There’s every chance that an answer to this question is already listed elsewhere in the forum, but as I’m new to both Skoda’s and this excellent forum I hope you don’t mind pointing me in the right direction.

In the first instance I’m looking for some guidance on which firm makes the best roof bars for fitting to an 06 Octavia hatch. Are there any sites on the internet I should look at first; and is there a good site for sourcing genuine Skoda items?

As a more wide-ranging question, which are the best sites for sourcing general Skoda parts?

Thanks

Where are you based ??

I bought the genuine Skoda roof bars as I got a very good deal from the parts manager at our local dealers, but bought my cycle carriers from a company called Skidrive.

A quick google search should show if they are still about.

You can get a good price for Thule roofracks (and others) from The Roof Box Company: sales and hire of Thule roof boxes and other brands of roof boxes, roof bars and bike carriers or Thule roof rack & cycle rack systems.

I'm another satisfied Roof Box Company customer - bought 2 sets of roof bars and a roofbox from them and they are very helpful and competitive in price.

In answer to 'cathalb'; I'm based in Chester.

And a question to 'uncle bulgaria'; what is a good target price I should be looking to pay for Skoda roof bars?

Thanks

I was told the original rev of roof bars caused damage to the car so just beware, I think I mentioned it before.

Can't go wrong with Thule tbh. I'm not sure if it is the case with Skoda, but a few car manufacturers actually sell Thule bars re-branded as their own. Good quality kit.

Also if you ever change your car, there's a good chance you'll be able to re-use most parts and just get new fittings for your new car.

I bought mine from Thule roof rack & cycle rack systems, mainly as they are local to me but they provided pretty good service and are a lot cheaper than places like Halfords. They will also make sure all the keys are the same if you buy more than one Thule part.

Can't remember the exact price, but the discount was 30%, as they were trying to make up for a problem i'd had with the service dept! I know that made them as cheap as anything I could get off the net!

Have to say Gaffs warning is spot on, what ever set you go for, follow the fitting instructions to the letter or you will end up uth bodywork dammage!! The skoda set comes with a little Torq wrench to make sure you don't over tighten the clamps and dent the roof or door frame

Gaff is right.

The orignal roof bars that were available for the Mark II were known to scratch the roof. I have a set of the new rev as gaff talked about. They're lying in the shed (as I have a Vrs combi now) but not much use to use being in Chester

CB

Can't remember the exact price, but the discount was 30%, as they were trying to make up for a problem i'd had with the service dept! I know that made them as cheap as anything I could get off the net!

Have to say Gaffs warning is spot on, what ever set you go for, follow the fitting instructions to the letter or you will end up uth bodywork dammage!! The skoda set comes with a little Torq wrench to make sure you don't over tighten the clamps and dent the roof or door frame

Wehre do they attach to? screw in? thanks

Uncle Bulgaria, do your cycle carriers clunk a lot when carrying bikes? I've had Thule/Skoda carriers on my car for 3 weeks now and the noises are a bit disconcerting whilst driving. I'm half expecting to see a bike flying past my window. I've checked the bike and it seems very secure?

My Thule/Halfords bike carrier combo clunk a bit, esp over rough roads and used to make me stop and check for fear of it falling off... But its always very secure... I think a drop or two of oil around the bolts/moving parts would help though - its something I've been meaning to do for ages.

Thanks for that. I'll try a bit of oil as well to see if that helps.

Wehre do they attach to? screw in? thanks

Open your doors and have a look at the top of the door opening there is a screw hole to attach them

The roof bars are in the hole I think it's just the bike carrier that clunks rather than the bars.

Open your doors and have a look at the top of the door opening there is a screw hole to attach them

arh all becomes clear now - thanks - once in situ do they damage the seal on the top of the door?

Uncle Bulgaria, do your cycle carriers clunk a lot when carrying bikes? I've had Thule/Skoda carriers on my car for 3 weeks now and the noises are a bit disconcerting whilst driving. I'm half expecting to see a bike flying past my window. I've checked the bike and it seems very secure?

My Cariers are the Mont Blanc Barracuda ones which a very stable & have been very quiet. However I do check them after a few miles to make sure that nothing has worked loose!

how do you tell the rev one from the rev two version of the skoda roof bars? please

thanks

They did more than scratch the paint on mine. I came back from Cornwall last year after carrying a Thule top box, and on removing the bars i found that the rubber foot area had actually dented the roof under compression. I tightened them to the correct torque with the tool supplied as well. I also filled it with very light stuff, so weight was not an issue. I took it back to Pulleyn's in York and got the dents taken out for nowt. I still have a very expensive Skoda roof rack that I will NEVER use again.

I went to Harrogate Trailers and bought a little Trelgo trailer and fitted a Westfalia tow bar. No cutting of the rear bumper either. It's a nice swan neck which I can unbolt.

Much better option if you ask me. Make sure you get 10 inch wheels on yer trailer though

how do you tell the rev one from the rev two version of the skoda roof bars? please

thanks

Yeah, i'd be interested to know this too! Carried three big bikes on mine most of the summer and not seen any damage, so I would want reasurance that I've got the correct ones! Anyone here know the part numbers for the revised bars & the old ones?

They did more than scratch the paint on mine. I came back from Cornwall last year after carrying a Thule top box, and on removing the bars i found that the rubber foot area had actually dented the roof under compression. I tightened them to the correct torque with the tool supplied as well. I also filled it with very light stuff, so weight was not an issue. I took it back to Pulleyn's in York and got the dents taken out for nowt. I still have a very expensive Skoda roof rack that I will NEVER use again.

I went to Harrogate Trailers and bought a little Trelgo trailer and fitted a Westfalia tow bar. No cutting of the rear bumper either. It's a nice swan neck which I can unbolt.

Much better option if you ask me. Make sure you get 10 inch wheels on yer trailer though

I don't fancy a trailer as they have their limitations with the speed you can travel at tbh, and would be a nuiscance trundling around the Lake District and Yorkshire, plus I would need quite a large one to accomodate to Mountain bikes. Wre yours the revision one type?

thanks

I don't fancy a trailer as they have their limitations with the speed you can travel at tbh, and would be a nuiscance trundling around the Lake District and Yorkshire, plus I would need quite a large one to accomodate to Mountain bikes. Wre yours the revision one type?

thanks

I dont know. But I do know that you can get a great top for the trailer for 200 quid, this increases the vol of the trailer and you can get a bike rack to fit on top.