I have a roofrack bars and 4 bike carriers that fitted my Seat Altea XL. The car had flush railings on the roof and the clamps were shaped to the same shape and clamped on, with the additional safety element that the railings had 2 holes in them at each clamp, and the clamp had 2 small prongs that went into these holes to hold safely.
Here is a photo of what I am talking about
i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/pendragon-cs/Ebay%20Items/lsebay-8-2.jpg
My new car, a Hyundai ix35, also has flush roof rails. However the existing clamps won't fit because of the two small prongs that stick out of each clamp. And the Hyundai rails also have a set of holes like the Altea but the spacings are different size.
I have tried to buy the correct feet from Thule to fit the Hyundai but I would actually need to buy a full kit because all the aspects of my current one seem to be obsolete.
Therefore my choices are
a. sell full current kit and buy new
b. remove the two prongs from each clamp by filing them off, and then just clamp to the roofrails.
c. drill an extra hole into the roof rail to match the spacing of the existing prongs
The easiest solution would appear to be (b) but my question would then be would the bars be secure enough with just the four shaped "feet" clamped round the roofrails? This is effectively all I had in the Altea (other than the two wee prongs but not too sure how secure / what difference they actually made)
Anyone here using a bar directly onto roofrails of a car and if so are you just clamped on or is there a secondary measure like the prongs?
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I have a couple of pairs of 'universal' Thule bars that fit 'any' roofrail system knocking about in the garage. The difference with them is that they curl round the bar more than your bars would if you filed the little prongs off (if that makes sense).
Given the profile of that clamp, I wouldn't be happy that it was secured enough without the prongs. I would have thought that universal Thule feet could be fitted to your existing bars and fit the new rails? Cheaper than whole new bars (although being Thule the word cheap is relative ...).
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If spacing is the problem, wouldn't it be enough to file off one prong from each foot? But like BB, I'd be unhappy with a bodge rather than using the thing as its designers intended. You have only to look at the difference in fuel consumption with and without bikes on the roof to get an idea of the force the passing air exerts. Those clamps are all you have to keep it from dumping your bikes in the road behind you, so you ought to do it properly.
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As always, and as the guys above cover, you have two issues; bind the bikes to the roof rack and bind the roof rack to the car - and I wouldn't mess with either of those. It would just be a false economy.
In fact, on the times that I have had doubts I have put an additional luggage strap across the whole lot and through the car's open doors.
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Have you tried Hyundai ?
I've found the manufacturers are cheaper than the out of town sheds. My own car, Volvo, was £50 cheaper than Halfords.
I found the same with the roofbox. Manufacturer was over £100 less than the parts shop.
The roof bars we have from Citroën curl around the roofrail in a single piece. No pins but more tension from the bars pulling on the rails. Quite a tight fit.
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>> Have you tried Hyundai ?
>>
well worth a try.
The roof bars on my saloons have locators of some description.
I would be reluctant to have roof bars that were not located so that fore/aft movement is prevented.
Some Thule bars seem not to have such locators.
Bars that overlap the rails may be more convenient in giving more load area.
I would be inclined to have a look at Ebay.
You should be able to source bars at a reasonable price, bin the vehicle specific fittings and then buy new fittings for your vehicle.
i.e identify the length / type of Thule bars and possibly find a set for a less common vehicle that maybe do not attract bids.
A few years ago I bought a set of Thule bars and all the fittings for less than five pounds.
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I would recommend (a).
I'm pretty sure that (b) or (c) would work fine but I would spend the whole time worrying about the state of the roof rack if it was my car. What price peace of mind, eh?
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I think I'd go with (a) as well. Not too expensive from Hyundai either:
www.hyundai.co.uk/owning/accessories
£167 including VAT.
Or a Thule kit?
www.skidrive.co.uk/bars/selector3.php?idx=1890
If you factor in your time... cheaper to buy new and get it sorted properly. IMO at least. But looking at the second link, can you get just the parts from them to lock onto the roof bars?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 6 Jun 14 at 15:41
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"can you get just the parts from them to lock onto the roof bars?"
Quite possibly not. AFAIK, the Thule 'system' is made up of the bar (square or aerofoil shaped), the foot that clamps them to the rail or socket, and the socket that clips to the rail or screws into the socket. All three can change from one car (or model) to the next - for example, the Legacy saloon, estate and Outback all use different combinations!
Edit: different feet to fit roof rails/low profile rails/clip around doors are obvious, but it the different length roof bars you need to span the gap between the feet wot does it...
Bobby, if you haven't already, the best bet is to spec up a new system on the Thule website and see what parts you can reuse.
Failing that, your best bet may be to sell what you have and see if you can source a second-hand Hyundai set. The cost to change should be minimal. Mind you, relative to the cost of changing the Seat for the Hyundai, £167 for new roofbars isn't bad :-)
Last edited by: Gromit on Fri 6 Jun 14 at 16:33
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Have a look at www.roofbox.co.uk
I bought some Cruz roof bars from there for about £50 that fit the Outlander, which has proper roof rails, but they are listing some for the IX35 at not much more. You can also ring them up and talk to them.
If you have a set of Thule bars and fittings that fit an Altea you should be able to sell them on.
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>> Have a look at www.roofbox.co.uk
Just ordered some bars and bike carriers for my Mazda from there, they arrived in 2 days. Very reasonable at £115. Will play with them this weekend.
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Please do not bodge it Bobby ! Just not worth the risk. Get proper kit.
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OK, I contacted Thule via the "contact us" section on their website and they responded within half an hour and then proceeded to email back and forth which was absolutelybrilliant service from them.
It turns out that the bars and cycle carriers I currently have I can continue to use, I just need to get the foot pack and the specific fitting for my car.
Combined price for these at RRP is about £100 but there are quite a few on ebay so I am now watching them and would hope to pick up something in next week. On the plus side I can then sell the Altea fittings on their own.
Interestingly, the Hyundai specific clamps don't actually make use of the two holes on the roofrail, they just simply clamp tightly to the rails it would appear!
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Good to hear about customer service like this. And the fact their roof rack solutions are good when swapping vehicles - i.e. the modular nature.
Hope I don't need a roof rack for my next car but sounds like Thule are a company worth buying from.
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Going far with the bikes Bobby?
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Nothing planned Humph, I have started commuting to and from work by bike and saw my roofrack lying doing nothing and thought I would look into what is involved.
But once I do then its something I will make a point of using. Problem is if its just me, I can get the bike in the back of the car though when I did this in the Altea I caught the rooflining with the brake lever so always try to avoid putting the bike in back of the Hyundai.
If my missus is coming then we would need the roofrack but we rarely would go for a cycle now together cos if we are going out for the day like that, it usually involves taking the dog with us for a 10 mile walk!
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Google 'Springer dog exerciser' Bobby. All bases covered..
Sorry don't know how to do a link on an iPad !
;-)
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>>don't know how to do a link on an iPad
Press and hold dear boy, press and hold.
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Yeah I figured that far but where is it when you want to paste it?
I mean it's not on the end of your finger is it? I've looked.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Fri 6 Jun 14 at 22:05
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2m1CuLZVorQ
Way hey !
Oh....
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1CuLZVorQ
Ha !
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Fri 6 Jun 14 at 22:11
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>>Google 'Springer dog exerciser' Bobby. All bases covered..
My mutt wouldn't know what to do with a lead wrapped round its neck. Hasn't had a lead on since he was about 9 months old.
He is very well trained but the only part that I can really take credit for is the fact that he won't step off a pavement until given the command to do so. No matter if there is a cat, dog or whatever on the other side.
When he was a pup I used to take him out his nightly walk round our estate and at every crossing I made him sit and wait and it seemed to have worked!
Can be quite amusing if he is walking along a pavement that is broken up with a series of driveways. For some reason he will stop at each driveway but knows that when he crosses, he can cross the other side of the driveway without stopping. Maybe he can only count in odd numbers....
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As a little update I now have the fitting and foot pack and assembled the whole rack together last night ready to put on the car tonight. Interestingly, I managed to get the parts from Amazon new cheaper than used parts on Ebay that were collect only!
I was also astonished last night to discover that when I previously used these bars and cycle racks, that I did not have the bars spaced out equidistantly - my OCD normally kicks in for things like this and it did last night!!
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Roofrack conundrum - Boxsterboy
