As above really – I'm looking for something that's strong and is easy to adjust to fit different bikes. Your best advice is welcome. Thanks!

What car and type of bars are you planning on using? Thule offer a very wide range of bars (but personally I'd save the cash and use the square profiled bars as the Aero's don't seem to offer any benefits – I've used both). In terms of racks – what kind of bike do you have? If the frame fits, then again Thule make some great racks – not cheap but seem to be reliable.

If the frame is awkward you can get fork-mounted solutions that will hold the bike – Pendle (at present) are the only company offering a 15mmQR solution – I've got that and it's great.

What do you want out your rack? Ultimate security or are you willing to give some of that up for speed of install? Thule is very quick to put on (but also very quick to remove – the locks work but I'm not convinced how strong they are – not had one fail on me so it might just be in my head).

Loads of options but what price are you looking at? What kind of bike(s) are you planning on carrying? Just your bike(s) or a multitude of bikes – if just your own then you can narrow the search down to a few that work best for them but if a multitude you need to cater for more options.

the locks work but I'm not convinced how strong they are

I got a bit annoyed as the locks for my new roof bars seemed really stiff last week. They worked but were stiff. (Tail end of a 15 shift and you get easily grumpy – thankfully my wife came to pick me up as I was dead on my feet and would never have made it home on the bike.).

It wasn't until I got the home I noticed I was using the key for the roof bars in the bike lock and they are totally different numbers… so yeah – I wouldn't trust locks that much 🙂

Also does everybody's bike wobble on the thule 531? Is that normal? It scares me.

But they are well better than the halfords ones!

tow bar mounted better than roof ones and you will save in fuel economy what it costs to have the tow bar fitted

Thule 591 end of discussion!

Thule 591s are fantastic. Easy to attach to the roof bars, fits any bike, long straps for wheels, no need to take off front wheel, and it releases your bike at a press of a button. Best carrier I've used.

liquid – You're right in terms of the fuel economy, but tow bar mounts make getting in the boot a bit more awkward, and your bike(s) is/are right in the spray from the car. More road grit on your seals and brakes than when they're on the roof.

I use thule 591's but they "sort of" fit my meta 5, because of the suspension arrangemnent, so i'll be getting a fork mount rack sometime soon.

You pays your money…

Got 4 Thule 591's – absolutely fantastic! Load up 4 bikes in less than 5 minutes. Thule offer the option for keyed alike sets, so all roof bars and racks all operate from a single key! Excellent quality, though I did have to take one back to Halfords (even though I hadn't bought it from them!) because the clamp mech has seized. Quick exchange and no problems since.

got some 591s and aero bars for sale in the classifieds if youre interested

+1 for Thule proride 591s. Better than anything else I've tried by miles.

591, very good.

Just look around the car park and see what everyone else is using.

(It's 591's, btw…)

my classified ad now has email in profile 😳
50 quid for 2 x proride 591s + thule aero bars + mountings

– er, I think that settles matters! Thanks all!

All Thule racks have bike wobble with them, so even if you have everything fitted properly and secure the bike will wobble – this is down primarily to the shape/size of the object being carried and the limited clamping it has – so don't worry if you fit it all and give it a shake and see your bike going daft…in fact I don't think it is just Thule (unless the rack is fork mounted, then the bike stays motionless).

I use 591's and they are good.
Did notice my front wheel wobbling in the mount whilst tanking down the french motorway last year, so this year put an extra strap around front tyre ( tyre seems to be pivoting on knobbly tread ). That seemed to sort it.
Anyone else found this?
Q

We have three 591s, use toe straps on the tyres as well and around clamp area if going far/fast – always work really well, great back up from Thule as well when we have needed extra bits etc, as ours are use 3-4 times every week all year round, DH to road bikes

Lionheart: Yes I've made up a quickrelease webbing strap to wrap around the clamp too, cos the summers' hols meant a long journey through France all on motorways, so travelling at 70-80mph. I think I did read on a post about someone's clamp slipping with disasterous consequences ( but not nescessarily on a Thule rack). Thought it prudent to 'belt and braces' the clamp.
Q