Cheap roof racks – avoid?

In the local (independent) motor factors at the weekend and I noticed they had generic roof bars for £25. Basically the same as this

Then I spied a bike attachment for £20

Any horror stories about using a cheap set up? As a safety net I’d also tether the bike to the existing roof rails but I imagine a catastrophic failure would be unlikely.

they will generally work as well as expensive ones with following expceptions;

they will take longer to fit to the vehicle and take off.
they will rust if left on the vehicle for long periods
there might be a bit more ‘wobble’ from the bike int he rack but it won’t fall out.

in the end it’s down to how often you’ll use them and how high you set your expectations.

Coolio

I used cheap ones for years, with no problems, but echo what wwaswas says – fussier and faffier, and less ‘ultimate’ strength (but then I do carry a 17′ open canoe that is rather heavy…)

I now have some Thule ones – a big investment, but worth it for how much we put on the roof.

I got one of those cheapo bike attachments just like in the pic cos they were going for nowt in halfords. Bloody rubbish piece of kit.

Bob, where did you spot those bars? I’ve been looking for some to put on top of my roofrails on the 306 but I’ve not found anywhere cheaper than 38ish…

….like wwaswas ses – they feel v flimsy, awkward to adjust, fiddly to get set up in the first place. Wobbled about a lot. If they do manage to keep your bike on the roof they’ll take a lot of paint off the frame more than likely. I just wasn’t comfortable strapping a proper bike to them.

coffeeking – you can buy mine off me for £15 plus postage?

I had exactly the same choice and I went for the thule ones. I use them every weekend without fail and i just thought that i’d spent a fortune on a bike so should I skimp on the roof attachments and racks?

They’re transferable to its a decent investment (racks that is)

Coffeeking

Andrew Watt’s in Pollokshaws (but they have other branches though none in the west end)

http://www.awatt.com/futuref.htm

coffeeking – you can buy mine off me for £15 plus postage?

Low on spare cash at the moment, just bought some brakes for the spare bike – any chance you can send me details such as are they lockable? coyoteboyuk at hotmail dot com ta! If you’ve not sold them by next paycheck I might consider it!

I got a cheap one (£35ish) from halfords. First time I used it, I went round a sharp corner and the whole thing collapsed. Bike was hanging off side of car held on only by wheel straps. Didnt bother taking it back…just bought some Thule 591s….can’t beat ’em…..

ygm

i ran a cheapo halfords roof mount think it was 15 quid it was fine. as said above takes a bit longer to take on/off and rusts quicker but i had a few trips back on forth to switzerland when i lived over there and had no probs at all

infact the bars were cheapo paddy hopkirk ones too

I have a (free) set of Thule bars for a Passat, no ‘feet’ on them, in Sheffield if anyone wants.

Keep you eyes on ebay for Thule – I picked up a full set of the posh Thule aero ones for my car (the OEM Alfa ones) for £50, brand new. Unlike every other set of bars I’ve had they don’t make any noise at motorway speeds.

Mind you, by the looks of those you’ve got roofrails already so bars are much simpler and no worries about damaging paint or the channels they’d sit in.

As for the bike bit, I’d be inclined to splash out a bit more for something better known. Mail-order can be a fair bit cheaper:

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bike-carriers-racks-range.php#roofmountingbikeracks

£40 will get you a Thule Freeride 530 if you’re buying two at the same time. I’d be inclined to pay the extra £20 tbh.

I’m not sure what materials the pictured one is of, but even the £20 cruz one at the link I posted seems to have more metal in it.

With anything like this, I always check it’s still secure a few miles down the road after starting off, then every time I stop after. Usually it’s OK, but occasionally things can work themselves loose over a long journey.