My car is a hatch with a thule wingbar roofbars and proride 591.

 

After a couple of months of use here are my thoughts (I am talking about bad points):

 

- being on the roof bike is way too exposed (you have to be very carefull in some carparks because of possible height restrictions!)

- 130km/h if official thule speed limit recomendation (and personally I wouldnt want to ge faster anyway beacuse the bike does not feel very secure to me, makes a lot of noise above 120km/h, not to mention how the bike waves in higher speeds / when turing / in the wind etc.. you can see that on other cars when passing by)

- keeping the car clean (washing it) is a mess to say at least because you have this structure on the roof which holds water after car wash, makes possible little leaks throught the door sills etc.. not pretty.

 

Having a hatch, when I was buying bike carrier at thule, I was told there is no rear end carrier available for hatch, only for estate, something like this:

 

http://www.thule.com/en/hr/products/carriers-and-racks/bike-carriers/rear-door-mounted-bike-carriers/thule-raceway-991-_-991000

 

Personally I dont find this being more secure in faster driving compared to the roof carrier, just the bike is located behind the car and not on the roof so it seems to be like somewhat cleaner solution.

 

 

Also, I dont have tow bar of any kind,

 

is it possible to fit tow bar aftermarket?

 

and does this offer better kind of bike carrier?

 

 

For those who frequently carry bikes, please do share your experiences, I would like to try other options of carrying a bike, it doesnt have to be thule at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I put my bikes on the roof, but not clamped on the down tube. Instead, I have a system which clamps the front forks (front wheel removed). Like this:

 

The bikes are much more stable like this, and I've tested the system up to 160km/h without problems. 

 

Edit: I also remove the seatpost and seat, which lowers the highest point at lot. 

Edited 9 October, 201411 yr by GatorLinearFade

I put my bikes on the roof, but not clamped on the down tube. Instead, I have a system which clamps the front forks (front wheel removed). Like this:

I have seen this system, not my preference, you still have roof carriers + you need to assemble the wheels when fitting bikes.

 

Currently I would prefer to try some kind of attachable rear carriers, but since I have a hatch I am not sure such would be available (not from thule anyway). The other option would be to fit tow bar (which would obviously cost much more as aftermarket fit), and I am not sure how this would look like.

 

Anybody got tow bar on their car (detachable type) to make me a photo so I can see how this looks like on the octavia? (if its too ugly then I can forget about this options as well :no: )

Edited 9 October, 201411 yr by toni8b

I've got the 'OEM' westfalia detachable fitted. When it's not on, you wouldn't know it was there!

 

Having done bikes in a car and on a car (roof mounted and hatch mounted) I'm a firm believer that behind the car is best. (Also leaves the roof free for other toys.......)

 

A trip with a bike on the roof and a trail bag, change of clothes and helmet in the boot was worse on fuel economy than 4 kayaks on the roof and a full to bursting car!

 

Towbar racks FTW (as the kids say)

 

Niall

I've got the 'OEM' westfalia detachable fitted. When it's not on, you wouldn't know it was there!

Can you make a photo?

Towbar and rack is probably the best way but also the most expensive and means you need a towbar every time you change cars. I've been using the same Thule setup that you currently use for the roof with the proride 591. Have used it on various cars mk1 leon cupra r, audi a4 avant, seat toledo, mk2 octavia vrs and now on my mk3 leon estate without any issues. Perfectly secure (and tested upto 140mph!) and best value for money imho. Would have thought bikes will get dirtier being behind the car and also need to be careful parking due to the extra length of bikes/carrier. Both systems have their plus/minus points.

Towbar and rack is probably the best way but also the most expensive and means you need a towbar every time you change cars. I've been using the same Thule setup that you currently use for the roof with the proride 591. Have used it on various cars mk1 leon cupra r, audi a4 avant, seat toledo, mk2 octavia vrs and now on my mk3 leon estate without any issues. Perfectly secure (and tested upto 140mph!) and best value for money imho. Would have thought bikes will get dirtier being behind the car and also need to be careful parking due to the extra length of bikes/carrier. Both systems have their plus/minus points.

 

I'm in the same camp - I have the same set up as the OP and yourself. This is the third type of bike carrying device I've used over the last 10 years. The other two being; a traditional towbar mounted clamp rack, and a rack that attached to the boot (similar to the one in the link from the OP, but nowhere near as fancy!). The roof system is definitely my favourite. Boot mounted is a pain for accessing the boot and takes a bit of faffing to set up (although that Thule one looks much more simple than the one I had). I also got some pretty bad "buffing" on the paint where the padding and clips touched the car. Tow bar mounted can be a pain to get into the boot (if you have a hatch/estate). For both I was always paranoid about pedals banging into the car - particularly with more than one bike.

 

I will admit to being a little worried about being forgetful one day and driving into a car park (or my garage at home...) with the bike on the roof.  As neil_f says, pluses and minuses for any system. My bike also has an annoying whistle between 80 - 110km/h - so I just stay under 80km/h all the time 

 

PS. I probably would have gone tow bar mounted this time (as I already had a rack) but the tow bar was a $2,000 add-on I couldn't justify. I'm really happy I saved the money and spent $600 on the Thule system.

Edited 9 October, 201411 yr by kitset

I fitted a towbar, This was about 200GBP in 2012. and have the Thule ride on 9503 carrier. I don't know about the milkyway, but in the UK these retail for 180 GBP/ about 100 GBP used. Used makes sense maybe, as this sort of thing is bought and rarely used typically, hangs on the garage wall etc. Loading is easy, fitting takes minutes and one screw, no damage to the car, no damage to bikes, no dismantling of bikes, will fit road/ mtb/ touring/ kids bikes as appropriate, and as the bikes are out the wind, the mpg doesn't suffer too much, and there is less wind noise compared to roof carriers I've tried.  As long as your not changing your car less than 3 years, its a no brainer. 

Can you make a photo?

Eventually.......

 

Basically you wouldn't know it's there until the swan neck is fitted.

 

A question for those using Thule Proride 591 (or similar).

 

Do you have some annoying squeaks / creaking from the roof bars while driving, especially while cornering.

 

You can hear the sound when the roof bar is rocking side to side in low speeds. Obviously something is rubbing with something. Not sure if those metal pins which hold the carrier and slide inside the rail are making this sound?

A question for those using Thule Proride 591 (or similar).

 

Do you have some annoying squeaks / creaking from the roof bars while driving, especially while cornering.

 

You can hear the sound when the carrier is rocking side to side in low speeds. Obviously something is rubbing with something. Not sure if those metal pins which hold the carrier and slide inside the rail are making this sound?

A question for those using Thule Proride 591 (or similar).

Do you have some annoying squeaks / creaking from the roof bars while driving, especially while cornering.

You can hear the sound when the roof bar is rocking side to side in low speeds. Obviously something is rubbing with something. Not sure if those metal pins which hold the carrier and slide inside the rail are making this sound?

Only time I've had any noise from them was due to the clamps not been tight enough causing some play in the metal pins that locate into the roof bars. Couple more turns on the plastic levers that clamp down onto the carrier and noise disappeared.

Now that you mentioned that, this happens on every long ride time to me. I tighten plastic levers as mush as I can on start. Them after hour of drive lets say, I have to retighten them again because some play come out of nowhere..? After retightening there is no more play afterwards. Really weird.

But the creaking sound is still there regardless of how tight I make them. Probably pins with rails or plastic on the bottom of carrier with rail or something in between is making this noise. I can simulate this by rocking bike from side to side with my hand. I have to remind myself next time to visit Thule shop where I bought them when this happens to see what they have to say.

Nope, never heard a peep from mine. Other than the annoying whistle through the bike cables at around 80kms!

Be careful not to bet tighten the Thule clips with the aero bars. They are aluminium and you will end up putting a dent in the rail.

This is the voice of experience.

My thoughts on rear carriers are..... Do not buy cheap half@@ds specials. I lost a bike off the back of a friends car due to a poorly constructed bike carrier.

I had the older Thule towbar 9705, when I ordered the octavia I sold it and now have a Thule 9708 (because the older one needed a flange, so wouldn't work with the detachable bar)

Rack was £95

Towbar was £550

They reckon the rear mounted racks are less inefficient, 5% compared to 10%.... So can't see me making it back on fuel savings

But the Thule rack will slot in the boot, and packs down quite small, so as I audax, if I get a problem it's not hard for Lucy to put the rack in the boot and come find me....

Be careful not to bet tighten the Thule clips with the aero bars. They are aluminium and you will end up putting a dent in the rail.

This is the voice of experience.

My thoughts on rear carriers are..... Do not buy cheap half@@ds specials. I lost a bike off the back of a friends car due to a poorly constructed bike carrier.

I actually do have wing bars which I are aluminium as well.

Be careful not to bet tighten the Thule clips with the aero bars. They are aluminium and you will end up putting a dent in the rail.

This is the voice of experience.

My thoughts on rear carriers are..... Do not buy cheap half@@ds specials. I lost a bike off the back of a friends car due to a poorly constructed bike carrier.

Thankfully never had that issue using both aero bars and now the newer wing bars. Been using the carriers for over ten years now.

I put my bikes on the roof, but not clamped on the down tube. Instead, I have a system which clamps the front forks (front wheel removed). Like this:

 

The bikes are much more stable like this, and I've tested the system up to 160km/h without problems. 

 

Edit: I also remove the seatpost and seat, which lowers the highest point at lot. 

+1

I am buying Thule Outride soon.