tend to keep the speed down to 60ish and fuel is fine.


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## Peter88 (30 Mar 2011)

I use a Thule 9403 Towball mounted rack on my Renault Scenic, Decided against a roof rack becasue of the hight involved. 
The rack pivots to allow access into the cars boot and also has a built in light board and number plate holder.
Only issue is remembering the extra length on the car when reversing.


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## I like Skol (30 Mar 2011)

mark barker said:


> You've had one of those moments as well? So embarrassing!




No, not done it myself but I imagine it would be an easy mistake to make!


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## zizou (30 Mar 2011)

Have both setups - roof mounted is the thule aero bars with proride bike holder and a rear towball mounted platform which is a thule g5...Both will do the job but the towball mounted one is more stable and convenient. Literally takes a minute to put the rack on (you just place on towball then pull a lever). It is particular good after a long days mountain biking with a filthy bike and suffering from arm pump to just be able to lift the bike a couple of feet off the ground rather than over my head onto the car! With the roof mounted when not carrying bikes then i can either leave it on and get worse petrol consumption or take it off and then spend 20 to 30 minutes trying to reattach it all before i can put the bikes on. 

The downside of a towball mounted one is the expense of having to get it and the electrics fitted if you dont already have one. Overall though it has been good value for money and one of the best bike related purchases i've made in the last year or so.


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## e-rider (30 Mar 2011)

towball mounted racks are the way forward.

£200 to get a towball fitted though. Well worth it if you use the bike carrier a lot.


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## Brommie77 (31 Mar 2011)

I used to have a rear mounted rack, but I was suffering from snapped spokes regularly - and it was suggested that the wind pressure on them at *ahem* 70mph might be snapping them, so I changed to a roof mounted rack, and have never had a snapped spoke since. Could be complete coincidence, but....

Like others have said roof mounted ones generally you dont notice where as the rear ones the bikes were wider than the car, and it was a hassle to drive with them.


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## chillyuk (31 Mar 2011)

I have an estate car so the bike goes inside.

Simples.


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## marzjennings (31 Mar 2011)

Neither for me. Bikes always travel with me in the car. Less chance of them being half-inched and no impact on mpg.


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## corshamjim (31 Mar 2011)

marzjennings said:


> Neither for me. Bikes always travel with me in the car. Less chance of them being half-inched and no impact on mpg.



Ah, but if you had a smaller car, would mpg be generally less anyway?


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## marzjennings (31 Mar 2011)

corshamjim said:


> Ah, but if you had a smaller car, would mpg be generally less anyway?




My bikes went in my car even when I had a mini (old style) and a golf. Yes, I have small mpv today, but regardless of car I'd still prefer my bikes to be inside.

I would guess the smaller the car the greater the negative impact on mpg a bike on the roof will have.


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## dellzeqq (1 Apr 2011)

well, thankyou all - I'm grateful and heartened.


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## Bicycle (1 Apr 2011)

I went with roof bars (cheapest square-section Thule) some years ago for an XM, now on a Zafira with other cars between those two.

It was easier to load onto an estate car than it is onto a midi-MPV, but still OK.

Why roof?

1. it uses the same lateral bars as the roofbox we already had.

2. The car get no wider with bikes on it.

3. Visibility to the rear is unchanged.

4. I hate webbing straps and the like - which some rear carriers depend on.

5. We can get into the boot/hatch with great ease.

6. I imagined a roof system would be easier to use on several cars - so far that's proved correct. Some tailgate systems seem to fit only a few models.

7. Some tailgate systems need a seprate number plate, which I just don't find elegant.

With things as they are, I can put three bikes on the roof, with a couple of surfboards (minus fins) strapped next to them. Or I can go with the roofbox and one bike. I could do box and 2 bikes, but I'm not enterprising enough...

There's also a boot for another couple of bikes sans wheels, although the cleated shoes, pumps, tools, helmets etc take up a remarkable amount of space with a family on board.

Bad things about the roof?

1. I'm short (5'8") and it can be comical putting the bikes up. I have to stand on the sill of the rear door. Getting them down it's 'best if we don't park near other cars'. In other words, I'm likely to end up falling backwards with bike over my head and a worried look on my face.

2. The clamps that go around the bike frame are fiddly to adjust - so I need to figure out which roof-thingy to use for which bike... super-narrow 531 steel road bike of crazy-fat Pace rc303 hardtail.... or something in between. That can be tiresome.

3. You must remember you have bikes on the roof. Those clangy horizontal bars on chains like the ones on the height restrictor at the McDonalds Drive-Through just outside Hereford will otherwise cause you to curse and blaspheme. Luckily, they are light alloy and do only superficial damage at low speed... 

4. I dare say MPG suffers too... But life's too short to worry about that.

5. Security. If it's a single bike, I whip the wheels off and stick it in the boot. The boot is always favourite for me.

6. More expensive on ferries etc. with the extra height.

I drove to Paris a couple of years ago with teenage daughter to spend a w/e riding round the city. We took 2 old MTBs in the boot of a Ford Ka - with tons of room left over for luggage (seats folded). Great fun, nicer than Velib and the tiny little Ka swallowed the bikes in one bite.

So boot is favourite, followed by roof. In my not very organised mind, anyway.


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## bof (1 Apr 2011)

I did have a problem years ago with extremely strong crosswinds and a bike on a roofrack, but we're talking extreme weather that day - gusts of force 10, otherwise you're OK with roofracks. Mpg does suffer a bit, but only really on motorways.

I have an estate and use a towbar mounted rack when the car is full. The advantage is ease of loading and unloading and greater fuel efficiency than on the roof (which I doubt you'd get on a saloon).


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