Tried to post this three times now without luck, so This is he story dissolved to bullet points

Thule 9107 on a MK6 Golf – longer top straps to suit spoiler. Carrying two 160’ish bikes – nothing too outrageous

Survived a 4 hour motorway journey to Wales faultlessly, as per it’s previous 3 or 4 outings

The last section of the journey was a mile of singletrack road and about 100m of average farm track

Bikes were left on the rack overnight and we led a convoy of vehicles out of the accommodation in the morning

Noticed that the bikes were moving excessively and stopped to investigate – one of the top-hooks had come undone. Attempted to reattach the rack without removing the bikes. Big mistake – a big bend in the front lip of the tailgate ensued. Bikes were loaded into the boot and one of the other vehicles, the rack was abandoned beside a tiny quiet singletrack road.

Upon returning the rack had vanished – so I hope that whoever took it suffers the same fate.

So after the car gets back from the panel beater – do I get a towbar – or give up and get a van?

They possibly just thought it was fly-tipped scrap if you dumped it by the road.  Did you ask around a few of the local farms?

Towbars are generally pretty reliable, quicker to attach and better for rear vision too.

the rack was abandoned beside a tiny quiet singletrack road.

Upon returning the rack had vanished – so I hope that whoever took it suffers the same fate.

i would assume someone had just dumped their shit at the side of the road – not surprised it went missing.

Get a tow bar rack, get a van, or just check the straps are done up properly before driving?

why not bikes on roof?
If you can afford it and have space on your drive a 2nd vehicle just for bikes would be ideal.

Assuming it’s a 5-door hatch, a quick look on roofbox.co.uk would suggest you need the 9105, not the 9107.

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel3.php?emulate=bikegen&query=7681

Whoever took it may have thought they were doing a good deed by removing scrap metal from the side of the road.

the rack was abandoned beside a tiny quiet singletrack road.

Upon returning the rack had vanished – so I hope that whoever took it suffers the same fate.

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

You left a £200 bike rack by the side of the road.

Could have left it at your accommodation

Could have put it in the car with the bikes.

Could have at least made an effort to hide it.

But you thought nah, ill just leave it by the side of the road. **** me, this has gotta be a wind up.

Get a van.

To be fair if it is left at the side of a road with no bikes attached to it why would you expect to find it still there?

Of course someone is going to pick it up, free roof rack.

If I’d have seen it there I’d have picked up and taken it to the local recycling centre. Hate flytipping.

the rack was abandoned beside a tiny quiet singletrack road.

Person that took it might not even have considered it stealing (they presumed it was abandoned, which it was pretty much).

Person that took it might not even have considered it stealing (they presumed it was abandoned, which it was pretty much).

See “Theft by Finding”.

See “Theft by Finding”.

See “Living in the real world” and “Common **** Sense”

the rack was abandoned beside a tiny quiet singletrack road.

Its an offence to fly tip.

If you dumped a bike rack outside my house it wouldn’t be there when you got back

See “Theft by Finding”.

Notice I used the term ‘considered’.  Not saying it isn’t theft, but the person that took it probably thought it was abandoned and would cause no harm.

Person that took it might not even have considered it stealing (they presumed it was abandoned, which it was pretty much).

OP doesn’t check the bike rack straps in the morning before setting off. Seeing the straps have come loose after he’s set off doesn’t bother to remove the load before securing the rack again causing damage to their car. Dumps the bike rack at the side of the road and is then surprised to find it gone when he returns.

Im trying to find some sympathy but the search has come up empty so far, I’ll let you know if I find some. Hopefully the new owner of the bike rack will be more careful

Van for the win

Notice I used the term ‘considered’.  Not saying it isn’t theft, but the person that took it probably thought it was abandoned and would cause no harm.

It is still theft though…..?

But, yeah, leaving the rack at the side of the road isn’t the brightest…… even if you hate bike racks as much as I do 🙂

Boot mounted racks are shit, have always been shit.  Towbar or roof is better.  Unlike the rest of the forum I have sympathy.

if it makes you feel any better i have the same rack on the wifes mk6 golf.

its shit, but its still better than the rest boot racks ive tried (like saris etc)

OP, this thread isn’t really going the way you planned, is it?

Previous 3 posts have helped. It’s more of a cautionary tale.

If it’s the kind of place you can leave the bikes on the rack overnight, it’s the kind of place you could expect to leave a rack for a few hours.. Honestly didn’t expect more than one or two cars would have gone past all day. And it was a £25 job off ebay so I’m not too wounded. Might have been a 9105, I can’t really check.

The biggest mistake was still buying it in the first place though.

There you go! Got one for a single and one for three bikes. Bloody brilliant. Never need to buy another even if you change cars.

Mini Bomber Rack – 2 Bikes

Agree about perceived fly tipping. I’d have had it on fleabay by now.

i thought spoilers were a thing of the past, something to hold onto at old motorway service stations after a rave..

rewind, you left the bikes on the roof overnight, and they were still their in the morning.. wow

Here’s one with a happier ending …

Bought a brand new saloon car of German descent back in 2003.  Weeks later bought a Halfords bike rack and disappeared down to Cornwall for a week long tour avec bike.  Noticed after a few legs that the foam padding was scuffing the bumper so I applied some dishcloths as a buffer.

But it was too late as the damage was done.  Showed the manager at my Halfords store to which he said “Get a quote for repair”.  This I did with main dealer wanting £500+.  Showed said manager and he authorised getting it done.  A week later all sorted and paid for.

Lesson learned for sure and haven’t used a boot mounted bike rack since.

i thought spoilers were a thing of the past, something to hold onto at old motorway service stations after a rave..

It’s not an aftermarket spoiler – just part of the tailgate desging that makes fitting a rack extra awkward

rewind, you left the bikes on the roof overnight, and they were still their in the morning.. wow

It was the kind of place where this was hardly a concern – hence my surprise that the rack went walkabout

I suppose now I have a borked tailgate I could just whack a load of cinchnuts into it and bolt a carrier straight on..

This

OP doesn’t check the bike rack straps in the morning before setting off. Seeing the straps have come loose after he’s set off doesn’t bother to remove the load before securing the rack again causing damage to their car. Dumps the bike rack at the side of the road and is then surprised to find it gone when he returns.

Im trying to find some sympathy but the search has come up empty so far, I’ll let you know if I find some. Hopefully the new owner of the bike rack will be more careful

Boot racks cause dented boots shock story. STW exclusive..

I’m trying to find some sympathy but the search has come up empty so far, I’ll let you know if I find some. Hopefully the new owner of the bike rack will be more careful

I’ve got a tiny violin you could borrow, if I coul find it…

Well, that’s Wales for you.

Seems odd to have had the bikes on a rack when they fitted inside but hey ho.

Yes, if I’d seen that in the hedge I’d have assumed flytipping and tidyed up if I’d had the vehicle to carry it in, awkward if riding.

Out of interest, where do ‘ theft by finding’ and ‘tidying up’ meet? Wallet full of cards in the middle of a path and empty MacDonald’s packaging both clear cut I guess, but broken bike rack in a hedge?

Seems odd to have had the bikes on a rack when they fitted inside but hey ho.

One bike had to go in someone else’s car, and even after the bike had been washed it still resulted in a much filthier car than I’d hoped to have to contend with.

It’s more of a cautionary tale.

Thanks for that, I’ll pass it on to my 3 year old Nephew you tends to leave stuff lying around 🙂

One bike had to go in someone else’s car, and even after the bike had been washed it still resulted in a much filthier car than I’d hoped to have to contend with.

Boot liner.

Highly recommend https://www.hatchbag.co.uk/

Less attractive to thieves also having bikes in the car and less likely to get the follow home from a thieving hot spot trail centre.

But understandable if not all bikes fit in. Need a bigger car really 😀

Most new cars have big roof ‘spoilers’ made of plastic to reduce drag. If the strap contacts the spoiler then the plastic will move under load, allowing the bikes to move and that means the peak loads on fittings will increase. The contact pads also cause damage to paint.

If you fix the rack higher to keep clear of the plastic spoiler, then wind load increases, and forces go up again.

Roof rack horror stories next week.

Get a rear towbar rack. Best get one that doesn’t damage your frame by clamping on it.

http://www.auxtail.com

If it’s the kind of place you can leave the bikes on the rack overnight, it’s the kind of place you could expect to leave a rack for a few hours..

No it’s the kind of place where people are morally upstanding and won’t steal your bike or accept your abuse of the countryside with your blatant fly tipping. 🙂

I think my main concern is that even premium tailgate racks continue to be pretty rubbish.

I know that a towbar rack is the obvious answer, but it’s hardly a cheap option if you have to fit a towbar expressly for this purpose. (In hindsight it would have been cheaper than repairing the boot lid)

I had an Aiston on the last car (Rav4) and managed to mount it low enough that I didn’t need to have any lighting wiring. I had to get rid of that vehicle due to age/mpg/temporarily losing a parking space.

Get a rear towbar rack. Best get one that doesn’t damage your frame by clamping on it.

http://www.auxtail.com

Looks too short? I’m not too worried about clamping on the frame, I’m not riding anything that exotic.

Highly recommend <span class=”skimlinks-unlinked”>https://www.hatchbag.co.uk</span>/

Wonder if the Octavia one would fit the Golf? (it’s on sale and I’m a scrooge)

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/mini-bomber-

Frankly terrifying

I think my main concern is that even premium tailgate racks continue to be pretty rubbish.

I had a Thule one (also sold as Halfords advanced) that had steel retaining straps and big clamping levers. Solid as a two ball mount IME. I could swing off it on the Touran, not move a mm. It did thousands of miles with three bikes on.

Any car with a flexible spoiler or bumper attachments are never going to be secure. You *have* to be clamped onto metal work to get it tight enough.

I could swing off it on the Touran

The issue I’ve found is more to do with having to pile the bikes onto the thing.  Never managed to prevent them rubbing each other without a great deal of faff.  The towbar one I have (cheapest Thule) separates the bikes just enough.

Sorry to hijack, and apologies if this breaks any rules, but I have a set of VW roofbars for a mk6 golf hanging around in the garage.

South Wales. Email in profile, if interested…

Why on Earth would you drive around in a Golf with two valuable bikes displayed like trophies on the boot anyway? A Golf will happily accept two bikes stripped down and they will be secure and protected from damage and road salt.