Avant Roof Bars

[sparkythecat]

I could do with some roof bars for occasional use on my Avant.
At £170+ the OEM ones are a bit steep and the Thule ones are not far behind at £145. Even second hand ones on ebay which come up only infrequently are usually around £100

I've spotted a couple of cheaper options and wondered if anyone on here had tried either of them or had any observations or other suggestions?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Atlas Grey]

I've got some of these for mine.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbv...lery-picture(5)

Just the job and use them very often with a large roofbox. Recommended. One slight issue is that due to the curvature of the roof sweeping down at the rear the front bar sits higher than the rear by about 20mm or so. I did not really like this and my research suggested all bars for the Avant would sit the same so I fit a spare roof bar (without fittings) on top to act as a spacer so the top surface of the bars are more or less parallel to the road and the roof box sits square.

[EssexGonzo]

To be honest, Thule bars are worth it. You buy the bars and fittings/feet seperately so when you change car you can keep the bars.

My Thule aero bars are 6 years old, used 10+ times per year and still feel and look like new. You get what you pay for. I've only had 2 sets of Thule bars in the last 20+ years.

[toff]

I've recently fitted a set of Thule aero bars to my avant.

I'm dissapointed to see that the locking end caps are no-longer an option (as illustrated in the diagram below)... giving the thieving scum with the right tool easy access to the bars, feet an whatever's on-top (roof box etc).

spares_aero.jpg

If anybody has a set of Aero bars with the locking caps.. please drop me a PM if you decide to swap cars / wish to sell etc.

EssexGonzo... Sadly you often end-up having to swap the bars too when swapping cars unless they are similar width vehicles: my A4 avant bars were far too short for the A6 avant roof

[bennettp23]

Toff, don't the feet have locks which means you can't get at the bars?

[EssexGonzo]

Toff, don't the feet have locks which means you can't get at the bars?

The metal brackets on the feet slot into the dimples in the frame above the door so if the doors are locked the feet can't be removed.

However, Toff has a point - if the bars aren't locked to the feet (which they are with the set I have) then the bars + roofbox/bike carriers could (with difficulty) be removed from the car.

Here seems to still be selling locks:

http://www.roofracks.co.uk/Thule+Fit...04_to_2010.php

[bennettp23]

Those locks are what I am talking about. You buy the barrels for the feet seperate and they lock the bars in as far as I can tell.

[toff]

Hi,

I went for the THULE 4901 low profile feet which don't have an integral lock. You feed a square "allen key" into the end of the Aero bar to tighten them up onto the roof rails (in line with the dimples as suggested) - this action also clamps the bars in place.

The thing is, the end caps for the Aero bars don't lock.. so any tea leaf with the Thule "allen key" tool can rob your bars, accessories / roof box! I've contacted THULE who said this:

The 31711 spare part end cap is available to order through us (01440 760000 ext 1 – where you can also obtain price and availability) or either from your local Thule dealer – you can find this from www.thule.co.uk dealer locator.

The decision to remove the locks from our current range is due to all of our modern foot packs being lockable themselves.

Thanks for the link EssexGonzo - I've come across that site before, I will give them a ring and will let you all know what the damage is!
Toff.

PS: I can't believe it.. I upgrade from an A4 to an A6 and there still isn't enough room for all the cr@p my better-half packs for a weekend away - hence the roof box LOL!

[toff]

What a nightmare.. to get the locking end-caps this is the cost:

Locking end caps for Aero bars: £12 x 4
Locking insert for Aero bars: £2.50 x 4
Lock barrels: £17.95 for a set of 4

So, £81.90 (including delivery)
(prices from http://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule/spares/aero.php)

The guy at roofracks.co.uk suggested that I should sell what I have and buy a new Aero Wing system from them which is lockable - this makes sense as it's £159.00

As I have a newborn baby, I really can't be bothered with the additional initial outlay (and any eBay hassle) at the moment, so I've decided to improvise by only buying two locking caps, to be fitted at opposite ends of each bar (eg: on the left of the front bar and the right of the back bar):

Locking end caps for Aero bars: £12 x 2
Locking insert for Aero bars: £2.50 x 2
Lock barrels: £5.95 for a set of 2 on eBay

So, £39.95 (including delivery)

Annoying but less painfully expensive. It actually may be slightly more secure than having 4 locks.. apparently the theiving scum go round with various sets of keys looking at lock barrel numbers & using they key sets to gain access. Because the locking end caps have the rod (to un-clamp the footpack) built-in to them, all you need is the key to be able to undo the roof bars.

If two of the foot packs are secured just using the foot packs (meaning the long square "allen key" tool is required) then it may slow-down or deter a potential thief.

Obviously that just applies to an opertunist theif in a carpark etc.. if my car is targeted on my driveway, they can just come back later with the right tools! I suspect that the Police may have more powers is a theif is caught with a specific tool in their pocket as opposed to just a bunch of keys?

Foolhardy or not - that's what I'm doing

Toff.