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Going away in a couple of weeks time and for once can take the bike. I usually carry the bike in the car but will have my family and luggage so will need to mount my bike on the car. Don’t have a tow bar and the car (X3) has a boot spoiler so won’t play well with a rear rack. I have roof bars so a roof mount seems the most sensible option, but I’m unsure what to go for.
I’m on a V3 Bronson so worried both about clamping carbon main frame and also if a clamp arm will even fit. Yakima Highroad looks good but no stock and I need to order within the next few days.
Hit me with what’s good, will fit and not hurt my bike (and available).
Carbon isn't any more of a worry than any other frame material, it'll be fine, it doesn't need horsed up, and a bit of microfibre cloth around clamping area protects paintwork.
I'd imagine the Thule 591 will clamp fine, fits my V2 fine anyway.
Won’t every rack fit?
Roof racks either clamp the fork or the front wheel, what does it matter what bike it is?
Don’t your local bike shops have any in stock(instead of ordering)?
I’d be very surprised if a Thule 591 doesn’t fit
Edit- or a 598. Turns out that’s what I have
Tjaard - Not sure if every rack will fit hence the question, also not all racks are equal and seeing as my bike cost a small fortune I’d rather something v that works well. In terms of shopping local, it’s not the sort of thing any of my local shops aside from Halfords will carry a selection of.
Nobeer / doc - that was my initial thought but wondered if the arm fits (do hear of some frames being an issue hence question). Also looking the the fork mounting Thule.
I personally wouldn’t buy a frame clamping one, I like the ones you take the front wheel off on the roof, on the tow bar I like the ones that clamp the wheel
Just get a branded one so mainly Thule or Yakima
For road trips I used a Kuat Vagabond X (in Canada), it had fork mounts and was a basket for storing a bunch of stuff in, it was an excellent setup, not sure if you could get something similar
Thule Upride clamps the wheel only, bit spendier than the normal ones
Get a Thule 598, its a significant improvement on the 591 (I have both)
The 598 has wider wheel holders and they cross the wheels diagonally and ratchet down.
The frame clamp has a thick rubber insert on the jaws so as you tighten you get a good grip on the frame without worrying about damaging the carbon fibre.
Guessing the low-mounted shock on the bronson V3 is the worry with the 598, it kind of prefers to grip the down tube further down
As an alternative, would the bike fit in the car with the family if the luggage went in a roof box?
I had an old Marin fs years ago with weird linkages and odd shaped down tube that was too high up for most roof mounted carriers to reach (I remember having to let air out of the shock to get it into the clamp to get it home)
I got a carrier that clamped onto the bottom of the left crank arm. It worked but I never really trusted it.
thule 591 works fine with my bronson v3. theres enough room (although a little tight) to get the clamping jaw under the shock and get it secured fimly. don't know if its the same for the 598, the upper jaw looks a little thicker? wouldn't worry about clamping carbon in the rack, done it on my past 3 carbon bikes with thule carriers with no ill effects. also would deff go for thule as they just work with minimum fuss
Guessing the low-mounted shock on the bronson V3 is the worry with the 598,
There will be plenty of room, you slide the top jaw through the gap between the frame and the shock, as you tighten the bike will move forward a little until its clamped.
I have to do the same thing on my wife's Superlight to clamp it between the swingarm and the BB and the space is much tighter.
Pic of the bike for reference, there's not a great deal of room under the shock. Bottle cage also in the way (I know I could remove this but a lot of hassle each time).
If I was buying for the wife/kids bikes the 598 would be a no brainer, but I don't have time to buy one and find it doesn't fit (otherwise I'd just get one of those as a try and use as a second rack). Tempted by the Thruride but front wheel will then still be taking up room in the boot. Shame the Upride is significantly more expensive but may have to bite the bullet if I can find one in stock.
Having owned the Thruride, I just found it a pain. Didn't like some brands of fork, won't cope with different axle standards without adapters and you're still faffing with removing and fitting wheels.
It does the job very competently, to be fair, but it was a pain compared to the other Thule racks.
Thule 561 and take the front wheel off. If you don't have room in the car for a wheel, they also do wheel carriers.
Just make sure you get the right one for whatever axle you have.
I went for the Yakima High Road. Clamps the front wheel, not fiddly like the Thule one. Got the Yakima as my mate has a couple and has been using them for a year+.
Will go on any rack.
Thule 591 here used for a megatower. No problem, I fitted an old inner tube over the clamping arms and you have to partially close it to them push the bike into the clamp as with the clamp fully open it is too wide to fit in the gap between frame and shock . Takes a little getting used to but all works out fine
Kwack
I use a Thule Upride on my Megatower a the proride as a very poor clamp due to shock placement and not idea for carbon frames . The upride has also been brilliant during the spirited driving moments
proride as a very poor clamp due to shock placement
Proride is used by thousands of people every week, it's not a poor clamp, it may not sit where you want it on your bike, but that doesn't make it a poor clamp.
not idea for carbon frames
Eh? Have you any idea of the wall thickness of a carbon FS frame anywhere near the downtube/BB shell area?. As said many a time on here, there's a huge difference between the clamping force required to hold a bike, and the utter gibbonry required to crush one.
Found an Upride for an acceptable price, thanks for the input all.
Only potential issue with frame clamp type is not crushing the tube (seriously you’d be happy clattering down an Alp on such a fragile frame?) but you do need to wary of frame rubbing. I always make sure the area of contact is clean and the clamp nice and firmly clamped so you don’t get the frame moving relative to the clamp. The newer 598(?) is better in this regard but a bit of heli tape or insulation tape and making sure it’s clean you’ll be fine.
Front wheel clamp. One of the easiest options tbh. My supreme did not work with clamp on frame mount which sent me in the durection of the highroad mount. I have a megatower, moxie full sus and after a dirty ride I would not want to frame clamp it.
Yakima highroad
Fits most big bikes.
598s
Can hardly fit my ragley bluepig.
Looking at the picture of the bike, 598 will be fine. My wife’s small hardtail has 2 bottle cages which leaves a similar small area to place the top part of the clamp. Just have to line things up right then as it closes it will pull the bike forward till the underside of the down tube sits on the bottom of the clamp.
I’ve never owned a carbon framed bike so don’t know if that is an issue or not, Do Thule say it’s ok to use their carrier on a carbon frame?
To answer my own question:
https://support.thule.com/hc/en-gb/articles/214350465-Can-I-mount-a-carbon-bike-on-a-Thule-bike-rack-
Thule sell a £20 gadget to wrap around fragile carbon frames and allow the clamp to grip securely. The link specifically mentions the 598 and it’s knob- which does t allow over tightening- when it’s tight it clicks past and won’t let you apply any more torque.
Thule has some contraption to use on thin carbon frame (roadbikes mainly) but it is not necessary. Using heli tape on clamping area on bikes downtube is a good idea though.
I have used Thule 591 and 598 for at least 10 000km without any issues, the 598 is much better for MTB use due diagonal ratcheting strap and wider trays.
I've put mine on a Thule 598 and it works but only just fits on for length when you get a good clamp position on the frame (Large size Bronson v3). The 598 has the soft-wrapping thing built into the clamp, at least to some degree.
I needed to get another rack to carry an extra bike so I got the UpRide mentioned earlier, just to make life easier.
Had the same issue and concerns for the frame with my Orange 5 years ago. Turn the bike upside down and secure both ends, my set up was bomb proof, cheap and far harder for a thief to steal. Happy to post pictures/discuss if you send your address, hope this helps...
Surprised no-one has mentioned the INNO Tyre hold rack, they seem to get good reviews.
Proride is used by thousands of people every week, it’s not a poor clamp, it may not sit where you want it on your bike, but that doesn’t make it a poor clamp.
I have a Proride and the upride fitted to my car , one for the mega and the other is used for my hardtail .. Lets say the proride wasnt as good for the Mega or my friends Bronson v3 . I didnt say it was a bad design or carrier just not ideal for the two Santas my car has carried