Roof Bars- Thule Vs Halfords ?

Not got enough time for online deivery so its a trip to Halfords to get mugged. They do an own brand roof bar which is half the price of Thule, but will it bo OK for bikes along with flat sheds, surfboards etc ? And if I go Thule are the areo bars worth it ?

AFAIK aero bars are much quieter.

Lidl had roof bars this week….

DrP

Neighbour has Halfords bars. Says that you need to put pipe lagging over them to make sure that they don’t make a horrible noise at speed.

My home-made bars (inch batten covered with pipe lagging) make a racket at anything above 50mph.

molgrips – Member
AFAIK aero bars are much quieter.

Dose not make a difference when loaded up but if you drive around with the bars on unloaded then this is important.

P.S. I’ve got some paddy Hopkirk (sp?), had them for years have not noticed excessive noise.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-D75C2C43-F5A003A4/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_21289.htm

From memory and going back a few years halfords bars were made by thule, like alot of their products they came from leading suppliers and rebranded, not sure if its still the case. Could always put the two bars side by side and play spot the difference. 😉

I’ve looked at the two, the slot in the bottom (fnarr) is a different size and shape.

I’ve got some OEM Vauxhall ones. Is there not a rubber bung to slip in the slot to reduce the effects of wind? Snibbett, gruntle, etc.

It not tape over the slot with gaffer tape once you’ve set the width of the mounts up perhaps.

Aero bars are much quieter, I don’t hear mine until 90mph and the stereo can sort that without too much effort. Obviously put a bike on and it’s a different story but i’d recommend them.

Keep an eye out in the classifieds I got mine for £60 with locks.

From memory and going back a few years halfords bars were made by thule, like alot of their products they came from leading suppliers and rebranded, not sure if its still the case.

If it is just go for the Halfords version of the Aero bar, IMO its the shape thats important.

My aeros make a noise above 80, and that’s even with the wee bits of rubber installed. Good kit though.

If you are going to halfords you should sign up to quidco – save yourself 7% instore with your credit card.

clicky

They were still made by thule two years ago.

You may be able to save a few pennies at Halfords by ordering and paying online, then going straight to the shop to pick up.

I think the two brands are compatible, ie you can use the bars from one with the feet from the other, as long as it’s the square section bars, not aero.

Al, The slots in Thule and Halfords bars are different which is why I had to buy the other twiddly fixings for my carriers. If the square bars are cheaper then get them. Your car is un-aerodynamic enough not to worry about streamlined bars and you don’t need to buy fancy new carriers that fit aero slotz.

Got Thules – the fitting on a Honda CR-V is shocking. The front tabs are around 30% larger than the rear ones, but both mounts are the same size. This means that there’s a huge gap between the mounting assembly and the rails which will let in water and cause rust. Thule’s solution is to advise the use of heavy grease twice a year if the rack is left o all year.
that said, with rail on noise is acceptable and mpg hit isn’t too bad – aero bars

mine are Halford bars, no issues with 4 bikes up top at 85mph. apart from the mpg 8O.

st – Member : bars are different which is why I had to buy the other twiddly fixings for my carriers

If you have the U type clamps i’d be interested in taking those off you should you want to sell?

I have the halfords friend has thule, cant actually see any difference, mine have carried bikes all over at various speeds with no problems (other than having to stop and remove bikes to go into a tunnel in rouen, but we wont mention that)

what car are they for and where are you?