The definitive Yeti roof bar poll!

[angrybeard]

I ended up getting silver screwed Skoda original bars in the end. They work well, I am currently in Gloucestershire, having carried my mountain bike on a thule 532 carrier with the hope of throwing myself around south Wales this weekend, instead I am laid up with flu...

I have to say I was dissapointed in the quality of the Skoda bars, they don't seem massively well made, with rough edges and not the greatest finish, I liked the idea of the way they fixed, but had a real pain getting the screws in, after looking around a whole airport(and failing) to find the correct 5nm torque wrench, i had a real struggle getting them to go all the way in, let alone setting the correct torque level, and the screw heads started to strip, not impressed when i went all that way to do things properly. I worry when reaching across to attach them, they may drop and damage the roof paint, and often when you clip them on they don't mount the screws correctly attaching to the raised part, meaning I often have to check and adjust them.

But, I do finally have some, and they seem to work, I would say fuel consumption dropped by about 8mpg with my MTB on, i got the bars and cycle carrier for less than the RRP of the bars alone, so happy in that respect, although I keep looking at roof boxes for longer trips now(not really needed!), now I just need to worry about height restricted car parks-so many MTB route start points seem to have them....!

[threeshoes]

Fitted a pair of Whispbar roofbars that came (relatively) cheaply from ebay and like the low flush fitting. The silver colour blends in well with the steel grey body colour.

They look good. Which model Whispbars do you have? I have a pair and I want to make sure that they will fit the Yeti I have on order.

Chris

[rayaring]

They look good. Which model Whispbars do you have? I have a pair and I want to make sure that they will fit the Yeti I have on order.

Chris

They are the S45 bars. The Whispbar website talks about a K468 mount to go with them but I do not have these mounts and am not sure what their purpose would be. The S45 bars on their own fit very securely and can be easily fitted and removed.

[rayaring]

They do look really good. Do they do them in black? With your black rails that would have looked even better. But in saying that my Škoda bars are also silver on black.

As far as I know they are only made in silver.

[baldbloke]

Reviving an old thread, rather than starting a new one...

Just called my dealer to check availability of roof rails. They have a set in stock but insist that there is only one part number so I can't specify the colour of the bolts.

Are there two different part numbers?

How do I persuade the dealer that it is available with black or silver screws when 'the computer says no'?

[redcar_reds]

Thule Aero Bars 127cm and 775 footpack.Swapped my old 120cm bars with my neighbour for his 127cm bars and bought the footpack new off e bay.

[Llanigraham]

I've got the silver bolty bits on mine, and am tempted to paint them black.

A word of warning if you are fitting the screws yourself; they are difficult to get started as the angle seems to be all wrong, it is very easy to get them cross threaded (which is why I've only got 9 fitted) and you need a small socket spanner to fit them otherwise it is all too easy to scratch the roof.................

Redcar,

I think (know) that baldy is talking about the proper Skoda bars.

[angrybeard]

I had exactly the same problem, the dealer (where they had a good discount) insisted only one colour was available, so got the silver and may paint them black at some point.

As Llanigraham mentions, fitting is not easy, cross threading, screw head wearing, much anger, and that was after my epic(failed) quest to find the pointless torque wrench it says to use, god knows how I would have got them anywhere near done up if I had used the stated tool.

But my bars are currently sitting atop my Yeti ready for my continental excursion tomorrow. Look out for angrybeards guide to Europe, coming to all good book stockists soon...

[Llanigraham]

I've not yet used my bars, but at the end of the month we have a visit from our twin town of Derval, France coming over and I have arranged a special trip on the Corris Railway and both the Twinning Committees are going to present them with a full sized BR Home signal arm, which only fits if no-one sits in the back of the car.

[Bobdog]

Skoda bars: Bit late for those of you who have already struggled with fitting the fiddly little screws yourselves, but when I bought my bars I asked the dealers to fit them as part of the deal - which they were happy to do at no charge (and they do have the right tool for the job). Suggest that anybody else buying them asks for the same. Used the bars last year for carrying bikes (and will do again this year) and then in March for carrying a roofbox full of skis. Pleased with them

[jekyll]

We have the skoda bars and i have been reaaly impressed with them. The fixings are strong and well engineered when you look at them and the fixing method is simple and well thought out. The small bolts which are used are pre coated with a locking compound so they don't work loose, this will be why some people say you can only use them up to three times. I have used the bars many times both on their own and with a roofbox on and they have performed well and are reaaly simple to put on and remove. They are the same as all skoda parts, good quality and well made.

[Yeti_Man]

We have the skoda bars and i have been reaaly impressed with them. The fixings are strong and well engineered when you look at them and the fixing method is simple and well thought out. The small bolts which are used are pre coated with a locking compound so they don't work loose, this will be why some people say you can only use them up to three times. I have used the bars many times both on their own and with a roofbox on and they have performed well and are reaaly simple to put on and remove. They are the same as all skoda parts, good quality and well made.

From experience of mine, used four times now, I absolutely agree with the above.

[900000]

We have the skoda bars and i have been reaaly impressed with them. The fixings are strong and well engineered when you look at them and the fixing method is simple and well thought out. The small bolts which are used are pre coated with a locking compound so they don't work loose, this will be why some people say you can only use them up to three times. I have used the bars many times both on their own and with a roofbox on and they have performed well and are reaaly simple to put on and remove. They are the same as all skoda parts, good quality and well made.

It is printed on the instructions that come with the bars that you should not remove the bolts more than three times...

And slightly off topic. I'm gutted. Came out the other day and saw that I have lost one of my four covers!!!!! I must have not locked it properly. And I'm dead sure you won't be able to buy just one of those and I'll have to buy a whole new roof bar system to fix this problem. I'm soooooooo gutted...

[Frenchtone]

They are the S45 bars. The Whispbar website talks about a K468 mount to go with them but I do not have these mounts and am not sure what their purpose would be. The S45 bars on their own fit very securely and can be easily fitted and removed...........

The quoted kit consists of 4 longer bolts which would hang down under the mounting, just the s45 kit works extremely well

[baldbloke]

Thanks for the comments. I opted for a Thule kit in the end with 'wing bars' which as the name suggests have a wing like profile. They seem fairly quiet. The best that the Skoda dealer could do was offer me the Skoda bars in the wrong colour and suggested that I could paint them.

My local Thule dealer took the Thule bars from my previous car in part exchange which took some of the sting out of the price.

[mr87009]

Just had the genuine Skoda roof bars fitted to my brand new Yeti - and guess what they came with silver bolts! Agree that the silver ones look a bit naff so had a bit of a rant but the dealer is insistent that the black ones are not an option. Contacted Skoda UK who also deny any knowledge of black bolts but have been very helpful and say they are still investigating. Other than the photo has anyone with the black bolts got any concrete info I can quote to them, like a dealer that knows what they are doing and knows how to order the black ones?

[900000]

Just had the genuine Skoda roof bars fitted to my brand new Yeti - and guess what they came with silver bolts! Agree that the silver ones look a bit naff so had a bit of a rant but the dealer is insistent that the black ones are not an option. Contacted Skoda UK who also deny any knowledge of black bolts but have been very helpful and say they are still investigating. Other than the photo has anyone with the black bolts got any concrete info I can quote to them, like a dealer that knows what they are doing and knows how to order the black ones?

I have black bolts and it was Marlborough Škoda in Isleworth that supplied my car. They had to get the chassis number before they could order the roof bars as you need that in order to confirm the bolt colour.

[dbg400]

I ordered mine through the dealer before the car arrived and it arrived with silver bolts, not the black as I expected. Given that the car arrived after the holiday I wanted them for I've not yet put them in. I'm waiting for the same info as above before I take it up with the dealer!

[900000]

By the sounds of it, it looks as if Škoda discontinued the roof bars with black bolts... Hence no dealer can find it on the system anymore.

[mr87009]

Thanks Johann....even Škoda UK have denied any knowledge thus far though. If they said they'd been discontinued I'd be happier, but still want to know why!! I'll post an update here once they give a satisfactory reply.

[Frenchtone]

If you want to blacken the bolt heads then visit your local model shop(NOT the 36-24-36 type) and ask for some Carrs Metal Black, and specifically for stainless steel!

Just a case of dipping in the solution and the chemical reaction leaves a black fairly robust coat - the stuff is basically for model railway use!

salut

[K6chris]

Has anyone tried these? Seem like very good value??

Chris (3 sleeps to go)

[vegit8]

Has anyone tried these? Seem like very good value??

Chris (3 sleeps to go)

I have to say they look very much like a set I bought for my Octy from Lidl a while ago, except theirs were about half the price.

Problem with Lidl / Aldi is they have some great stuff in the gadget line, but it's all short runs and a bit of here today, gone tomorrow. So it's a question of good timing and good fortune!

[dbg400]

I have to say they look very much like a set I bought for my Octy from Lidl a while ago, except theirs were about half the price.

Problem with Lidl / Aldi is they have some great stuff in the gadget line, but it's all short runs and a bit of here today, gone tomorrow. So it's a question of good timing and good fortune!

Lidl have car car offers on from Monday next week - http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/offerdate.htm?offerdate=32943 - micro fibre wash mitts, seat covers (!), rubber floor mats, 60 piece socket set & a basic but effective pressure washer (got one last year). Stuff never hangs about long though. One offer we were interested in wasn't there on the day, just half an hour after the store opened. Turned out they had only been allocated one for the store, and someone had bought it already.

[mr87009]

Thanks Johann....even Škoda UK have denied any knowledge thus far though. If they said they'd been discontinued I'd be happier, but still want to know why!! I'll post an update here once they give a satisfactory reply.

So, Škoda UK finally got back in touch with me last week whilst I was on holiday in Hungary. Apparently the black bolts have been discontinued due to "corrosion fatigue". So there you have it. I suggest everyone with black bolts contacts them for more info and to find out why they haven't done a recall!!!

So i'm stuck with the silver ones. But on a lighter note the new Yeti performed faultlessly to Hungary and back with the roof bars and the Thule roof box. Well impressed even fully laden was able to cruise happily at 130-135kph on the Autobahn :-)