Best choice for bike roof rack?

[trebnamo]

Looking for some recommendations on the best choice for transporting bikes on a roof rack.

I want to carry my mountain bike and my wife's hybrid on a set of Thule roof bars. At the moment we use two of the cheaper Thule racks (Freeride 532, halfords special). Everything seems solid enough once bolted on, but I still get nervous whenever there's a pothole or a crosswind on the motorway. We've taken them all the way from the south of England to the Cairngorms in the past without incident. But I wondered if anyone has had success with a setup that does something like attaching the wheel forks directly to the rack, or has the bike attached upside down or something like that - is there anything better than the sort of rack that has the bike held in a groove, on its wheels, with an arm clamped to the frame?

What would be the best choice to carry bikes on a roof rack without endangering ourselves, the bikes, or any other road users?

[mattvanders]

I use a Thule 598 bike rack for my mountain bikes (and sometimes the misses road bike) but I do sometimes use a master python lock to add extra safety and security by attacking around the downtube to the front roof bar (and then poke the cable tail into the bottom bracket air to stop as whipping). Tested many times on motorways most weekends.

https://www.diy.com/departments/master-lock-python...

[Barchettaman]

What you currently have is absolutely fine. Stop worrying.

That might come across as a bit rude, if so I apologise, a couple of drivers just tried to kill me here in Brussels.

All the best

[Tickle]

598 user here, I've had concerns in the past, but I think that's just paranoia. It's a solid carrier that takes the faff out of wheel off in the car. Like the idea of the Fastride, but it would just introduce the faff!

[stargazer30]

I use the 598s. They've been bomb proof and I like the peace of mind of the clutch on the carbon frame on my bikes. Quick and easy to use once setup as long as you don't have a heavy ebike to lift up.

[djone101]

I've been using a Yakima fork mounting one - they do a couple of different types.

Mine is the Highspeed, designed to work with bikes with through axles and it's so easy to put the bike on - being on top of an XC90 the lower profile of a bike without the front wheel makes mounting it easier. You do need to put the wheel inside the car (or you can get a single wheel mount if you need the space inside the car. It's pretty solid when it's up there.

It comes with a built in cable lock too.

Mines mounted on Yakima Aero bars but it'll mount onto other types easily enough.