Roof bars…

Thule or Halford’s own brand…how much difference in quality? Is it really worth paying the premium? Both seem horrendously overpriced for what they are..nearly £200 for the Thule bars and fitting kit, even with the built in side bars on the car.

Also, are the boxes interchangeable? Will a Thule box fix Halford’s bars and vice versa?

I’m pretty sure thule make bars for other people and oems. Last time I bought bars they had aero and cuboid types. With the aero ones the us a rubber strip that covers a channel which I think you can use to mount certain bike carriers. Thule do foot packs for different types of cars so you could keep the bars and get new foot packs for your next car.

Ive got a halfords box on thule bars. The holding brackets are u shape ones held by some butterfly type nuts and a large washer.

Gumtree has lots of bars for sale all the time, half of which have been hardly used it seems.

OK thanks. Would go for thee aero bars I think as they look neater and are presumably quieter, even if they are a bit more expensive.

Are you pleased with the Halfords box?

I have some square Thule bars with seat alahbra feet that you can have for free.

Thule make the Halfords bars and boxes. They are just a lower spec (older models).

If you are only going to use them once or twice a year then I suggest going for the Halfords ones. If you are going to use them a lot then I’d go for for the Thule. Thule tend to be much quicker to take on / off. The wing bars are also much quieter and save on fuel – something you should definitely consider if you are planning to leave them on the car.

The other advantage of the thule stuff is you can use the t-bolt fittings on their cycle carriers and roof boxes.

Yes the bars and boxes are interchangable. When I worked at Halfords I usually recommnded Thule bars with Halfords boxes.

The Thule boxes a quicker to fit, are slightly more secure and open both sides. However, I would never leave anything valuable in them anyway as they are easy to break in to regardless of the brand.

Thule will outlast your car. Problem with the replacement foot packs are that often they cost more than the bars. F you’re going to have the car for a while and keep the bars on all the time go Thule. Otherwise Halfords will do fine.

That’s generous. Where are you Kryton? I have an Astra, are the bars pretty much universal? So I’d guess I just need the appropriate fixing kit?

Thanks for the advice, would probably look to leave the bars on all the time.

check the length of the bars but my guess the astra is narrower than the seat so should be fine. My box probably was an old thule. The struts are plasticky and the shell looks like it could shear off but closed its very rigid. It will probably out last the car :). And there are fantastic for summer holidays

I’ve got some good nick 108cm Thule Aerobars plus a 751 foot pack to get rid of. I used them on a Zafira so they may suit an Astra?

That’s generous. Where are you Kryton? I have an Astra, are the bars pretty much universal? So I’d guess I just need the appropriate fixing kit?

Yes you just need the footpackmfrom the roofrack company. I’m in London but I travel about a bit. If and before you took them I need to have a look at them becuase there are keys missing – which you can order – which may affect the feet coming off immediately. They are a few years old. I can do that on Saturday.

Thule make the Halfords bars and boxes. They are just a lower spec (older models).

That’s interesting. The current Thule “low profile” models aren’t good for kayaks, as the curve of the boat brings it too close to the roof. I was puzzled that Thule still sell the original models in the USA, but not in the UK – I assume they’ve sold the rights to Halfords. Do you know if current Halfords and older Thule components are interchangable?

Although they are expensive I’d recommend the Thule Slide Bars especially if your loading things like kayaks or have a tall car + they have a large flat top surface

I know it’s down to the weight limit of the roof rails/roof, but I have the Thule Aerobars or Wingbars, whatever they’re called, and I’ve had a whole rotten shed on the roof.

It was well over the weight limit, massively so, but I was confident in the bars, I’m not sure I would have tried that with cheaper ones

Plus they look better, and match my bike rack (Thule 591s)

Roof boxes fit to any rails