Hi guys,

I could do with a second pair of eyes to look at an imminent purchase. I’ve looked at Thule etc, but to be honest they are very expensive for what will be a once a week (if I’m lucky) use of the kit.

Anyway, after much agonizing I’ve decided on this:

Do you think this is adequate?

Slamdog,
I’ve had thule roof bars and cycle carriers for years, and the quality has been excellent. Never had an issue with them.
Have now got a towball-mounted carrier which hinges down to allow access to boot even with bikes on. Again I went with thule and I have not been disappointed. It really is excellent kit.
The other pros of thule is that you can easily replace the footpack for the roof bars if you change your car – saves buying a whole new system again.
Personally, I wouldn’t discount thule just yet… Good Luck!

Only issue with the footpack thing is the actual price to do this – not as expensive as buying new roof rack and bike racks, but generally I’ve found when the footpack needs changed, so do the roof bars…and they are a serious expense.

Saying that, I’ve had many years great use out of them so a lot of money but well spent in my view – but I grudge paying the huge expense for ‘those’ bits each time I change my car – seems a very complicated solution for ‘ease’ (although I’m aware Thule don’t dictate the designs and specifications of car roofs, they just cater for the available market…

Atera make good kit as well…and that bike rack looks ok as well.

Thanks for the input guys.

The footpacks are very expensive for Thule. This whole bundle is £130. The Thule footpack and fitting kit alone for my car are £120.

I was actually going to get one of the Thule highmount rear boot kits. Alas, my car with it’s plastic spoiler isn’t suitable (I emailed them).

I normally get the best I can, but the Atera stuff looks ok. How long does Thule take to install, I wouldn’t want to leave them on when not in use. If the speed of fitting was substantially faster, that could sway me:)

5 minutes to install or remove after you have practiced once or twice.

could you not look for a second set on gumtree perhaps or really really shop around. I recently bought a full setup and it was much cheaper to buy each part separately than buy a combined set from the likes of roofbox etc.

Thanks DickBarton,

Golfchick, good idea…I’ll give ebay a look. Buying different parts from different places can soon be rendered not worthwhile with shipping costs. I did it once with a PC build, and despite the cheaper price of parts, the shipping negated the benefit. I will check ebay though 🙂

Hmm, just been looking at the raw parts, and the fitting kit is much cheaper on ebay second hand. Guys thanks for the help. I think this might be the best option, and then I can get the good quality Swedish stuff. I’ll report back when purchases have been made 🙂

Some Ford dealers have Ebay shops and do some good deals on the Thule kit…it comes in Ford boxes but is Thule gear…and can be had much cheaper – I think I bought 4 (591) racks for £120 about 2 years ago…all brand new and still boxed.

If you search eBay SGPetch garage have a load of Thule racks- under £50- includes fittings for all different roof bars