Does anyone use the genuine BMW roof carrier for their bikes? Are they any good? Thinking of putting a rack and carrier on the roof of my 3 series (E90)

Thule every time. Always best to get the official bars for your car as they usually fit the bespoke fixings and don’t damage the bodywork, but as far as bike carriers are concerned, Thule make the best

I have a couple of used once, immaculate Thule 561’s if you are interested. £100 the pair.

I’ve got one left over from my 3 series (E91?) estate. It was good quality and you could lock both the roof bars and the bike carrier. It survived an attempted theft – the scum could not manage to cut through the metal reinforced plastic loop which went round the down tube. They even tried just pulling the bike downwards, but all this achieved was scratching my car roof with the chain rings.

My halfords system is cheaper and easier to use though

I have a BMW 3 series Touring and use a Thule ones (591 pros and aero bars) – I actually think the Thule one is better (although very very similar).

BMW charge comedy prices for their accessories.

Think my BMW system was £400 plus, including roof bars?

Oh and my Halfrauds system survived an impact with a height restriction barrier at a French toll booth 😳

Was going to buy it all 2nd hand off fleabay (or on here if people have them to sell)

Thought it would be a good idea to get the genuine BMW bars, but would consider Thule carriers.

20th – if the price is right, then they are still very decent.

But new, I’d go for Thule.

solarider – Got 15mm QR on my Fox forks, so don’t think the Thule 561’s will fit. Cheers for the offer though

Some current Halfords carriers are the same as the older Thule ones, do the job perfectly, possibly still made by thule???? as there is no difference in them at all.

Don’t ever secure your bike to a roof rack via the forks.

Very bad idea.

Don’t ever secure your bike to a roof rack via the forks.
Very bad idea.

Slight scaremongering there. Been doing it for years. It’s fine. Just use a little judgement when tightening up.

Quick note on BMW (OEM) Roof Bars and Thule Bike Carrier compatibility though, the metal loops which are used to secure the carriers to the bars will not fit BMW Bars because they have a deeper cross section than Thule’s bars. You can purchase adaptors…that actually slide into BMW bars, though it necessitates cutting the rubber. But it sticks another tenner per carrier onto what’s already a pricey system.

All the fork manufacturers tell you not to do it. It invalidates warranties, and could cause your fork to fail at the dropout randomly without warning.

Too much of a risk for me. And it’s completely unnecessary since there are plenty of racks available that don’t work that way.

Many of the fork manufacturers like Rock Shox and Fox, for example specifically state in their warranties that you may use your forks with a fork mount rack and contain a reminder to make sure they are fitted properly. Probably because its a bit more difficult to ‘feel’ if they have seated properly when it is up on the roof compared to when when you put the wheel on.

ETA – Always check the fork warranty for yourself is the best advice.

Maybe it is cheaper and easier to buy an old van and throw it in the back