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Folks looking at a new car. Problem is it has quite light coloured interior. I usually take the front wheel off and sling the bike in the boot. That's not going be good for the "blonde" coloured interior.
Looking for a decent roof mounted carrier. Any decent secure ones you could recommend for a large 29er?
I've an older Thule roof mounted one that I can't recommend enough, although my large FlareMax only just fits. I believe the new models take longer wheelbases.
Thule 598. Fits my long wheelbase 29ers no bother.
That Thule is good. Getting a bike bag may be cheaper for you as an alternative, if you don’t get a fancy one.
I have a Thule 591 and it fits my XL 29er so you shouldn't have issues with that or the 598
If you can, go towbar.
tiny/no effect on fuel economy, no risk of writing the bike off on car park height restrictions, no dirt falling on the roof.
Eg this: BAIGIO Bike Travel Bag Bicycle Transport Carrying Case with Carry Bag for 26-29inch Folding Bike Foldaway Bicycle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0836P88B8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_5vuwFbZ8NJDB2
Don’t worry about the full packing away (so handlebars will stick out a bit probably), nice and quick and it’ll keep the car from catching dirt without having to faff with racks. Also there are some fantastic mockups of a guy carrying this in various travel situations if you go through the pics 🙂
What car have you got: i.e. how tall is it, and how tall are you? Roof mounted carrier is by far the most convenient solution - cheap, quick to load bikes, very few limitations once bikes loaded. But if you have a tall people carrier or SUV type vehicle and you're not particularly tall yourself then lifting your big 29er up to load it on your tip toes can be a bit precarious, especially if on uneven ground then possible for the bike to slip and cause damage.
Tow bar racks are good but a PITA. I used to have both solutions - the roof racks the more permeant solution only using the tow bar for long journeys where I was removing it at the other end. THey're not great as a day to day/week to week option. Removing the heavy rack and mounting it gets very tedious.
Thule Thruride & a wheelbag for the front.
Just to jump into this thread, I'm looking for a roof rack that would fit a Large Nicolai, so a pretty huge wheelbase at 1310mm those of you that have the Thule 591, would that fit?
The current Yakima just carries a Large Evil, but the Nicolai is way too long!
Thanks folks.
Car it would be going on is a Volvo S90.
It's the combination of long wheelbase, wide front tyre and not really wanting to clamp a carbon frame that is causing the complication for me.
The optimal solution was to transport the bike outside the car and use the boot as my "changing area" to dump wet and muddy clothes in after a ride before driving home in clean training bottoms or whatever.
droodling: my FlareMax has a wheelbase of 1250-ish and it just fits on a 591: with the clamp practically around the bottom bracket the front wheel straps are quite heavily angled. The 598 should be a better fit but I can't confirm.