Topic Title

Hi I am looking for a cycle carrier for my carbon frame road bike. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also which type is best Roof or Rear mounted? If roof, then wheel or fork fixing??

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Do you have a towbar? If so then i'd go with a towbar mounted rack,(so easy to use) if not its each to their own. If its on the roof its in the wind, but out of the way if someone runs up the back of you, etc etc

Ive had both roof and towbar mounted racks, the only advise I have which relates to both types is to check the way the bike is held upright. Carbon frame tubes are not designed to have something tightly clamped around them whereas with alloy frames its not really an issue.

To sum up in short, take some advise from the retailer and have a look at the upright support system for yourself before buying.

I dont have a tow bar. I thought about the clamp bit, I know that with Workstands they advise that you do not clamp the frame into it, so thought that this may be an issue. How does it work if you clamp your forks in, rather than having a wheel strap? Do you still need the frame clamp? What about the ones where you have your frame upside down on the roof?

We've had both roof-top and rear carrier (on car - not the proper tow-bar type though) . If access to the boot/rear hatch is something you value then the roof option is better. Also the bikes don't rub/bash against each other. Personally I find that wind-resistance/economy is also less of an issue with the bikes in-line with the direction of travel.

The proper towbar rear type may well be a different kettle of fish though.

The wheel mounted ones use a quick release to clamp the forks to the roof bars, This takes care of holding the bike upright with no need for any further clamp. The back whel is simply held in place by a strap. IMO this would be a better bet than a roof mounted rack with an upright support that clamps around the frame.

Checkout www.roofbox.co.uk - they stock all sorts, cheapest in UK AFAIK and lots of useful info too.

Hi Matt,

You're right to think about this carefully - if you're anything like us then the value of the bikes on the roof rack come to about 10 times the value of the vehicle carrying it!

I'd support the advice above about carrying the bikes upright with front wheel out. By "topping and tailing" you can get 4 bikes across the roof (if you are OK to put front wheels inside). The bikes are held firmly in the manner by which they were designed - ie the front forks.

A bike coming off at speed is potentially lethal! Which brings me to the point really - that bike shops are often reluctant to sell this type of fixing as it relies on Joe Public being able to do up a QR skewer correctly (to be fair, if you've never used one before they're a bit strange). One source I do know of is MikeDyason.com.

R

Beware! Dropout mounting isn't recommended by everyone.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=1412


There are at least 3 fork manufacturers that will not honour warranty for such mounting. I'd have thought road forks would be more at risk due to similar loading but weaker design.

Just as an aside. With a little bit of care, either are fine, with carefull choice and fitting. I have roof mounted FAPA racks on fiat aero bars and have had three bikes to Austria, through germany and my bikes have cracked the ton (even though speed not recommended by Fiat). Locktite blue and carefully tightening! The clamps are also wide and well padded so I've had no issues on carbon.

Confession time: I once went out of my mews property (under an archway) with a bike on the roof several years ago. Not nice. Don't do it.

I currently have a Thule towball mounted rack from roofbox company which has also done the trip out to Austria at great speed. No problems there either. Just well padded the bikes and well strapped. Nice to be out of the wind and helps speed and economy. Also pivots to gain access to boot. You can get good versions with wide clamps. Just make sure clamps tight without over tightening and being cack handed. Cack handedness more likely to break the frame than anything else.

Roofbox company excellent. Cheap and good service.