Thule WingBar Edge

The New Thule Roof Rack for Cars with Factory Rails

Thule Spare-me 963XTR - Trip to Macquarie Lakes

This weekend we took the kiddies for a trip to the Big 4 camp site at Lake Macquarie to enjoy the picturesque views of the lake and coal fired power station. We took a couple of bikes which gave me the opportunity to use the Thule Spare-me bike carrier.

 The Thule Spare-me is a good fit onto the back of the Pajero. It carries 2 bikes. This is typical of spare wheel mounted bike carriers because of the load limitations in the wheel mount and and the extra load on the doors hinges.

The bike carrier can be mounted off centre for use with vehicles that have the spare wheel set off to one side. However, on the Pajero I used the central mounting so that the carrier was clear of the towball. The bike can be mounted off centre so that it is not sticking out of the side of the wagon.

First up you have to remove the spare wheel and sandwich a mounting plate in between the wheel and door mounting. This can then live on the wagon for future quick fitting of the bike carrier. If you have an alloy wheel you may find a blanking plug in the centre of the wheel which is usually easy to knock out from behind.
The bike rack screws onto the mounting plate with a single central screw that is key lockable. Four rubber feet need to be positioned against the tyre wall to allow the carrier to grip to the wheel.

The bikes are held in place by 2 cradles that can be rotated to accommodate differences in frame angles. The rubber straps have plenty of length and are very stretchy so large frame tubes are not a problem. We used the carrier this weekend for one adult bike along with the young fella's. This was easy to do and only took a few minutes to load them, put a strap through them to stop the front wheels flopping about and with the addition of a cable lock the bikes were held nice and secure and the towbar was left free for hooking up the camper.

Steve's review gives this product a thumbs up and the Spare-me will certainly be a regularly used bit of kit.

What I like:

• Once the mounting plate is attached the bike carrier is very quick to take on and off.
• I can open my door with the bikes on to access the rear of the truck.
• The tow ball is still available for towing the camper.
• The carrier folds almost flat when not in use which is helpful for storage and when it is on the car with no load you don't bang your head.
• Long and stretchy straps good for fat bike tubes.
• 5 year warranty

For current prices and  a vehicle fitting list please vist the Shop1Auto web site.

Mazda CX9 roof rails and roof racks, Sydney

The Mazda CX9 has been a very successful family vehicle in Australia but we have found one draw back with it. The Australian models do not have longitudinal rails fitted to them even though the anchor points are there. I suspect Mazda are keeping these up their sleeve to add later when the model needs a bit of a face-lift. The problem with this is that if you buy the genuine Mazda, Rola, Thule and Rhino roof racks they all attach to the mounting points in the roof that have been put there to attach the rails on overseas models. The problem with this is that the cross bars are over 90cm apart which is ideal if you want to carry long items like kayaks, ladders and surf boards. However, the racks are not much good for carrying bikes and skis and you can not fit a luggage box to them.

We have had several customers try to find a way of fitting a luggage box to their CX9s so we have now started importing the genuine Mazda roof rails for these vehicles. These are  manufactured in Japan which are fitted to oversea models. The vehicle shown in the images was fitted with the new rails to which we added Rhino Sportz cross bars and a Thule Atlantis luggage box. The whole set up looked really smart.

We are offering the rails as a package installed with either Rhino Sportz bars or silver Thule racks . This includes fitting to your vehicle at our Gladesville (Sydney) workshop or delivered Australia wide to install yourself for $999. (luggage box not included)

Call the store on (02) 9817 1475 to book a fitting or to order a set for delivery. www.shop1auto.com.au    

Postscript: Rhino plus Whispbar roof racks and a Yakima luggage box now available for the Mazda CX9

There is now also another solution which is not as slick as fitting rails but will allow you to fit a luggage box or bike carrier. The Prorack Whispbar or Rhino 2500series now fit the Mazda CX 9 using a strap system which is the typical method for attaching roof racks to a sedan. The brackets used are contoured to follow the roof return into the door opening. By taking this approach the racks can be attached closer together which allows the fitting off a luggage box. These racks can be used with a wide range of Thule, Rhino and Yakima luggage boxes. The rating on these roof racks is 60kg.

Please see our website for latest prices of roof racks.

 

Rhino 2500 Aero racks

Yakima Luggage Box:

If you have Mazda roof racks attached to the wide spaced mountings on the CX9 then we can now offer the Yakima Skybox Pro 12, 18 or 21 models which when modified can be installed on this roof rack system. This modifcation to the box mounting is simple and has been approved by Yakima so that it will not affect the manufacturers warranty on the luggage box. For more details on the Yakima Skybox Pro range please visit our website.

Yakima Skybox Pro 12 fitted to CX9