We like to go off road cycling. If not every weekend certainly every other one. About three or four years ago I bought a cheapo set of roof bars and three bike racks off t'interweb for a total princely sum of something like £80. They fit a treat on the roof of my Mondeo diesel estate. They have never failed on weekend use and have even managed to haul the bikes down to the Med a few times. They were not any brand I've ever heard of and to be honest I can't remember what they were called. Anyway, they work and have never let me or our slightly ridiculously expensive bikes down.
I was idly browsing about the market for these things and noticed that you can get very fancy ones and expensive ones these days, ones that lift your bike up for you and so on if you are prepared to invest small fortunes in them. I also note that you can get "Aero" versions which are allegedly, and may well be, more economical on fuel.
Now, admittedly, the mpg of my Mondy drops dramatically from the mid 40s to the low 30s when the three bikes are on the roof, especially if motorways are involved although the effect is much less marked when pottering around the typically country lanes we seem to find ourselves on when seeking out new places to get cold, tired and muddy.
Thing is though, I can't imagine that the cost of these things could be even vaguely re-couped in fuel savings given that no matter what shape or weight your roof kit is the biggest drag must be coming from the bikes which are attached to them.
Anyone tried these posh ones and do they make any difference ?
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Humph, I have the Thule aero bars. Only ones I have had so can't compare with others. I just thought they looked better than the other ones at the time, they have a hint of chrome in them and just look more appealing.
I agree re fuel economy, put the 4 bikes on the roof of the Altea and the mpg plummets to low 30's from early 40's, I would go 10mpg of a difference.
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We have four fairly basic ones. They were branded as Paddy Hopkirk but seem very similar to several other brands. Using all at once with MTB/touring bikes requires a bit of fiddling on the Xantia's Thule transverse roof bars whose mountings they can fortunately straddle.
I'd like to improve the security of both the bars and the bikes - some toerag pinched the earlier bars off the car while it was on the station car park. In practice though I cannot see justifying the cost to the star chamber!!!
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Thanks for the feedback guys.
As you can probably gather from reading between the lines, I've got my eye on the posh kit too. In an effort to justify it initially to myself and the other financially interested party I was sort of hoping that someone was going to swear that they were worth every penny and were not actually just another toy I rather fancy.........
So far, you have both confirmed my darkest suspicions but I live in hope.....
;-)
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It comfirms mountain bikes five feet + off the ground at ~60mph are not that aerodynamic.
I have Volvo aero bars and Volvo roofbox which were cheaper than aftermarket parts via a well known auto parts store. Noise was very low, didn't notice I had a roof box on keeping to national speed limits or manufacturers recomended max.
Went for OEM bars as I knew they were a guaranteed fit as opposed to aftermarket parts which some people had reported fouled the doors.
Edited by gmac on 18/05/2009 at 00:00
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Humph, sorry, you misread my post.
With my aero bars fitted, fuel economy INCREASES by 10mpg, the car's value increases, and they make me so relaxed that I am regularly found buying spontaneous presents for the missus as a result.
Is that better :)
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I would think the black coated square section steel bars would be stronger, and better should you get caught for an IKEA run, IMO the alloy bars are more for fashion than practicality.
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You are almost certainly correct Old Navy.
I do prefer Bobby's response though......
;-)
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i suppose it depends on how far you travel to get to your bike trails if you spend a fortune on a new cycle rack and only travel say 40 miles every other week then i think the fuel saving would not really be noticed if you did this
Spend the money on some new rockshocks or some nice riding gear theres loads of stuff you could spend your money on ?maybe some nice night lights as trail riding in the dark is fabulous/scary and feels so much faster
tony
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I have a set of basic Thule square section bars, as well as a pair of Thule Aero bars (no chocolate bar puns, please ...).
The main benefit of the Aero bars is greatly reduced wind noise at motorway speeds, which to me is worth a lot!
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what about bike holders that fit onto the boot lid? surely the aerodynamics would be much better as the cross section of the car covers them?
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