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 Topic: Roof Racks/Cycle Carriers
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30/5/2009 at 8:16am
Location: Norwich Norfolk
Outfit: Retro 70s Canvas Frame Tent
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Joined: 05/4/2009 Gold Member 
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Hi all,
We have a Citroen Xara Picasso and tow a 1990 2-berth Avondale Leda which weighs 750kg unladen.
Could we be ok with a carrier mounted on the rear of the vehicle (not towball) ? Or should we go for the much more expensive option of a roof rack?
If we do go for the roof rack, will the Thule standard bars be ok? Aero bars seem a lot more expensive and I can't justify it if there is no real benefit.
Cheers,
Kevin
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30/5/2009 at 4:33pm
Location: N.Ireland
Outfit: vw passat 2.0tdi estate argente 550 4
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Hi.Kevin, I always carry my bikes on the roof. Put them up there and they are out of the way. The standard bars will do the job, thats what I use.
I have changed my car about 5 times over the past few years and have used the same Thule bars. I have bought and sold the relevent fitting kits on ebay. Saves a lot of money over new ones.
Hope this helps
Paul
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30/5/2009 at 6:50pm
Location: Cambridgeshire
Outfit: Moslty in a Pennine Pathfinder nowaday
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Yup, Aero bars are only really useful if you need the flexibility they give you (It's useful for me as it makes mounting a cycle carrier next to the roofbox muxh easier, other wise the roof bar clamps get in the way.
If you do go down this route, I'd suggest considering the better designs of carrier such as the Thule Proride 591 or Atera Giro AF these are mcuh easier to use when mounting bikes than the ones.
We carry 3 of our bikes on the rear of the car (not towing so no experience of that side of things).
Currently we use a Thule clip on which carries three bikes hung by the top tube. I much prefer this design to the strap on type as this phsically clamps onto the rear tailgate (Mondeo Est) and give a very firm fixing. I really don't trust strap on racks. Downside is that you can't open door with bikes on.
Hanging racks are cheaper, but fiddlier to load (make sure frames are padded, strapped down etc.), if you can use a wheel support rack then loading is easier and quicker.
There are variations on the theme of this kind of rear mounting rack. The Roofbox Co sitecan recommend suitable racks for you car. I can highly recommend them as suppliers
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