Believe it or not, I read the manual that came with my new bike (Slice). And it indicates one should not use any car rack that attaches to the carbon tubes. I have been putting my fully assembled bikes on my roof for years without having previously heard of this being ill-advised for carbon frames. I love keeping my bike fully assembled and do not have a trailer hitch option (not sure I want to modify my Volvo C30 that way). What say the ST collective? Is my current rack really a liability to the bike frame?
It’s this older generation one, with the sideways clamp.
Yes. I wouldn’t use that style on a carbon bike. There are plenty of roof mount bike trays available (Thule, Yakima, 1upusa) that only hold onto the wheels if you averse to fork mount.
Thanks. I just happened to pull this rack up and see (and agree with) review comments that theft would be stupid simple if one just undid the front skewer.
Thule sidearm universal upright bike mount
BUT, would that still be the case if the bike were mounted with the rear wheel toward the front of the car (aka, backwards)?
I’m looking at the “yay, look what I just got!” picture I took of my bike right after putting it on the roof, and it looks to me that if I put the bike facing backwards that the Thule side arm universal mount would then be more secure. Undoing the rear skewer it would be harder to lift the bike frame up and off. The side arm would somewhat restrict upward lifting of the bike frame due to the seat stays, not to mention the additional complication of getting the chain /derailer out of the way. Plus, mounted backwards, the sidearm wouldn’t be touching the brakes (of my Slice, anyway).
Anyone agree/disagree that backwards should offer more security, or can someone point out some other security issue?
My old fork mounted Thule roof rack came with an option to purchase barrel locks that can be used to lock the rack to the roof and the bike to rack. I think a package of four of the locks was like $50. I still hated leaving my bike on the roof for an extended period of time, but felt okay leaving it there long enough to run into a convenient store or to grab a quick bite on the way home from a ride.
Thanks. I have locks for the current system and know I can reuse them. The trouble with the mount un question seems to be that locking the front tire doesn’t prevent the bike from being lifted off the locked tire. I’m thinking a cable lock banging against the bike and/or car isn’t any better an idea than just continuing to use the roof rack attachment I already have.
Believe it or not, I read the manual that came with my new bike (Slice). And it indicates one should not use any car rack that attaches to the carbon tubes. I have been putting my fully assembled bikes on my roof for years without having previously heard of this being ill-advised for carbon frames. I love keeping my bike fully assembled and do not have a trailer hitch option (not sure I want to modify my Volvo C30 that way). What say the ST collective? Is my current rack really a liability to the bike frame?
It’s this older generation one, with the sideways clamp.
I have the same rack ( & a Volvo…) and have been using it with carbon frames for ages, despite reading the product manuals saying not to. The )theoretical) problem is that carbon in tubes is not that resistant to crushing forces. There is a probably a theoretical risk of crushing which the bike mfr wants to rule out so that you don’t come crying to them with a warranty. Nevertheless, I use it and have never had a problem. Like you, I like the Thule system and have common locks on all the racks and a roof box too. In practice, these racks work fine for me.
The Whispbar fork mount carrier we have has been awesome. It also works for thru-axle if you carry any disk equipped bikes. Securely lockable, super quick to use.
I thought they were also concerned about scratches leading to potential failure points? My Cervelo and Trek do have scuff marks from the clamp. Guess I’m wondering whether the Slice tubes may be possibly thinner (manual goes on and on that bike was built for performance which then compromises longevity) and more succeptible to scratch-induced tube failure?