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just clicked on the link and I have to ask why the hell anyone would buy that rubbish to secure bikes to their roof? Sorry OP but they really do look like cheap rubbish. The clamping to the roof bars looks ropey but the bike carrier itself is horrendous. Did they come with any wheel clamps and what if your down tube is so fat that the frame clamp doesnt close enough so just relies on friction to grip the sides of the tube rather than close slightly over the top?
I suspect you won't get anywhere with the seller but if I were you I would be contacting trading standards immediately as they are your best hope.
I would be wary of anything unbranded with claimed TUV and CE approval/logos.
The other scary thing is how many unsuspecting people are driving round with bikes on these things?
FWIW I've just got back from holiday - 24+ hrs of driving with four bikes on the roof lots of it at 80mph into a strong headwind. No issues
Cruz roof bars on a mondeo, thule and exodus(halfords) bike carriers
Brother in Law had a similar incident on the A303 a couple of years back - again with the closed type bars and an atera rack - front of rack came off at 70 mph with 5 road bikes on the roof - all carbon, all lost at a value of £24K all in! The car insurer said as he was doing more than 55MPH they did not cover it ! I reckon the closed roof bars are the issue - lets face it if the foot of the rack is wrapper around the bar its not coming off, if its bolted down its not coming off, but those bars your relying on an edge...... Just saying.
And the carbon bike - its a right off/new frame job. Likely to be cracked and will fail, catastrophically.
I've just got the proper Thule ones for my car now, the clamp actually clamps on both sides of the rail as it has a lip both sides and not locating holes like some others.
It's definitely one of those hindsight things, If I'd known then etc....
Still ongoing with the seller though, they are hiding behind Amazon as an excuse to take an age to reply.
Trading standards have now been informed as I don't think there is any way these clamps would stay seated form what I now know.
Sounds like a sensible move, to be honest! Hope you have some success with the Amazon seller.
I reckon the closed roof bars are the issue – lets face it if the foot of the rack is wrapper around the bar its not coming off, if its bolted down its not coming off, but those bars your relying on an edge…… Just saying.
My Thule's that work on 'old' estate roof bars still only really have a lip under the bar. They do rely on a good old hoofin' clamping force at the end of the day. Never had an issue in 20+ years of that design though....
goozee - glad you have some good ones now. Let us know how the shop responds...
I don't think you can claim for consequential loss as part of consumer rights (I may be wrong) - if so all you could claim is surely the cost of the rack (which they'd be happy to stump up).
To show negligence (and claim for bike loss) I think you'd have to prove they were negligent - if they're buying TUV-stamped stock from china - is that negligent? Not sure
I lost a bike off a roof rack 25 years ago. Brand new Orange E2 on the outside lane of the M3 at 70mph. I hadn't put the bike on the rack, my passenger had and I asked 3 times as we drove to the motorway if was secure. My responsibility, so should have checked. Anyway accelerated onto the motorway and saw the bike lifting through the sun roof and then bouncing along behind. Car behind mercifully was far enough back to slow in time. Retrieved bike and it was fine other than a taco'd rim and scuffed bar end.
These days I always check the bikes myself and also use a plastic covered steel cable that goes through the bikes and is anchored by large plastic balls at each end which are shut inside the rear passenger doors. If the rack or bike attachment fails the cable should stop them going anywhere.....
"And the carbon bike – its a right off/new frame job. Likely to be cracked and will fail, catastrophically."
impressive diagnosis from one small photo with no detail , do you do telephone tarot as well ?
Claiming for consequential loss is possible in theory but you need a very strong case and it remains highly unlikely in this sort of situation
impressive diagnosis from one small photo with no detail , do you do telephone tarot as well ?
Indeed, sooth-sayertrackworld!.
Any word in the trial of OP versus cheap shite bike carriers yet?...
Paranoid about mine. Will always stop after a few miles and have a jiggle to make sure that nothing seems to be working loose.
Glad to see after getting some new ones you've realised our comments weren't throw away and had merit about how poor those that were for sale were, TUV or no TUV.
Hope you get somewhere with Micks cheap shit.