[Closed] Whispbars - is there a special technique?

Erm doesn’t the rubber bit come out and then once bike rack is on you trim and refit ?

I tend to break them in half then devour thus leaving no evidence.

Erm doesn’t the rubber bit come out and then once bike rack is on you trim and refit ?

It kinda just pushes down on mine, but they are years old so might not be the same.

The thule bars are remove & trim.

edit - http://www.whispbar.com/about/technology/ smartfill...

Yeah, I have the same issue. I can for them but it's not easy. Might be easier with Whispbar accessories but I use Atera cycle carriers

I've got a couple of pieces of thin perspex I cut to fit in the end of slot, above the rubber, thus holding the rubber down. Slide the slot bolts over the perspex into the slot, then pull the perspex out and keep it safe for next time. It's kind of difficult to explain, hope you can understand.
I find a squirt of silicon oil helps to slide the bolts along the bar.
HTH

Yeah they're a pain, been meaning to put some silicone sealant inside the ends and then wedge them down while it cures. Silicone spray also helps as above. Got so tired of struggl8ng the carriers have been on mine for months, not helping economy or noise...

Whispbar carriers drop in from above so don't gave this issue but I have Thules.

Helpful stuff, thanks gents. I had thule bars before, so the trim to fit worked, but I thought these might be quieter. Turns out they're not, but ho him, I have them now.

chipster - that makes sense, cheers. I'll try that in combo with some silicone spray, and see if it avoids the need for me to just rip the rubber out in annoyance!

You just push the rubber down and slide the fitment in on mine. Whispbar Aero X with a Thule carrier. It's fiddly, tends to result in bleeding fingers, but it's doable! Then forget until it's time to get a new car!! (and they're silent)

I tend to break them in half then devour thus leaving no evidence

The bigger ones come pre broken...

THEY MAKE BIG ONES!?

I've had whispbars on my last couple of cars and struggled getting the T-bolts in too. Until I tried a bit of lubrication...

If you have some spray silicone lubricant, give the ends of the rubber a squirt. It makes it much easier to get the heads of the bolts in the channel in the first place. A little squirt along the rubber also then helps the bolt slide to where you want it.

If no silicone spray, use water with washing up liquid in it.

Both have worked for me and suddenly it stops being a horrible job!

You could remove the rubber and cut into bits to fit between the bolts, but that's not how it's meant to be. The whole benefit of the rubber being nice and squishy is that you don't need to remove it (or cut it).

I also found that decent T-bolts with a slightly convex head make the job easier too. They slide easier as there's no sharp edge dragging along the surface of the rubber.

Hope some of that helps.

Erm doesn’t the rubber bit come out and then once bike rack is on you trim and refit ?

You cut the rubber strip? Seems drastic. What do you do when you gain another bike carrier and the slots are all in the wrong places?

I do mine by turning the bolt head 45 degrees and use the corner to nudge the rubber under the bolt. A fiddle, but not too bad.

Mine does whistle though at about 60mph, maybe a cut and slot would work - but I think removing and refitting loads of little bits of rubber would be a pain.

As said above, a little bit of lubrication helps.
I left mine on all the time as they were so quiet. Bloody love them.

I assume you’re not using a Whispbar bike carrier which just drops in and locks on.
So much less faff.

I pull the rubber strip out so I can hold it down then slide rack and strip back in together.

"Lube" is the key, but it literally only needs to be splash of water.

Pull it out a little so you can push down on the rubber as well as towards the cannel. Silicone spray helps too, in fact, Whispbar recommends it.