Some stuff I wrote on another forum:
"Lifting bikes onto roof racks can be a problem– especially with the currently fashionable tall cars, and particularly with racks that hold the bike upright – I watched my neighbour struggling for ages to load up one of these and he ended up very oily and in a bad mood (I would have helped, honest, but I was on the phone).
The problem is that the easiest bits of a bike to hold are at the top – saddle and handlebars – and these are out of reach on a car roof. The bits at the bottom aren’t good for holding – they’re oily (transmission) or they spin round (wheels), so it’s hard to manoeuvre the bike into place.
My roof rack holds the bike upside down, standing on its saddle and handlebars. To load it, I wheel the bike so that it’s parallel to the car and between me and the car. Bend over the bike so the saddle’s against my middle and grasp the far-side front fork with one hand and a the far side seat stay with the other. Hinge the bike up, using my middle and the saddle as a fulcrum, straighten up, take one step forward and place it upside down in the roof rack cradles. It will stand there without me having to hold it up, so it’s easy to do up the straps and cams to secure it.
The carry-them-right-way-up design seems silly to me!"
Looking around quickly, though, I can't find an upside-down bike carrier at the moment. (Mine came from Halford's over ten years ago).
