Hire car on holiday...
 

Hire car on holiday carrying bike bags on roof?

Posts: 916
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Heading to tignes in summer for family holiday for 2 weeks

Considering taking bikes or hiring.

Has anyone tried bike bags on roof of a hire car using a soft roof rack?


 
Posted : 28/01/2025 10:34 pm
Posts: 2363
Full Member
 

Hire a van? Will carry 3 peeps and 4 bikes, send the fourth person on a bus if you have that many, it's what we do.


 
Posted : 28/01/2025 11:09 pm
J-R and J-R reacted
Posts: 39667
Free Member
 

Inflatable roof bars.

Did it with a pram.

Although for a bike today. I'd just take my sea sucker and put the bike on the roof and fold the bag up in the car


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 1:16 am
Posts: 1092
Free Member
 

I would caution you might invalidate the insurance of a rental vehicle by affixing your own equipment to it. I realise you are suggesting something 'soft' but it is usually against the T&C of rentals to fix anything to their cars, typically roof racks and bike racks will explicitly be listed as not allowed.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 8:07 am
Posts: 16381
Free Member
 

We took a roof rack once. It was one that fitted into roof rails and the hire car guy let us have a car with rails.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 8:16 am
Posts: 45993
Free Member
 

Drive to Tignes?


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 9:09 am
ads678 and ads678 reacted
Posts: 3546
Free Member
 

Drive to Tignes

+1

The drive is part of the holiday in our house. Within reason, obviously.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 3:09 pm
ads678 and ads678 reacted
 5lab
Posts: 7926
Free Member
 

we commonly do this with surfboards and a soft rack. Thing is surfboards weigh a lot less than bikes. If I were renting a car out I wouldn't want 50kg pushing down on the middle of the soft roof skin of the car.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 3:53 pm
Posts: 219
Full Member
 

Soft racks can also scratch the car roof - although only (very) minor scuffs, this can get picked up by the hire company on return.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 4:55 pm
Posts: 1723
Full Member
 

Good question, the best I’ve come up with (purely theoretical for now) is the sea sucker type of bike carrier.


 
Posted : 29/01/2025 5:02 pm