Roof bars – Thule, cheap or secondhand?

Am about to borrow a roof box off a colleague but obviously need roof bars (Seat Altea) – my natural tendency is to go to Halfrauds and buy some from there and would probably go with Thule for peace of mind.

Before I go and get sold to though is there any real difference between the own brand and stuff like Thule? Last time I fitted a roof rack was in the 80s to an X reg Metro and it was just a basic universal thing but presume the fitments have evolved, or have they? Thanks for any thoughts, even if it’s just “they’re all the same”… 😉

Fittings are more car specific than they used to be but as a very occasional user who borrows a roof box I just went for Paddy Hopkirk feet and bars and they’re fine. Only worth going posh or aero if you use them a lot or tend to leave them on IMO, though even then I’m a bit dubious about the value.

I’d go aero, because of the noise. Halfords prices can be decent on big ticket items. We bought a Thule bike carrier in there cos it was a good deal.

You dont really need aero bars if you’re going to bang a roof box on it.

Last two sets I’ve bought, Mazda and Kia have been from the main dealer and have been Thule copies  branded up as their own. They were also cheaper both times. Might be worth a quick phone call.

my natural tendency is to go to Halfrauds and buy some from there

http://www.roofbox.co.uk

I always buy second hand, plenty on ebay usually.

I asked this a week ago.

Have a look on Ebay, there are loads, I picked up a set of Thule bars and feet, for £35.

Just check the Thule website for which ones you need then do a search on Ebay.

Second had Thule are fine in theory – my brother had his Thule bars on his car for 10 years during his surfing and windsurfing days so spent most of their time near the coast exposed to the salty air and moisture and after all that time the car dissolved and the Thule bars came off and after a bit of spit and polish came up like new and were sold on for nearly the same price he bought them for. However, you’ll probably find that they’re not that much cheaper than brand new depending on the car they’re for, so may as well go the little bit extra and get brand new. Worth checking out though.

As for aero, they’re only worth it if you’re keeping your bars on the roof permanently – they’re only quiet when nothing is attached to them – as soon as you start putting roof boxes and bike racks on them then the majority of the noise and drag will come from the attachment so may as well cash in on the cheaper price and easier fitting of the non-aero bars.

Thule Aero bars might limit you to Thule boxes and racks only (worth checking as that may not be the case). The upside of that is my Thule proride rack fits in seconds to aero bars but takes a lot longer to attach to square bars.

Update: thanks for all the help. Ended up just going with the default Halfords own brand (the man says they are old Thule models anyway and who am I to argue) which all seem very solid and with the 10% BC discount jolly cheap I thought. That’s today’s task anyway; roof bar Meccano!

Second hand Thule always.