Cycle carrier

[Halwit]

I have a cycle carrier like the one in the link from halfords

I have used them on other cars,

But,

I am a little worried about putting it on the Octavia

because of the the glass on the hatch, this will take a lot of the load

has anyone used this type on the octy

I am not interested in a roof rack in this thread guys

I just want to know if it is advisable to use this type with the octy

I have made a search about cycle carriers on here guys, but none address my question

Halfords Value Rear Low Mount 2 Cycle Carrier from Halfords Was £39.99 Save £5.00 Price £34.99 Save up to 1/3 on selected Cycle Carriers

[wardth]

Sorry mate but I'm not a great fan of that type of carrier. They obstruct the rear view, are far from secure when you've got a couple of MTB's on board and you are at risk of doing damage to plastic bumpers, paint etc every time you use it. They also >can< put a fair old load on the glass but that depends how its mounted.

I use an alloy roof rack; Skoda Octavia 5dr (05 on) :Atera SIGNO aluminium carrier (includes locks) - Skoda Octavia saloon (04 on) AR5056

with a proper cycle carrier; Mont Blanc Barracuda Roof Mounted Cycle Carrier £49.99. Buy mail order cycle carriers and bike racks at skidrive.co.uk

These are solid, secure and easy to use but you need reasonably stong arms and if you've given your bike a good seeing too off-road its worth a quick hose down before popping it onto the roof otherwise you car gets covered in mud. Oh and you need to watch out for height restrictions Yes I know you're not interested but this is stil the best way to carry a bike on a car IMHO.

If you insist on using a rear mounted "one size fits all" carrier, dump the Halfrauds junk and invest in one of these; Saris Cycling Group

Well engineered and very versatile. Doesn't get you over the visibility issue but its nice and stable and secure. I've tried one on the Octy as my mate has one for his 1 Series Coupe and all seems OK but as I've already got the roof rack, I'm not looking to change unless I break something.

Of course all this is just my humble opinion but in my book, you pays your money and takes your choice.

Edited 29 September, 2009 by wardth

[foo]

I would never carry a bike on a rear mounted bike carrier, unless it was a tow hitch one.

They just put too much stress on hinges / glass and ultimately they rarely look fully secure with a couple of MTB's on there.

I know it isn't what you wanted to hear, but get a roof rack.

Oh, and a £40 Halfords carrier is just asking for trouble. All said and done, a good rear carrier that you can trust will not be much cheaper than a 'budget' roof setup.

If you must do it, look for one that uses as few webbing straps as possible, and keep them as short as possible and go for 'sturdy' at all costs.

Pendle have a good rep, so do Saris bones.

[darrenw]

Don't forget your rear lighting and number plate board.

[wardth]

Don't forget your rear lighting and number plate board.

Yet another reason not to use the boot mounted method! WAY too much trouble just to carry a couple of bikes.

[dsr]

I don't like anything that rests on the glass, bodywork or needs straps to hold the rack on. I've had mine for about 15 years and I can't remember the make. It's bolted to the tow bar and very sturdy.

Of course, you should leave the car at home and ride the bike and then you wouldn't need a rack

D

[psycholist]

The main reason I bought an Octavia was because with the seats down you can throw a whole bike in there and not have to worry about security, low bridges and barriers, damaging the paintwork, sorting a light board and plate, extra fuel consumption or having the bike fall off at speed on the road. I got 3 bikes and three people with the parcel shelf still in place in an Octy I and that's got noticeably less room than the Octy II...

I'd recommend the Thule roof racks if you want to reliably carry bikes for long distances outside the car though. All the hitch mounted ones, even a very expensive one a friend of mine has which includes a light board and slides away from the car to allow the boot to be opened still feels less solid than the Thule ones. Also friends of mine have been using Thule racks for years at this stage and still haven't had anything go wrong with them.

[wardth]

The main reason I bought the Barracuda over the Thule is that you don't need three hands to mount the bike - its held by the the front wheel while you clamp it down. Also its considerably cheaper - £45 if you shop around and IMHO, its better made. Thule products are too expensive and while excellent, they are living off the name a bit too much. Basically the competition has caught up.

Agree about sticking the bikes inside but its not such a good idea if you value the interior. You can't see my bike for mud sometimes and its not always possible to wash it before you go home.

[foo]

I guess it depends if you are a lycra clad roadie or ride a proper bike rider.

I wouldn't put my bike in my car after a ride.

[unsponsored]

I carry mybikes on a skoda oem rack and Thule 591's. Other racks dont like larger tyres. If going a long distance the bike goes in the car. The bike is stored in a bike bag from wiggle.co.uk (DHB brand). Don't have to worry about a dirty bike. I can carry two bikes like this with a weekends worth of kit and still see out the back window. The parcel shelf gets left at home.

[wardth]

I guess it depends if you are a lycra clad roadie or ride a proper bike rider.

I wouldn't put my bike in my car after a ride.

Well said - I'm forever ribbing my mate who looks like a refugee from the Tour de France even when he's just nipping into town on his carbon crotch killer!!

[M12MKD]

I use one like this on the Peuegot 306 but in all honesty like others have said you cant see much out of the rear and no matter how you tighten them they always move about which does cause slight paint damage.

On the pug it really does not matter as its the works vehicle but I would not use on on the skoda. I've got a roof rack and a skoda bike holder to go on that and it is the best way. Though its not a 1 person job to get it on the bike rack unless you have a light weight bike...............or maybe I'm jusy very weak!

[wardth]

I ..............or maybe I'm jusy very weak!

Must be a lycra clad roadie then cause' I can lift my Avalanche onto the roof with no probs!! :rofl:

[foo]

Fitting a roofbox was a one man job for me, it was a struggle, but I got it on.

I use the cheapest Thule ones (531?) and so long as you prep the carrier before lifting the bike, it's a simple one man job to secure it.

(by prep - I mean loosed the downtube clamp and wheel straps).

What I really like (over bags, which I have used) is you just lift the bike off and ride, no re-assembly required.

[Halwit]

Right guy's

Thanks for your opinion's I agree with waht you all say. forget the rear for the top carriers.

But what I wanted to know was if anyone had experience of usng one on a Octavia.

I ahve used them in the past on a 406 and an escort without any problems

But was worried about the way the glass comes all the way to the top on a Octavia

which means it will be bearing ll the weight.

OK, so now I must invest in roof rack, so it looks like a barracuda,

as for putting it inside.

I think that is not really an option.

thanks guy's

[M12MKD]

Must be a lycra clad roadie then cause' I can lift my Avalanche onto the roof with no probs!! :rofl:

All I'm saying is they based "Mr Muscles" from the adverts on me

I'm more worried about dropping the bike or letting it slip on the car more than actually not being able to lift it.........honest.........mostly :P

[wardth]

Right guy's

Thanks for your opinion's I agree with waht you all say. forget the rear for the top carriers.

But what I wanted to know was if anyone had experience of usng one on a Octavia.

I ahve used them in the past on a 406 and an escort without any problems

But was worried about the way the glass comes all the way to the top on a Octavia

which means it will be bearing ll the weight.

OK, so now I must invest in roof rack, so it looks like a barracuda,

as for putting it inside.

I think that is not really an option.

thanks guy's

These are by far the best bars for the Octy and trsut me, I did my homework! Once properly adjusted, they go on and come off pretty easily with little risk to paint. Much better than the OEM's and you can get spares for everything

Skoda Octavia 5dr (05 on) :Atera SIGNO aluminium carrier (includes locks) - Skoda Octavia saloon (04 on) AR5056

The company is great to deal with as well.

Once you've got them, go for the Barracuda's from:

Mont Blanc Barracuda Roof Mounted Cycle Carrier x 2 on eBay (end time 01-Oct-09 19:10:30 BST)

Good luck and enjoy the cycling!

[WaveyDaveyGravy]

Right

I have a good bike (Orange 5) which always travels in the car when I go out with it. If two of us go out both bikes go in the car. However I need to carry three bikes and don't have a towbar so that's not an option. One of them is a kids bike. This means that there's three inside so bike won't fit inside. Been looking at rear mount but Pendle won't fit as my vRS has a spolier so can't be used (annoyingly, there's one for £40 on singletrackworld). Three won't fit on the roof so do I have any options?

[firestormwest]

I always used a Halfords carrier with two bikes on my mk1 VRS hatch, and would have no qualms using it on my new FL hatch. I assume the one you are looking at has the bobbins for the high level attachment at the top of hatch.

No light boards required as bikes clear lights and plate,

The load is well spread over the glass and glass is pretty strong....... most modern hatches have the octavia style rear screen..... I have never heard of a car rear screen broken due to a bike carrier.

Roof bars dont look good!

[PH68]

Bikes go in one of three places:

in the back with seats down;

on the roof;

on the tow-bar.

That's it!

I'd never hang so much force (and there is a lot once you get on the motorway) on a car's back window/boot.

The roof (especially an estate with rails), or a tow bar, is designed to cope with all the extra forces.

Don't forget, if your lights or reg-plate are covered Mr Policeman will pull you over for a few "words".

A bit of cardboard for a reg-plate is not an acceptable excuse either.

Every professional bike team puts bikes on the roof, or towbar, of a car.

[ccs-digital]

Three won't fit on the roof so do I have any options?

Eh?, even without specialist racking as used by cycling teams (a considerable number of whom have Skoda as their vehicle sponsor by the way), you can easily get 4 adult bikes on normal roof bars with standard bike carriers.

The trick is to mount the carriers alternately forwards and backwards, so you end up with two sets of handlebars facing forward and two facing back.

I use Thule bars (originally from a Nissan Primera estate but fit the Octy perfectly) and Thule ProRide carriers.

[PH68]

How will you access the stuff in your boot with a bike rack on it?

Some racksallow you to open with the rack still fixed on, but the weight/forces on the boot struts may be too much.

Watch something like the Tour de France.

Skoda have sponsored it for quite a few years now.

Pretty much every team has a fleet of Octavia Estates with a fair few bikes on the roof.

I've yet to see them use a rear door/boot mounted carrier.

[uncle bulgaria]

I'll second the use of Barracuda's & I regularly have 3 bikes on the roof. Sometimes mountain/hybrids which as you say are carried alternatively front to back, or road bikes, all facing forwards.

However I'm considering if it's feasible to carry two road bikes in the boot in bike boxes/bags (one or all wheels off kind), anyone have any experience of this? Will they fit with the seats up or not?

[WilyWonka]

If you insist on using a rear mounted "one size fits all" carrier, dump the Halfrauds junk and invest in one of these; Saris Cycling Group

I bought a used one of those, and used it twice before I was convinced that roof rack was the way to go. It's now in the shed gathering dust, although I plan to give it to a friend in need this summer.

As others have said, bikes should go either IN the car (which I do if possible on long journeys to save fuel), on the roof or on a towbar mounted carrier.

BTW, I hear the rear racks are forbidden in France, in case you ever plan to go to the continent. I've certainly seen the French coppers stopping drivers with rear racks to give them a nasty on the spot fine

[foo]

I would never hang more than 2 bikes on a rear carrier unless it was tow bar mounted.

It is just too much weight tugging on the panels and straps.

Roof or bar.

Can easily get 3 bikes on the roof, probably 4. Just alternate the direction they face.