[Closed] bike racks

yes. don't buy from halfords, its a rip off.

I just bought one of these, half RRP, free next day delivery.

its ace but you need a towbar to fit it.

http://www.car-roofracks.co.uk/xpress-pro-bike-rack.htm

I went for [url= http://www.skidrive.co.uk/bars/index.php ]Thule Roof Bars[/url] / [url= http://www.skidrive.co.uk/cycle/product_detail.php?partno=591000 ]Pro 591[/url] from [url= http://www.skidrive.co.uk/ ]SkiDrive[/url]. If i had had a tow-bar mount i would have got one like Jambo linked to.

..but saying that i do not think i could strap a kayak to a Pro 970 😉

There's nothing wrong with that rack - I'd get it without hesitation if you want something that will transport your bikes safely without breaking the bank. Those Halfords racks have a nice feature in that the top straps thread through the hinge of your car boot onto some stops in the car interior, making them extremely safe.

Longer term, the ideal rack is a tow-bar mounted affair - these are the best all round solution but if you dont have a tow bar on your car already you're looking at a few hundred to get one plus the cost of the rack.

Roof racks are bollocks really - they're the least safe, but cost as much as a tow bar rack. I'd prefer that Halfords one you linked to in the OP.

£25 for a tow bar from gumtree.
about an hour to fit.
£45 for a towbar mounted rack...

roof racks are bollocks really - they're the least safe

explain please ?

honest question...

i do like the look of the tow bar one, but I only have a little polo. The halfords one or similar is temptign to me, because I won't be making huge journeys really. also, money is not in abundance!

folks alwsys slag of Halfords stuff but IMHO it is usually safe and robust, maybe looks fugly but does the job ?

roof racks are bollocks really - they're the least safe

explain please ?

honest question...

I'ver run all three and by least safe I don't mean unsafe - roof racks are generally fine. But with a tow bar or a hatchback mounted rack (with the straps threading inside) there's no way the bike is coming off short of a catastrophic failure, like a metal bar just shearing in two. With the roof rack, I've heard several 'unexplained' failures where the bike comes off and cartwheels down the road behind you.

My guess is that mounting your bike on the car roof involves more effort and so you're that wee bit more likely to not do it properly - particularly after a hard ride. So there's that small possibilty that the bike is not secured properly. Add in cross-winds, fuel mileage, also the chance of totalling the whole show into your garage roof (if you're as absent minded as I am) plus the total cost of the set-up, and I have no idea why anyone would choose a roof rack over a tow-bar rack.

garry - good answer. I have used roof racks for last 4 or 5 years and will admit that I have had a few occasions where I have, once i get out to double check and check again, found out that I haven't done it all up right. my most common fault is either not locking the securing mechanism or leaving the keys in it !

I do think though, that a good roof system (I have 3 no. 591's on an 'estate' with roof bars) is safe and maybe better for the bikes from the aspect of road grit etc. Economy is crap - I go from 45 mpg with just the bars and bike racks down to 38mpg typically with 3 bikes on for a long drive.

Come on Garry you could put those arguments to any kind of rack, other than the garage roof collision one. User error aside why would roof racks be any more unsafe? Sounds like hear say to me, my bikes have been on my roof rack for hundreds of miles without incident. However I will be fitting a tow bar when I get my Focus next week.

garry - good answer.

Really? It seems more related to user error than anything wrong with the hardware.

...but like Johnbot i am moving to a different solution. A car big enough to throw all my stuff [b]in[/b] it

Garry wrote, "there's no way the bike is coming off short of a catastrophic failure, like a metal bar just shearing in two. With the roof rack, I've heard several 'unexplained' failures where the bike comes off and cartwheels down the road behind you. "

You don't think anyone ever fitted a bike to a rear rack badly and had that fall off? "unexplained failures" on roof racks mean "I didn't put the bike on right", certainly did when mine nearly escaped, we both thought the other one had tightened the rack up.