La prealpina roof bars. Any good?

bd2012

As above. Thinking of getting roof bars. Anyone have any experience with the pre alpine ones? Seen them on micksgarage. Thanks in advance.

EL01

I got these a few years ago for a MAzde 6 and have not had any trouble. However, they take a while to set up. Also they are reasonably cumbersome to put on and take off as you have to use an allen key ( so you have to unlock and the undo 4 allen keys in total. I would much prefer to have a knob that you can easily twist on and off so that I would be more inclined to take them off when not in use. There are also covers which you can lock. So they work well but are a bit cumbersome to put on and off if you will be doing that. hope that's of some use. EL

bd2012

Cheers for the reply. If I get them they'll probably be staying on so not too worried about the hassle of taking them on and off. Just curious regarding noise when driving I've heard they can be quite noisy. Thinking of getting the aluminium bars made specifically for my car. (2002 Audi a6) as advertised on micks garage here:
http://www.micksgarage.com/proddetails.aspx?pid=1198892&pk=8AA30

So I suppose my question is do you find them noisy?
And to install? How difficult?
Thanks again.

Mickeroo

I got a set of the same site for peugot partner van, I'm not entirely sure if they were the same brand but they look exactly the same as those except they were black, so i think its the same brand.

There is a bit of noise, its noticeable but not annoyingly so, and I'd imagine its less noticeable on a car than a van. I managed to assemble and install them no problem myself and I'm usually hopeless with that kind of thing

bd2012

Cheers mickeroo. Think I'm going to take the plunge and go for it. So sick of soft racks and with a 9'6 hopefully ill be able to exceed 40 mph

Mickeroo

bd2012 wrote: »

Cheers mickeroo. Think I'm going to take the plunge and go for it. So sick of soft racks and with a 9'6 hopefully ill be able to exceed 40 mph

Use it for a 9"6 too, no problems doing the speed limit!

bluethunder

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I have a roof bar related question.

Just received delivery of a pair of bars from Micks Garage for a Fiat Ducato campervan, bought two ratchet straps with it. I figured i'd just lash the bars on the roof, put on a few boards, and ratchet them tight to the bars somehow.

However, the advice from Micks Garage was as follows: "If you are going to be carrying surfboards please ensure that they are tied down securely to the front and rear of the vehicle (not just to the roof rack)."

This seems reasonable to me as if the wind gets under the board and it's only secured to the bars then the whole lot could be ripped off. My problem is that I have nowhere obvious to hook on to the body of the van. Is this absolutely necessary? Anyone ever hear of bars detaching because of this?

Mickeroo

bluethunder wrote: »

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I have a roof bar related question.

Just received delivery of a pair of bars from Micks Garage for a Fiat Ducato campervan, bought two ratchet straps with it. I figured i'd just lash the bars on the roof, put on a few boards, and ratchet them tight to the bars somehow.

However, the advice from Micks Garage was as follows: "If you are going to be carrying surfboards please ensure that they are tied down securely to the front and rear of the vehicle (not just to the roof rack)."

This seems reasonable to me as if the wind gets under the board and it's only secured to the bars then the whole lot could be ripped off. My problem is that I have nowhere obvious to hook on to the body of the van. Is this absolutely necessary? Anyone ever hear of bars detaching because of this?

It's a new one on me, I've never seen anyone with boards on a roof rack doing that either, they could be just covering their arses if something does go wrong.

bluethunder

Mickeroo wrote: »

It's a new one on me, I've never seen anyone with boards on a roof rack doing that either, they could be just covering their arses if something does go wrong.

Yeah, it's a new one on me too. Covering their arses the same way as the ratchet strap instructions said to replace the straps 'regularly'!

bd2012

bluethunder wrote: »

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread but I have a roof bar related question.

Just received delivery of a pair of bars from Micks Garage for a Fiat Ducato campervan, bought two ratchet straps with it. I figured i'd just lash the bars on the roof, put on a few boards, and ratchet them tight to the bars somehow.

However, the advice from Micks Garage was as follows: "If you are going to be carrying surfboards please ensure that they are tied down securely to the front and rear of the vehicle (not just to the roof rack)."

This seems reasonable to me as if the wind gets under the board and it's only secured to the bars then the whole lot could be ripped off. My problem is that I have nowhere obvious to hook on to the body of the van. Is this absolutely necessary? Anyone ever hear of bars detaching because of this?

Yeah Im curious about that one too. Never seen anyone do it before. Well I think I haven't anyway. Could rack and all just rip??

bd2012

got my bars. . Just looking at the fitting now. Bit wet down here today so gonna wait for a dry day. Quick question for anyone that's fitted them. Do the feet (in the fitting kit) fit inside the rubber seals or not? Car is a 02 Audi a6 and the rubbers on the door seals are too low down ie doors wont close with them in there Any help? Looks like they just slide onto the frame and keep doors closed while fitting. Could this be right? Thanks in advance.

rodento

Not news to me, one from micks garage and had a longboard with roof rack blown complete off the car. I complained about the roofrack and asked if I read the bit about the front and rear been tied down:rolleyes:

Never had a problem with any other roof rack in my life

bd2012

Well I just fitted it and took her for a spin with my mini boat of a 9'6 on top. Seems solid enough. No movement at 100 kph so all good so far. Installation was actually quite simple. Think I was over thinking it a bit. Anyhoo hope all stays well after reading ur post :0. Which bars did u have? Pre alpina?

rodento

It was the pre alpina rack and it was the clamps that failed, heard an almighty bang, twas like the roof was riped off the car.

Saw the roof rack and board bounce on the motorway but the strange thing was, the car wasn't damaged at all, just the clamps bent back

Nowdays I never trust racks that just clamp into the doors of cars, will only buy the ones designed specially for the car.

Glide did a fantastic job fixing a mangled board afterwards, but nothing could be done for the dent in the road...

bd2012

Ouch. Sounds very nasty. Lucky there wasn't anyone travelling behind you!! Well all I can do is hope the same doesn't happen to me. Thanks for the feedback.

bd2012

rodento wrote: »

It was the pre alpina rack and it was the clamps that failed, heard an almighty bang, twas like the roof was riped off the car.

Saw the roof rack and board bounce on the motorway but the strange thing was, the car wasn't damaged at all, just the clamps bent back

Nowdays I never trust racks that just clamp into the doors of cars, will only buy the ones designed specially for the car.

Glide did a fantastic job fixing a mangled board afterwards, but nothing could be done for the dent in the road...

Just out of curiosity what car was it and were u going fast?

rodento

Twas a Renault magane scenic and 'twas travelling under 100kmh

Got hit by a side wind

Mickeroo

Sounds nasty! My bars clip into the slots onn the roof of the van so hopefully they're a bit more secure than on a door, I only use them if I've a passenger anyway.

bd2012

Very nasty indeed. Looks like I'll be doubly careful checking when putting the rack on. Decided to take it off when not in use as its simple enough.