Roof mounting bike carriers

There are three types of bike racks that fit to the roof of a car - frame holding, fork holding, and tyre holding. Check out the info links below for more information, and then use the Filter and Sort buttons to help you choose.

Roof mounting carriers have to be fitted to a set of roof bars going across the car. Some dealer supplied bars are not suitable - check the individual products for more information.

Look out for our "Pick and Mix Multibuys" and our Package deals, and note that all our roof mounting bike carriers are in our 90 day exchange scheme. Prices and value have never been so good!

Roof mounted options:

Frame holder Frame holding carriers hold the bike by the down tube; you keep both wheels on the bike. They all have the same basic geometry but some hold awkward-shaped frames better than others; we add information about specific bikes to the product pages as and when we receive it. They generally can't cope with very small children's bikes (which are best put in a bag in the car boot). Highlights: The best frame holders have their clamping system operating handle at shoulder level - see the Thule ProRide 598 and the Atera GIRO AF. These two are almost equally quick to use, and the Atera provides better wheel support, but the overall robustness of the Thule makes it our 'Best Buy' in this sector. Look out for our "Pick and Mix Multibuys" - you can mix cheap and expensive at the best prices - and our Package deals if you also need roof bars, and note that all our roof mounting bike carriers are in our 90 day exchange scheme.

Frame holder

Prices from only £28.95

Fork holder One weakness of frame holders is that, apart from the Atera GIRO AF, the wheel holders don't give the wheels much support, so you'll occasionally see quite violent front wheel vibration. Fork holders are much more stable, the only downside being that you have to put the front wheel either on a separate holder or more usually in a wheel bag in the vehicle. Highlights: The INNO Multi Fork takes QR15 and QR20 forks as well as the standard 9mm dropouts; the Whispbar WB200 takes QR15 as well as 9mm dropouts. Both have innovative anti-theft systems. Look out for our "Pick and Mix Multibuys" - you can mix cheap and expensive at the best prices - and our Package deals if you also need roof bars, and note that all our roof mounting bike carriers are in our 90 day exchange scheme.

Fork holder

Prices from only £74.95

Tyre holder Chances are that if you have a full carbon frame you don't want it held by either a frame holder or a fork holder. No surprise that INNO ("Advanced Car Racks") have a solution - they're Japan's premier manufacturer. Their Tyre Hold holds the bike very firmly by its front and rear wheels - it's a seriously impressive piece of kit. look out for our "Pick and Mix Multibuys" - you can mix cheap and expensive at the best prices - and our Package deals if you also need roof bars, and note that all our roof mounting bike carriers are in our 90 day exchange scheme.

Tyre holder

Prices from only £124.95