Recommend me a roof-mounted cycle carrier for an XL sized mountain bike.

[Donger]

I've gone and got myself my first mountain bike .... a Marin Pine Mountain in size XL with 29er wheels. A big beast. Picked it up from Portsmouth the other day. Almost a disaster after driving over a hundred miles to get it and it wouldn't fit on my rack. The arm of the carrier wouldn't reach the down tube. About 4-6 inches too short. Even if it had reached, the wheels only just fit on either end of the bike rack. Seems I need a bigger carrier.

Is there a Thule (or similar) roof-mounted bike rack that fits XL mountain bikes with 29er wheels and 2.6" tyres? Any recommendations gladly received.

 

[si_c]

I'm on the cusp of ordering a SeaSucker rack for us, it doesn't need a proper roof rack which is good as we can't get one for our car and is quick to take on/off.

It mounts the front fork to the base rather than clamping the wheels, and the rear is velcroed to another clamp. Works well with tyres of all sizes, if a little pricey but useful if you have oversized downtubes that the rack won't easily clamp to.

 

[13 rider]

I use a Thule rack where you remove the front wheel and use the through axle to secure it . I sure this would fit 29 inch wheel . I have found it a very secure way of fixing the bike to the car and have had no issues . The downside is your left with the front wheel loose which I store inside the car but you can buy an additional hanger for the front wheel for the roof bar if space is tight inside the car
Current model looks like Thule 564 ,

 

[wiggydiggy]

The Thule Freeride I use takes a 29er MTB and a 700c Hybrid eBike. Both large frames.