[Closed] Thule roof bars - brilliant and not-so-god

Mine have been great, but ive only used the for med or small framed bikes, and occassionally a mates cannodale in large never had a problem.

Had Trek fuel ex's, cannodale jekyll, canyon nerve, all full bouncers no problems.

Only reason im selling mine is due to new car has a glass roof and been recommended not to use roof bars on this one. Didn't do my car research propery! 🙁

The arm on the 591 doesn't need to be 90 degrees to your downtube - it isn't quite that on my bike, but once in place is solid. I am always a bit nervous when going round a bend where the bike will want to fall out of the open end of the clamp, but so far i've never had a problem even when in a rush and going round roundabouts quickly, so seems as secure as it needs to be. I used to rotate the crank so the crank arm on the side of the carrier arm crosses the carrier arm so if it were to slip out of the jaws the crank would stop it, but I don't bother now. However they are not theif proof and there are many YouTube videos showing that it is possible to yank a bike out of the jaws - but then you'll never make an externally mounted bike rack secure and i'd never leave it unattended. Your wheel overhanging the trough sounds a bit dodgy though.

you could always go for one of the fork mount racks where you take the wheel off. You can also get a new model that loops over the front wheel. Have seen them used in the USA but never for sale over here.

rascal - have you tried moving the arm back a bit? If you undo the hex bolts that attach the arm to the long silver trough you can move it back a bit (you can't move it far due to the curve but may be far enough).

I just bought 561 because of concerns with that same problem

+1 for moving the arm, had to do this with mine to get my Alpine to fit.

I was out for hours earlier with freezing hands and probably not thinking properly.
Got a sheet on the kitchen floor with Meta on the 591 for last 45 mins - in the warm everything is much easier 😉

I worked out the overhanging front wheel bit all by myself - clever boy!

Anyway, someone elsewhere suggested deflating the rear shock...voila! Dropping from 150psi to empty actually works as the arse end drops loads and allows a much neater fit - a ratchet strap for extra security though. Not ideal, but as I'll be biking I will always have a Camelbak with a shock pump in it at my destination of choice - hopefully!

+1 for moving the wheel trays a bit. 5 min job and will sort it

Impossible to fit my mate's Wolf Ridge to my 591s... But if the problem is front wheel position, you should be able to just shuffle the parts aroudn surely? (one of mine is way out of whack with the others because I got pissed off building it in a freezing driveway 😉 But it works fine and accomodates funny shaped bikes better than the other 2)

Turn 591 over so it is upside down, there are 4 allen bolts in the 'foot' area where the arm joins the gutter. Undo them and you can slide it back so that there is more gutter out front and you front wheel will have more rail to sit on...tighten the bolts back up.

I think it is only 2 bolts and the other 2 do the tension on the arm (so that it either lifts/drops easily or not).

You can increase the overhang by removing the 2 x Allen screws and fitting them into the vacant holes on the opposite side of the plastic base. This allows you to use the opposite side of the aluminium curve and eliminates any front wheel over the end issues. I can email a photo if needed.

Me and my orange riding peers all have this set up and no issues in >5years inc several Andorra trips.

Hope this helps..?

Have always clamped my meta between the lower shock mount and seat tube with no problems.

Bolt

Andyl - I think the rack/mount you speak of is for the US market only. I have seen them on mtbr forums etc and they look like a good solution. Not sure which would be more secure or whether they are legal in the EU market, but have never seen one over here.

rascal - Member
After gathering various Thule bits on ebay and new over the last few weeks, I finally got to get them on the car today.
It's brilliantly designed kit and all was going great..until I tried to attach my Meta to one of the 591 carriers.

The shock mount on my large is exactly where the clamp wants to sit on the downtube and makes an awkward grip at best...the front wheel is almost hanging off the front of 591.
I know there are threads elsewhere dedicated to this problem and ways around it but its a real PITA.
The arm could do with being a bit longer and the jaws of the clamp could make more of a closed circle when tightened - I guess that's the price you pay for owning a Meta! Feel a bit fed up having wanted Thule stuff for ages

Any other bikes not a great fit with 591s

When i had the Meta i had the same issue, hence going to the fork mounted Freedride Thule instead. Worked brilliantly.

You can fit long wheelbase DH bikes on the 591 carriers.. ( 222 in one )

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I had a mix of 591 and the freeride (532 or 575?). The freerides clamp the other way, so vertically. It meant I could mount most bikes. Mates have Attack Trail/Wolf Ridges and they were fine.

The fork mount style racks would be no good with through-axel MTB forks. You can get adapters, but they are not approved in the UK or Europe and don't work well - I have one for my Lefty for use on the internal racking system I have in my SMax, but i wouldn't want to mount it on a roof.

wobbliscott - Member
The fork mount style racks would be no good with through-axel MTB forks. You can get adapters, but they are not approved in the UK or Europe and don't work well - I have one for my Lefty for use on the internal racking system I have in my SMax, but i wouldn't want to mount it on a roof.

The Thule one comes with a 15mm axle kit and works brilliantly.

I have a Fork-Up adapter and it works brilliantly. Never really use it now though as switched to 591s which fit all my bikes.