Take two bottles into the shower...?

[V8mate]

... or fit two bike racks to the roof of the car?

I've got a pair of Thule racks, each of which has a side which 'does stuff' and a side which doesn't.

So that means that if I fit them both facing forward, doing the clamp up will be a faff on one side.

Any possible, feasible reason why one bike can't or shouldn't face rearwards?



(If someone could pop over and tie my shoe laces too, that'd be great! )

[Magic919]

No.

[V8mate]

Cool. Job done

[AMacA]

I had this with mine, do you know you can take the bits off and move them to the other side to have both forward facing?

[V8mate]

Now you tell me!

Actually, given the bikes both have quite wide handlebars, it's probably better that they're reversed. Had they both been road bikes, I might have been more keen to fiddle about with the kit and have them aligned.

[P-Jay]

I was just about to say that you can reverse them - the plus/minus side of reversing them is that when you do the arm sits about 40mm further forward than it would on a non-reversed carrier.

If you need total symmetry in your life, you won't like it - but if though you have two MTBs to mount to a not massively wide car then it can be a bonus.

However… as someone who’s made all too many long drives in the middle of summer with an MTB on the roof, there’s a benefit to having them backwards, namely not arriving to find your all too fragile and mirror smooth for the sake of smoothness sanctions pelted by flies and other assorted road crap.

[louiebaby]

I have £5 that says the first time you do it, you mix them up and have the sides that do stuff both in the middle of the car.



Slightly O/T:

I see quite a few very expensive aero road bikes, mounted on there own, (just one bike) backwards on the roof of the car. Some company spend £xx,000 getting that bike nice and aero, and the only time it's likely to do 70mph, it's going backwards!

[V8mate]

louiebaby said:

I have £5 that says the first time you do it, you mix them up and have the sides that do stuff both in the middle of the car.

Ha, nah, all fitted and will be left in place permanently.

[louiebaby]

V8mate said:

Ha, nah, all fitted and will be left in place permanently.

You're not leaving the bars on permanently are you? Won't someone think of the children mpg.

(Also, they whistle a bit, especially at motorway speeds.)

[CoolC]

V8mate said:

Ha, nah, all fitted and will be left in place permanently.

Call me paranoid, but I remove my roof bars as soon as I'm home.

Nothing shouts nice bikes in the garage more than roof carriers on the car parked in front of it.

[LLCool_K]

I have rejigged mine so both (road) bikes face forwards too.

CoolC said:

Call me paranoid, but I remove my roof bars as soon as I'm home.

Nothing shouts nice bikes in the garage more than roof carriers on the car parked in front of it.

I also remove my carriers the moment I get home. Though I do sometimes leave the aero bars on, as I quite like the look of roof bars on a fast estate (C63). ... until the wind noise becomes too annoying of course.

[V8mate]

louiebaby said:

V8mate said:

Ha, nah, all fitted and will be left in place permanently.

You're not leaving the bars on permanently are you? Won't someone think of the children mpg.

(Also, they whistle a bit, especially at motorway speeds.)

if I cared about mpg I wouldn't have bought a car with a 3.6 engine. Wasn't even a hint of noise on the way to work this morning.