Roof rails / bike rack

[damo76]

Hi, first post on here, apologies if I've not followed all the rules.
I have a 2022 N Line S with the sliding sunroof. I have been trying to find out the best roof rail / bike rack set up.
Has anyone and advice / experience of this? Do I go for the extortionate Thule stuff or are the cheaper alternatives just fine?
Thanks indeed.

[Indalo]

I have been trying to find out the best roof rail / bike rack set up.

Welcome to the forum, ‘damo76’.

It may not be the answer you wanted to read here but I have been a committed towbar & Thule cycle rack user since 2016.

As I specified my previous KIA with panoramic sunroof with a KIA towbar and dedicated electrics, rather than the far less secure roof or tailgate carriers, I had no hesitation in repeating the towbar method for my current Tucson HEV Ultimate with the pano roof.

It is not a cheap way to deal with bicycle carriage but from a security point of view, it’s the only way I would consider. Having said that, perhaps obviously, I retain the Thule carrier so it was only a question of fitting towbar & dedicated electrics plus a new single number plate, £8.00, for the carrier. For me, it’s a price worth paying for the peace of mind afforded by the security of the towbar-mounted cycle rack.

[damo76]

Thanks Indalo. I am a little ignorant here. How is the tow bar style set up more secure?

[PhilHornby]

I have been trying to find out the best roof rail / bike rack set up.
Has anyone and advice / experience of this?

I've not done it on the Tucson, but many years ago I went for Roof rails & Rack on a Freelander mk1.

The problem I encountered, was that I simply wasn't strong enough to lift one of the bikes up to that sort of height. (It was a particularly chunky mountain bike).

The next time I looked at this was with a Mondeo - whose long sloping back window wasn't strong enough to take two e-bikes, so that method was a non-starter. I came to the conclusion that the Tow-bar style rack is the way to go...

[damo76]

Phil that's a fair comment. He'll of a height to lift to. I'm just not keen on the tow bar set up. Thanks.

[Indalo]

How is the tow bar style set up more secure?

It is more secure because the component parts attach to stronger parts of the vehicle; parts that have a much lower centre of gravity, enabling the bikes to be less affected by wind and lateral forces as almost all of the bike(s) is out of the airstream.

Attaching and removing the bikes is far easier than hoisting them on to the roof of an SUV, particularly if the bikes are 20Kg+ as one of mine is.

The only downside is the initial cost but having experienced roof mounting and the additional noise, even with aerobars, I believe the towball-mounted method is the way to go.

[damo76]

Haha well explained. How the mind works....I was thinking in terms of theft!