- This topic has 29 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by rossburton.
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4 bikes on a car roof??
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RopeyReignRiderFree MemberPosted 3 years ago
Ok, not the start to a weird yet niche mountain biking joke…
Having fitted (finally) my roof bars and one Thule rack, I’m pondering on whether it’s actually possible to fit four full size bikes ok one set of bars?
I know *technically* it might be but am wondering what people’s real world experience is?
Ta
danmacFree MemberPosted 3 years agoyup, done many a time, 2 full sus and two hardtails. Top and tail to each other with bars at 90 degrees on central bikes.
Admittedly one of the bikes is a 24″ but can’t see why another full size wouldn’t fit in its place
chowshFree MemberPosted 3 years ago4 is fine if bars are wide enough and you don’t go over the weight limit for the roof bars or rails. Alternate the direction they face and get a small step depending on the height of the car.
garage-dwellerFull MemberPosted 3 years agoFace them opposite ways and just be aware you may need to move the fixings on the roof carriers a bit.
I can get four mountain bikes across my trailer where there is only about 1.1m of straight bar (if that) and I’ve done the same on my Passat before I got rid of it. The trick is that the bars on each bike pass behind the seat post of the bike(s) either side. This may mean adjusting the foot position of the cycle carriers slightly.
pictonroadFull MemberPosted 3 years agoAll our riding lot have four bike roof racks. Four Thule 591 will fit four modern full sus 29ers with all bars straight as long as they have droppers.
all you need to go is adjust them so they’re facing alternate directions and push each one as far in each direction as it will go on the mounts.
Doesn’t even need to be a big car, my fabia does it just fine. Four bikes on a Thule roof rack is what I miss most on my new electric car.
RopeyReignRiderFree MemberPosted 3 years agoSo the car is a Mundane-o with 118cm Cruz bars and currently one Thule proride 598.
I’ll probably buy more 598’s I expect.
So when people say bars straight do they mean as usual or untightened and aligned to the direction of the frame?
It hadn’t occurred to me to put bikes in opposite directions – any issues with the rack going backwards?!
dbFree MemberPosted 3 years agoCheck the max roof load. 4 bikes plus the carriers and bars might take you over the limit.
matt_outandaboutFull MemberPosted 3 years ago4 bikes, easy. Just do one bike forward, one bike backwards etc.
CheesybeanZFull MemberPosted 3 years ago4 full sussers on top of a passat est with a panoramic roof . Morzine and back, the drive up through France was possibly the worst weather I’ve ever driven in , bikes never moved at all. Thule 591 on thule bars .
garage-dwellerFull MemberPosted 3 years agoIt hadn’t occurred to me to put bikes in opposite directions – any issues with the rack going backwards?!
None at all.
So when people say bars straight do they mean as usual or untightened and aligned to the direction of the frame?
Normal riding position. The only bike I’ve had an issue with was when my youngest was on a 20″ wheeled bike and the bars were too low to pass over his big brother’s 24″ rear wheel. I’ve had two 24″ bikes a 29r and a 26r on with no issues before. The closer the bikes are in size generally the easier it gets. Think of it like leaning four bikes against the wall at a cafe/pub. They kind of just overlap nose to tail.
Check the max roof load. 4 bikes plus the carriers and bars might take you over the limit.
Should be well within on weight on a large family car like a Mondeo. My SMax is 75kg and if anything that will be lower due to the high cog.
The person putting 4 on a Fabia I’m not so sure…
dsizzleFree MemberPosted 3 years agoI have the families 4 bikes on the roof as above. All hardtails.
My friends medium frame full sus was a struggle. It was hanging right off the end of the track. I guess the geometry just didn’t work with my Thule rack.
We took the wheels off and stuck it in the boot for the return journey. It was a bit shaky looking at the shadow on the road!
scotroutesFull MemberPosted 3 years agoI’ve regularly driven with 6 bikes on the roof of a Tourneo. Put the carriers on the bars like sardines, alternate directions.
dsizzleFree MemberPosted 3 years agoSix?! Boss move.
I’d have sat in the passenger seat on a walkie talkie pretending I’m a pro team support vehicle!
scotroutesFull MemberPosted 3 years agoSix?! Boss move.
I’d have sat in the passenger seat on a walkie talkie pretending I’m a pro team support vehicle!
LOL. 6 on the roof, 4 on a rack and another 10 inside if I wasn’t taking passengers.
dsizzleFree MemberPosted 3 years agoHa! You should go to a bike park and run your own uplift. Nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition!
fossyFull MemberPosted 3 years ago4 trail bikes on my saloon easy, and same with a mates A4. Followed by another mate in his van and they said 4 big bikes make the car look tiny.
Regularly do 4 family bikes, 4 people and a weeks worth of stuff to our static caravan.
theblackmountFree MemberPosted 3 years ago> It hadn’t occurred to me to put bikes in opposite directions – any issues with the rack going backwards?!<
Yup, only one.
Depending on your rack, and the speed you are driving…. and ONLY if you don’t strap the rear wheel down on the rack. It’s possible for the force of the wind to pivot / flip the bike over the back of the car with fairly spectacular consequences.
Been there.
DaffyFull MemberPosted 3 years agoLike scotroutes. I’ve done 6 before but with pedals off and bars rotated. That was a 300 mile journey.
No problems at all. The car behind (carrying 4 people + gear in the roof box) eyeballed us for 15-30mins to make sure there were no odd vibrations/oscillations but it was all fine all they way up to just under a 100mph. We then settled in at 75 for the rest of the journey.
We were carful over bumps and cross axle jumps as the bike were quite close, but there was no damage on arrival and no signs of any contact.
ratherbeintobagoFull MemberPosted 3 years ago@RopeyReignRider The chap I bought our two 591s from used to carry five bikes on the roof of his Q5. I assume he was over the weight limit with that, but still.
As above, two forwards, two backwards; you’ll probably need to swap the upright round on two of them but from memory this involves undoing a couple of bolts (and certainly the 591/598 instructions tell you what to do).
TiRedFull MemberPosted 3 years agoIt’s absolutely fine. Top tip – you can reverse the clamp fittings on the Thule bike racks – so two on each side for access. Do this before you mount them. Speaking from errr… the opposite experience of reading the manual after fitting! Had four bikes on the roof many times.
hooliFull MemberPosted 3 years agoI do it most weekends and never had an issue with bikes of any description.
Thule aero bars with Thule 591’s using the T bolts to connect them so you can spread the racks all the way across (rather than using the wrap around clamps where you have to avoid the bit where the roof bars connect o the car). Bikes facing opposite ways so bars don’t clash and enjoy 3 hours of motorway whistling and half your normal fuel consumption.
TheBrickFree MemberPosted 3 years agoany issues with the rack going backwards?!
You need to pedal backwards for a bit.
hooliFull MemberPosted 3 years agoany issues with the rack going backwards?
Yes, bugs splat on the back of the bike on summer evenings.
pdwFree MemberPosted 3 years agoIt’s kind of obvious, but if you find that handlebars are hitting saddles or seat posts, move the roof bars further apart, if you can. Obviously you can only do this if your car has roof rails rather than specific mounting points for the bars.
wobbliscottFree MemberPosted 3 years agoStick as many bikes on the roof as you can fit on. Personally I can’t be bothered with faffing around removing pedals and turning bars…with the Thule racks there is more than enough adjustment to stagger the bikes to avoid clashes between the bikes and you can rotate cranks to avoid pedal clashes. Think I’ve had 5 burly 29er long travel trail bikes on the top of my SMax in the past with no issues whatsoever. Just be aware that the bikes can sway a bit on the rack so make sure brake levers are not going to bash into bar ends or saddles if they do.
Regarding noise…there is a bit, but not so intrusive that you can hear it over the road noise at normal motorway speeds, and that is why you have a very handy volume control on your stereo. And fuel consumption is not hit that hard at all in my experience. If you’re the sort that monitors your fuel consumption to the nearest penny or single MPG then you could calculate it, but if you’re used to say 450-ish miles out of a tank of diesel then you’re going to be within the -ish with bikes on the roof. So no issue whatsoever over a handful journeys. If you had the bikes on your roof all the time then you’d notice it over the course of a year, but hey, over one journey loaded upto the gunnels with people, their luggage and bikes then forget about fuel consumption. It’s all going against you.
molgripsFree MemberPosted 3 years agoI do it all the time, and whilst towing a caravan!
Top to tail is essential, for us, and it also helps massively to change the handedness of the racks that you want to put on the other side otherwise you’ll have a right ballache getting bikes on. But because some are backwards you’ll have to really think about which ones you want to flip because mounting some backwards will also flip the handedness. So figure it out and then number each rack to make it easier next time!
Also, if you are buying new, make sure you spec them all with the same key!
And fuel consumption is not hit that hard at all in my experience.
Big hit, for me in my Passat. I go from about 60 unladen to about 52 just with a roof rack on and no bikes at all. Bikes on it’s low-mid 40s so it’s at least a 25% hit.
Re noise, my Thule racks do whistle a bit.
rossburtonFree MemberPosted 3 years agoYeah, I’ve often done four bikes in Thule 591s on a Honda Jazz with 120mm bars, with the wrap-around clamps not T-bars too. Just dismantle two of the racks to turn them around, the instructions show you what bits to switch.
The only issue with having bikes on backwards is that if you have a rear mudguard that is pointing forwards the wind will try to force it up. I just wrap a bungee around it and hook to the mech.
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