Bikes on car options??

[fossyant]

Thule then. But the 532 as you can get 4 on a set of aero bars.

The ones there now are not the same.

That's a real shame....

 

[hobbitonabike]

Thule then. But the 532 as you can get 4 on a set of aero bars.

The ones there now are not the same.

That's a real shame....

Yeah...the halfords advanced sounded bob on! Oh well. Going to sound dim now...aerobars??

 

[evo456]

Hi, my experience is with Thule and they offer a quality and well thought out products, though you do pay for the privilege. You'll need to get the foot pack (if your zafira has roof rails) and the bars - not much choice on the foot packs, there are plenty for the bars- either square, aero wing shaped bars, or if you value ease of loading sliding bars so that you can load bikes closer to your own centre of gravity when standing next to the car. Also worth considering is security aspects - the Thule products I use are all tool-less to to assemble/dissemble as well as secured with lock and key, so I know it'll be there when I leave it attached to the car. Depending on the bar length and bike sizes you can fit 4 591s, if you have two small bikes maybe best to get 2 591s and 2 532s (equivalent).

 

[hobbitonabike]

We already have roof bars which are an oval shape. You can tell how amazingly technically minded I am here lol. Wonderful advice thanks guys...still.baffled but then I am blonde so will sink in eventually does someone want to make this decision for me?? Lol...you should see me when I have to choose from a menu!!! :confused:

 

[fossyant]

Ps even with the lighter 531/2 they weigh a tonne to fit. It is a two person job.

 

[hobbitonabike]

Ps even with the lighter 531/2 they weigh a tonne to fit. It is a two person job.

Really? How heavy are they?

 

[fossyant]

A set of bars plus 4 bike racks is heavy, very heavy. My wife can't lift the rack. I can but I do need another person, and usually wife plus son on the opposite side to lift over the bonnet onto the roof of my saloon car.

 

[hobbitonabike]

So do you effectively build the rack by putting the bike carriers onto the bars off the car then lift the whole thing on?

 

[evo456]

First time on the car, then subsequently just release the foot pack from the roof bar then lift the whole thing off- you may need a second tall/strong person to help you lift of and off to avoid damaging the vehicle. I have a an estate and two racks at the moment so can be managed on my own

 

[Nebulous]

I'm coming to this a bit late, but it sounds like you have a similar lifestyle to us, except our children are older. We've even recently bought a dog!

We've tried them all for carrying bikes; back mounted, towbar mounted, roof mounted and trailer mounted.

Another option is a towbar mounted one which still leaves the ball free to let you tow the trailer. We drove to the South-West of France like that about 1300 miles each way with 4 bikes and a trailer. You need to be careful of your weight limits, but our trailer doesn't have a great deal of nose weight and it worked really well.

*Edit* Hmm sorry - looks like our one is no longer available. It is a Thule 9705.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I fit the bars to the car and then the bike carriers to the bars. Take about 5 mins.