Roof mounted cycle carriers – how secure are they?

Off to Wales later today with my new Five.

I normally use a rear mounted rack but I have recently invested in one of those roof mounted cycle carriers.

However, having fitted it to the car today for the first time, I am a bit nervous about the fact that it only has a single attachment point and hence a single point of failure.

Am I worrying uneccessarily or have there been any known incidents.

There have been incidents with all types of racks, I’ve used a roof mounted one for years, as long as you have fitted it correctly then there is no need to worry.

me too i have three thule ones on the roof and they’re very good, just check and double check before you set off, same with any rack. they are the best compromise in my opinion.

…and as long as it’s a decent make like Thule.

I once bought a cheap roofbar and the steel brackets that held the bar failed. I was heading down the M11 after a great weekend and a gale blew up. A gust of wind ripped 2 sailboards, still attached to the bars, clean off the roof. The brackets remained on the car, but the rest landed on the hard shoulder on the opposite carriageway! It was very fortunate that nobody was coming the other way.

I am happy that the bars are securely fitted to the car and that the cycle carrier is securely attached to the bars.

My main concern is that the bike is only secured to the carrier by a single strut, which is quiet low down on the downtube.

Was just wondering that with any kind of lateral oscillation of the bike this could potentially fail and there is no fallback.

I wonder if I should use some luggage straps as a safeguard.

It isn’t just attached at one point though is it. There are the wheel straps too.

My friend, I can give you, quite certainly, the answer you want here; I use a roof mounted carrier and had an incident 2 weeks ago in the Lakes, when my Bike slipped from the clamp and smashed on the road. Luckily, there was nobody behind me and the bike is absolutely fine.
I know what went wrong: the clamp was not tight enough, the downtube had oil on it from having just cleaned the bike and the wind was terrible that day. In addition, the wheels were not secured at all.
therefore, make sure that whatever you do, the bike is attached with straps so that it CANNOT LEAVE THE ROOF OF THE CAR.
Make sure the clamp is absolutely tight, also, and that the area of downtube where it clamps on is suitable for it.
These carriers are safe, never had any other incidents with them and I still have all confidence there.

I’ve been using cycle carriers for well over 10 years and I have 3 of them. I have never had a bike come loose. If the bracket is clamped correctly, there is no way the bike will come adrift.

I have a pair of Thule 591’s and use an additional set of straps to fasten the bike to the clamping arm, so that if the clamp was to release the strap would do its bit to keep the bike in position. Touch wood all been well so far.

Following my mate (he uses the 591) down country roads shows the clamp system to be pretty good. A bit of bike wobble but nothing major.

Thanks.

That is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

I know I am being overly paranoid as I assume that these racks (mine is a Mont Blanc) have been designed and tested to meet the required standards.

As with most incidents human error usually has a part to play.

So I think it will belt and braces and check and double check for me.

Look what we discovered when we got to the ride meet point a couple of weeks ago.

Oh dear. Good job some sturdy Calderdale bikes were on the outside to prop up the one in the middle methinks. All 3 here are Thule. Middle one is v old to be fair and wobbles a bit – it’s days are ermmmm numbered! Thule 591s are rock solid, v easy to use, well designed, and great. That’s the one on the left in this picture.

As above, just make sure the wheel straps are done up. I didn’t close the main clamp fully one time & next thing I know I’m going round a roundabout & the bike has toppled to horizontal & I can see handlebars out the window to my right. Dented my car but fortunately the bike was ok. If the straps weren’t done up it would have gotten really messy as the road was busy at the time.

I agree with comments made about Thule cycle carriers. However, we had an estate car so put Thule feet on the rails. Whilst on dual carriageway cycle carrier with bike attached came away from roof rack. Feet had sheared, only 2nd time used. Luckily nobody was injured, it was a terrible experience.

Upshot was Thule were contacted, it was sent to Sweden for tests and they denied there was anything wrong. We contacted our insurance company as we had legal cover, they would help but we would have to pay for an independent assessment. Subsequently I had a bike that cost several hundred pounds to repair/replace parts, a damaged car (£600 to repair, in the end we didn’t bother) and no cycle carriers/feet.

I bitterly regret not persuing this, due to being so distressed with the experience and what could have happened. There seemed to be a grey area with the insurance company and we ended up considerably out of pocket.

Should have also said about the bike. My mates have a reign and meta 5 both clamp really well, much better than my large heckler.

One of mine is exactly the same as yours Snowslave. I have always locked mine which makes it impossible for the bracket to come open.

blimey, CG, that’s not good.

I use a Thule 591 with no problems.

Just remember they are on the roof 😉

Good point spongebob. To be honest, this was put on by the owner of the bike, and I forgot to check it’d been done properly – it’s never happened before including on long drives to France etc, so I suspect user error played it’s part. Also, I usually wrap some bungy around the top tube and carrier as an added precaution.

another 591 user here, done 100’s miles with mine on, minor wobble but nothing more I just tend to remove the seatpost for longer journeys and that seems to help.

it’s mounted on a fairly tall, thin & wobbly car too so it doesn’t get an easy ride:

591 and a Five here and no issues, make sure you use some helicopter tape in the area that you clamp on if you don’t want to wear the paint away. managed to do about 10 miles with my mates Trek EX on a 591 without any wheel straps, journey consists of winding lanes and dual carriageway so have every faith in the clamp 😯

The single biggest problem with roof mounted carriers is forgetting they’re there

Using Atera ones here. No problem experienced so far. Just make sure everything is tight. If I have two bikes on the roof I use a strap through both back wheels just to steady things up a bit more.