Carrying Quad Link frames on roof mounted carriers??

Is it possible? What are the options? I’ve just got a Whyte E120 that I want to be able to take with me when I’ve got the kids in the car so sticking it in the boot is not really an option. For other bikes I use an Atera Giro which is the standard downtube clamp set up but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get the Whyte to work with it due to the layout of the frame.

My initial thoughts were to get a Thule Outride 561 which fixes at the fork dropouts, but reading the spec it seems it works with all 20mm thru axles except the Rock Shox Maxle – the forks on the bike are Rock Shox Revs with a Maxle!

if anyone has found a workaround to these issues I’d be grateful to hear them.

stick the kids on the roof instead 😆

If it’s a downtube clamp design there might be a wee bit of downtube next to the bottom bracket you can put the clamp round. I don’t know the details of the E120 but it’s possible on my wolf ridge.

Thule freeride works a treat. Never moved a bit, but put a little heli tape where it clamps to protect the frame. When we go 100s of miles on holiday with it on, ill chuck a toe strap around the clamp too just to be extra safe, but its not been necessary.

Grimy, whereabouts on the down tube do you clamp it??

My brothers ’08 and ’10 Mount Visions* go in a Thule like this one:

The thule site would suggest this one (maybe a 530?) is no longer made, the Freeride 532 appears to be pretty similar

*I don’t know how a whyte differs exactly with the tube shapes however

My brothers marin has been on the roof a lot including to/from the alps at 130kmph with no issues

Thule Outride 561 with Hurricane Components adaptor? I appreciate this is a bit of a bodge.

Andy

I bought some Freerides…then took them back…I couldn’t get a secure clamp with them…bike was held in place but if I gave it a dunt (like a sudden braking movement or something), I could get the bike to jump out the clamp.

Mine is a large (18.5″ frame) 09 Marin Mount Vision, very similar frames…the clamps didn’t seem to come in contact with enough of the frame.

My bike has a 15mm QR so the only rack I could find was the Pendle single roof carrier with 15QR adapter (they do standard QR/15QR and 20mm adapters) – I think Thule have or are about to release one (when I called 2 years ago I was told there was no demand for a 15QR system).

The Thule Proride just doesn’t work – I honestly don’t understand how anyone can get a Thule clamp to fit in the space between downtube/seattube and shock mounting – only way I managed it was just the tip and again that didn’t hold it enough. Looking at the Mont Blanc system the clamp jaws also don’t face each other…it could lead to twisting and the frame coming out – the twisting bit happened to a previous bike of mine and was ripped from the bike rack…

I had a look (but not tried) the Mont Blanc system and it looked like it would be very similar to the Thule Freeride rack, so I didn’t bother with that. The main issue was that the clmaping area wasn’t deep enough to clamp much of the downtube (due to the shape created by the shock mount)…so the very ends of the system clamped but nothing else touched.

I’m not saying this can’t be done, just my findings suggest the bike is not held securely in place.

http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/our-products/bike-rack/roof-cycle-rack/roof-cycle-carrier-performance/bike-carrier-performance-roof-mount-barracuda.html

This carrier grips the downtube from below so may well do the job. A couple of things to look out for are that where the front tyre sits is a little narrow for anything over a 2.2/2.3, and if the downtube meets the seat tube much about the BB shell then it may not have the reach.

From experience with my Meta 55, the Thule 591 or Atera Giro will not work for your bike.

I have an ’09 Wolf Ridge and carry it in a Halfords roof carrier which is essentially a Thule freeride with a different sticker on it – had the Halfords and a friends Thule next to each other and can’t see any differences.
The clamp sits around/under the shock mount nice and securely although i do put a rag around the frame first to protect from paint loss. The main thing is to have it tight and do the wheel straps up as tight as you can. Done hundreds of miles with no problem.

S J I clamp my 09 large mount vision on the down tube, a couple of inches up the tube from the big ring. The frame here has a wider profile on the underside of the tube than it does on the top where it narrows for the quad link pivots. Here the freeride clamp which pinches in at the top is a great fit and makes it very very unlikely to pull though even if your a little limp wristed with the clamp. Hell I’ve tried very hard to make it move inviting freinds to do the same and its solid.

I have a 2009 mv and use a 561 with 15mm qr adaptor.

S_J if you post up your contact details I have pictures of the set up i use for mine. May help ?

I’ve got a wolf ridge and it fits fine in the above mentioned Mont Blanc Barracuda

Yep. I have an 07 MV and using a 591 it clamps very securely to the bit of downtube above the bb but below the lowest pivot – it’s a small triangular gap which is good cos it means the clamp cannot slide up the tube either. I also have tried to pull the clamp out and it is very secure.