Roof bike carrier for carbon/aero frames

[lufbramatt]

Need a new roof carrier for taking an aero road bike away on holiday (usually it would be inside the car, but can't do that with family and luggage in there too!)

Previous bike was round alloy tubes so worked fine with Thule 591 carriers, these just don't work with the new bike and the way they clamp the down tube isn't ideal with a carbon frame anyway.

Looks like the options are wheel holding types like the yakima frontloader (bike seems to sit quite high?) or ones that secure the forks (means taking the wheel inside the car, not ideal, plus faff with through axle adaptors?).

Anyone have any experience with these sort of carriers?

[Superlightdaa]

Have you looked at a SeaSucker Talon?

[Wardy78]

I've used a seasucker for year. Perfect solution.

Carbon bikes and heavier gravel bikes.

Amazing ease of use, and crucially, removable in seconds when you get to the other end.

[lufbramatt]

Car will have roof bars fitted anyway to carry kids bikes or a roof box so need something to go on the roof bars, otherwise would've considered the sucker ones.

[Squadrone Rosso]

I use a 598 but also use the Thule carbon frame protector.

https://amzn.eu/d/1s6zqLS

[djone101]

I use a Yakima HighSpeed which is designed specifically for thru axles - just drop the front wheel out, spin the axle back in the fork and it clamps on the axle.
Been down through France with a carbon framed Canyon on there and it's very solid, virtually no movement.
It locks to the cross bars and has built in cable lock to loop through the frame too.

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I have a Yakima HighRoad which is the wheel-clamping one, so it doesn't touch the frame or dropouts. It's been great, and has a torque sensor that clicks when the wheel clamp is sufficiently tight, and a neat built in lock for the bike which is cafe-lock levels of secure, so fine for popping into a shop or garage.

My previous Yakima Frontloader (same design, slightly cheaper version of the HighRoad) went from Scotland to the Alps with 3 bikes on the roof and was totally fine all the way. The amount of flies stuck to the bikes on arrival was a different story.

Not sure what kind of car you have but when I changed to an SUV (Volvo XC60), I was pretty much at the limit of being able to put the bike on the roof without any kind of step / ladder and I'm just under 6ft 5. The lightish road bike wasn't so hard, but my hardtail MTB was a bit of a struggle. No such problems now I have an estate again!

[Dannbodge]

djone101 said:

I use a Yakima HighSpeed which is designed specifically for thru axles - just drop the front wheel out, spin the axle back in the fork and it clamps on the axle.
Been down through France with a carbon framed Canyon on there and it's very solid, virtually no movement.
It locks to the cross bars and has built in cable lock to loop through the frame too.

I also have the Yakima highspeed.
Brilliant bit of kit. Well made and has a load of locks all over it

The only thing I have done, is got a piece of aluminium tube to go btween the front forks, so when you can do the thru axle up tight like you would a wheel.
Also means it clamps that rather than my expensive thru axle.

[AyBee]

Squadrone Rosso said:

I use a 598 but also use the Thule carbon frame protector.

https://amzn.eu/d/1s6zqLS

I did Switzerland and back with these with no issues. The extra "squish" in the clamp of the 598 is useful for holding steady whilst not squashing the downtube,

[lufbramatt]

I've got a pair of 598s, due to the design of the down tube and bottom bracket area the clamp just won't fit on the bike.

I'll look into the Yakima highspeed. Still have to find space inside the car for the front wheel but it does keep the overall height down.

[frisbee]

You can get wheel holders for roof racks.

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

Here's a pic of the Yakima HighRoad in action. Apologies for Specialized rather than S-Works

I'm not sure it's much 'higher' than the fork-clamped solutions- maybe a few cm lower but not significant. Also means you don't have to clamp your carbon dropouts (the whole point of not clamping anything carbon??), or take the (dirty) wheels off and deal with them and any thru-axles or skewers separately. You can have your bike on the roof and fixed in about a minute.