Hi
As I only need a bike rack occasionally I was considering a sucky on bike rack , probably rock bros. I’m likely only to be driving up to an hour with the rack on but am a little worried about the paintwork on our car being scratched.
Has anyone any long term experience of rock bros/ sea sucker racks and whether or not car paint does indeed get scratched on longer journeys?
Many thanks
bike-rack-less of Derbyshire
I've used one on and off for years. No damage to my paintwork that I've noticed but I do give the roof a quick wipe over before I put the rack on to get rid of any grit.
Thanks,
I’m thinking of getting the 3 bike version for myself and mini RRR 1&2 .
Anything to consider having 3 bikes on the roof?
Only that there is no way to secure them, but that's true regardless of the rack.
Oh, and can you reach the middle of the roof to line up the fork with mount. That can be a pita. Especially if you've got crappy pointless torque caps!
I've used a double Rockbros a lot on some sports cars I was quite precious about and never had any issues. As long as the car roof and the suction cup are clean, you've just got rubber on metal. If it was going to leave any marks, it's nothing a quick polish wouldn't fix.
i have one on my 108 .
i just ensure to clean the roof before i fit it - its the dirt between the pad and the roof that will mark if anything but no marks far
It was my only rack for my 40 year old daily driver. Certainly didn’t damage that car at all. They’re a really good system as you can pack them away easily when riding too.
Thanks, any of you guys have cars with a shark
fin aerial? I was just wondering how 3 bikes will fit around if?
Put the rack off centre or cant the rear end of the middle bike over a bit.
dangeourbrain
Especially if you’ve got crappy pointless torque caps!
These wee fellas are your friend for torque cap forks
https://r2-bike.com/NEWMEN-TC-Adapter-for-Forks-with-Torque-Cap-Drop-Out
Oh it's a solved problem George, doesn't change the fact its a silly problem that shouldn't be a problem.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/torque-cap-spacers/
Thread resurrection time....
I'm in process of buying an impractical car, and would occaisionally like to transport a full sus enduro mtb on it. The car doesn't have any way of mounting a traditional roof rack, so it looks like I'd have to use one of the suction cup based racks.
The info above was positive, but has anyone got any other advice around
- what rack to buy - I will only need to transport 1 bike
- how best to ensure no damage to the car, paint scratches etc
- anything else? Any tips?
I've been using a single Rock Bros one for the last year with no problems/damage.
I clamp the front forks in the rack before putting it on the roof, I (stupidly) tried putting the rack on first and then clamping the forks in the rack on the roof which was fiddly. I did cause some same when it fell but that was my own fault.
I managed to get an extra single sucker, like the one supplied for the rear wheel. When the bike is on the roof I put the spare single sucker on the opposite side, put the front wheel in and strap it to the top tube. This stops the bike wobbling a lot and means you don't need to put a dirty front wheel in the car.
Still feel nervous with it on the roof but I've never had any issues, even if one of the clamps came loose the others could easily hold everything in place.
I clamp the front forks in the rack before putting it on the roof, I (stupidly) tried putting the rack on first and then clamping the forks in the rack on the roof which was fiddly.
Thanks for the info , I'd have thought you would mount the rack to the car first, then put the bike on the rack. But you seem to be saying this is the wrong way round, can you elaborate on why it's easier to put the bike on the rack first?
I've got the three bike rock bros sucker rack. I've used it occasionally and once for a few hundred miles on alpine roads, with three heavy bikes up and at speed (in a very fast car). My only advice is to check the suckers more often when you have big altitude changes!!
I've not had any issues other than an out of box failure of two of the pumps, but they sent replacements quickly.
Mini Bomber on a silly car here. Paintwork has been fine, it's purely the mental hurdle that I had to get over. Haven't done many miles on it but all seems ok to me. Stick a couple of cloths and some Quick Detailer in the car and you're golden. Only problem I had was with the shape of the roof. If it's quite contoured the 2 bike rack tries to do a bit of unwanted dent removal... I'm going to make some angled spacers and use longer bolts to sort this.
I put the front end on the mount before putting it on the car, so I don't have to stab around with the forks to line it up. But that's likely more a reflection on my ham fistedness as opposed to good technique
My wife has a much newer coupé, and no qualms about putting it on that either
Obligatory picture sluttery
Can't believe i'd never thought of mounting the fork first! That must be so much easier.
@julians - otherwise you put the rear tyre on the roof and then have to hold the fork at the right height to slide the axle through. Not that easy to balance when you're reaching up to a roof and a risk that the bike will topple over and smash into the roof.
So to attach the bike to the rack first, do you just have the bike upside down on the ground fit the front and rear rack parts to the fork and rear wheel, then put the whole thing on the car?
I clamp the front forks in the rack before putting it on the roof, I (stupidly) tried putting the rack on first and then clamping the forks in the rack on the roof which was fiddly.
Thanks for the info , I'd have thought you would mount the rack to the car first, then put the bike on the rack. But you seem to be saying this is the wrong way round, can you elaborate on why it's easier to put the bike on the rack first?
I leave the plastic covers on the suckers and mount the fork to the rack on the floor. I then lift the front of the bike, take the covers off the suckers and then mount the bike on the roof.
Putting the rack on the roof first and then mounting the bike is fiddly, You've got to balance the bike and feed the thru axle through at the same time, the risk of damaging your car is much higher.
The additional sucker for the front wheel was a game changer for me, it's much more stable. Before using the front wheel (with the additional sucker) as a brace for the bike I could hear the roof flexing but I appreciate this depends on the vehicle.
I know some people with Tesla's use them on the glass roof, not sure I could cope with the anxiety!
I've recently switched to using the rockbros 1 bike version on my volvo v40 with a glass roof.
I had a thule setup previously but hated how much wind noise it made, i left it on as it was quite tedious to take on and off.
First time setting up is a little fiddly but once you've got the hang of it it's a breeze. Attaching the front axle before putting on the car seems like a great idea, will give it a whirl!
I've got the two bike sea sucker - so four pads in a line
no issues with the paint.
I wipe the roof with a damp cloth before using it, its trapped dirt that will cause scratches, not the pads themselves.
it can flex the metal roof, certain points more than others so think Ive found a good location now.
my car was available with a glass roof/sunroof, which mine does not have. I assume as a result that the roof panel is thin and non structural in the middle where the opening would go.
If I had the glass roof I'd have no issues attaching to it. Its been on my girlfiends car a few times with a (non-opening) glass roof and is actually better/stiffer.
I've been using the same rack - a cheapy ' Rassine' from amazon for 8 years now, across 4 cars. I only ride once a week these days, but most of those years were 2 or three times a week.
I'm fastidious about having clean attachment points, and have a little squirty bottle and a microfiber cloth in the bag.
Never had problems.
Obligatory picture sluttery
Love it, don't see many of those around now - let alone in that condition.
I assume the bike won't go in the car, wheels off ? For one bike, a rack is a PITA. I used to regular transport 4 bikes on a rack on the roof, but when it's one, it went in the boot with wheels off.
I saw the light and bought a van !
Silly car's are boring. You need a silly (fast) van for the giggles.
I assume the bike won't go in the car, wheels off ? For one bike, a rack is a PITA. I used to regular transport 4 bikes on a rack on the roof, but when it's one, it went in the boot with wheels off.
I saw the light and bought a van !
No chance, it's an alpine a110 the rack would be going on. It's only for occasional use as bike transport, most of the time I'll have a more sensible car to use for bike transporting duties.
I am thoroughly out-Mazda'd here! But here is a cheapo chinese one, it works great for me. The bike is too long for the car really so I can't use the rear wheel sucker, I bungee it to the rack instead. I went for a 2-bike one on the basis that it has more suckers, but I've never had any come loose (one of my 4 behaves differently to the others and I think it's probably weaker but it's never come loose)
Paint damage I think will be inevitable IF you fit it to a dirty car or have dirt on the suckers. So don't do that. MX5 paint is absolutely terrible but I've no marks after a bunch of uses and I don't expect to ever. My cars are always filthy so I just give it a quick wipe first. The easy thing will be to throw the rack in the boot without the covers on or get dirt in the covers or something and then just absently put it on the roof without cleaning.
If you're doing it alone it would be very easy to ding the bike off the roof though. Getting the fork into the rack can be bloody awkward. I throw a packing blanket up there to make it easier.
People often mention security but honestly I think this is probably effectively more secure than a classic Thule- those have no effective security, but give the false impression that they might via the locks, but also they're dead quick and easy to get a bike off and every thief knows how. In fact they'll probably do it faster than you can And then they can ride off but also, none of it really looks very suspicious if they're subtle about it.
Whereas these, are sort of a bit bewildering, undoing the fork is often slower than ripping a bike off a thule, removing the sucker board is fast but super awkward, and either way you have a nonfunctioning bike which looks odd to passers by.