Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 Hi guys I'm looking for some advice on what roof racks I need to buy for a Renault Sandero Stepway 2012 (these already come with their own built in "roof racks" of sorts) So what I'm wondering is what racks do I need to buy that lock into them? I assume that the bike carrier will be a formality once I have this sorted? Looking forward to your guys' help.
ChrisF Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 Speak to the Thuli Partner Shop in Willowbridge.Address: Willowbridge shopping centre, Carl Cronje drive, northern suburb, Cape Town, 7530Hours: Open today · 9AM–6PM Phone: 021 914 1576 There are a number of bar types. I got the "Wingbar" - least noise, and best fuel economy Thuli has two fixing mechanisms, for this type of application : - one ends in a nice earo finish, and resuls in a lower mount - the other is "between" the Wingbar and the roof rail, with the wingbar stretching past the clamp. This results in a higher mount .... BUT, it also means it is easier to swop the setup to another vehicle ....
Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Author Posted October 30, 2017 Thanks for the info. I'll follow up on your advice
ChrisF Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 This what the bars look like - and this is how it looks with the bike on - PS - I use a 2-step ladder .... EASY to place the bikes on the roof !!
Ferro Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 We are using the Thule 757 on our Stepway. Square bars as in pic. Noise doesn't bother us too much, we just turn the radio up. Second pic is for another angle of rail clamp on the 757. Bought ours on Gumtree a year ago and so far haven't had any problems. In fact, just bought a Roof box for the December vacation luggage.
Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Author Posted October 30, 2017 That looks great.And you have no worries about driving with the bike up on the roof in rough winds? I use a bike carrier strapped to the back of my car and I can feel wind gusts shaking the bike on the carrier. As a result some of the rubber straps have completely broken and the bike once ALMOST fell off completely whilst doing 120kmph.I had to take off the wheels and put in the car with the seats down
Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Author Posted October 30, 2017 Now probably for my paranoia... Can someone steal these roof racks off your car or can you keep them permanently fixed on there safely? I've heard that Thule only have X amount of lock combinations on their keys?So If some scaly oke came into possession of a key, he could theoretically go to a cycling event and eventually have his key fit into someone else key hole...? Not sure if this is accurate though
Ferro Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 We using the Freeride bike rack as in pic. ChrisF above is running the Proride. I can't comment on the stability of the Proride, however, i have taken my bike to Grabouw and in the gusts going up Sir Lowrys i was certain the bike was going to get ripped off the roof. It was fine though. The Thule's are tougher than they look. You need only check some pics of people forgetting to take their bikes of the roof before driving into the garage.
ChrisF Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 I have only done about 3 500 km with the bike on the rack, about 1 000km of which I had two bikes on the roof. That included a few hundred kilometers of gravel roads ... some properly corrugated. The bike(s) where always properly secured. Never had any worries - though I DID stop a few times on the first trip to check everything. Watching the shadow showed no undue vibrations from cross-winds. Riding WITH the wind there is hardly any difference in fuel economy. Riding into a head wind !! OUCH, that sucks fuel on the RAV. I kept an eye on the fuel usage indicator and slowed down when the wind was against us. LOCKS - this is Africa and anything can be stolen .... YES, limited number of keys, so it is mathematically possible for somebody to have a bunch of keys ..... Maybe the best reason to not get the numbers matched setup - making it a bit more difficult to a thief .... Yet, for the first time I can park the car out of sight and not worry that the bikes will disapear.
ChrisF Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 After 3 500 km on the roof I used the towbar platform carrier to a funride ... only 3,5km of farm road to the start point. Bike go dirtier on this 3,5km behind the car than in 3 500km on the roof !! And now we talking of FINE dust on the chain and gears - grinding past for the drive train !
Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Author Posted October 30, 2017 We using the Freeride bike rack as in pic. ChrisF above is running the Proride. I can't comment on the stability of the Proride, however, i have taken my bike to Grabouw and in the gusts going up Sir Lowrys i was certain the bike was going to get ripped off the roof. It was fine though. The Thule's are tougher than they look. You need only check some pics of people forgetting to take their bikes of the roof before driving into the garage. 275680.jpgThanks again for the images sent. It makes it so much easier to identify what I need, etc. Haha I've heard some horror stories of guys riding into their garages or down into a basement parking with bike still on top I will have to remain mindful of that too to avoid becoming an unfortunate statistic. I think the extra peace of mind of what Chris said about being able to park somewhere and not have to keep your eyes on the bike at all times will also help matters with the missus and quickly popping into the shop...
ChrisF Posted October 30, 2017 Posted October 30, 2017 Do you have a remote to access your parking at home ? You MUST pull out and then load the bike on the car - THIS is the time to place the remote in the cubby-hole, or similar where you cant get to it as your arive home .... You will entertain yourself by watching the shadow of the bike dance around the car as you drive. So are actually often reminded of it. The bit where you MUST pay attention .... restricted height entry points along your route .... On the RAV the rig is about 3m tall with the bike on the roof ... so I just check if an entry point is "truck-friendly" ..... Low hanging trees along our suburb are a pain, That said, I LOVE the roof rack !!
Chingy182 Posted October 30, 2017 Author Posted October 30, 2017 Do you have a remote to access your parking at home ? You MUST pull out and then load the bike on the car - THIS is the time to place the remote in the cubby-hole, or similar where you cant get to it as your arive home .... You will entertain yourself by watching the shadow of the bike dance around the car as you drive. So are actually often reminded of it. The bit where you MUST pay attention .... restricted height entry points along your route .... On the RAV the rig is about 3m tall with the bike on the roof ... so I just check if an entry point is "truck-friendly" ..... Low hanging trees along our suburb are a pain, That said, I LOVE the roof rack !!Fortunately, for now, I live in a complex with open access parking. So I don't have to worry about a garage just yet. But good to keep this in mind. I already spend half my driving time checking my rear view mirror to see if my bike is still doing fine at the back. I can't imagine with a roof rack I'll be any different, just now checking those low hanging branches in Durbanville. There's also this notorious bridge going from Paarl to Franchhoek through Simondium that I always wonder what the guys with bikes on their roof must be thinking to themselves...
rorydewet Posted September 20, 2018 Posted September 20, 2018 Hi guys I'm looking for some advice on what roof racks I need to buy for a Renault Sandero Stepway 2012 (these already come with their own built in "roof racks" of sorts) So what I'm wondering is what racks do I need to buy that lock into them? I assume that the bike carrier will be a formality once I have this sorted? Looking forward to your guys' help. SORRY ONLY SAW NOW WAS AN OLD POST
Skubarra Posted September 20, 2018 Posted September 20, 2018 Do you have a remote to access your parking at home ? You MUST pull out and then load the bike on the car - THIS is the time to place the remote in the cubby-hole, or similar where you cant get to it as your arive home .... You will entertain yourself by watching the shadow of the bike dance around the car as you drive. So are actually often reminded of it. The bit where you MUST pay attention .... restricted height entry points along your route .... On the RAV the rig is about 3m tall with the bike on the roof ... so I just check if an entry point is "truck-friendly" ..... Low hanging trees along our suburb are a pain, That said, I LOVE the roof rack !! Agree 100% with your posts, have done a few 1000kms with the roof rack, never had any issues - but I always do feel a bit nervous with the bike on the roof and not being able to see what's going on. The bike staying clean on the roof while driving dusty gravel roads was a nice bonus I didn't expect when I bought the roof rack. The one downside for me is the wind noise, I might be doing wrong somewhere but I find it irritating, overall I still prefer the normal bike rack at the back. (I do the roof rack when towing a trailer)
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.