4 x Atera GIRO AF aluminium bike carriers with...

Please note that the shopping basket will show that you have 1 set of this product which is "4 x Atera GIRO AFs" - please don't change the basket quantity to 4... This smart aluminium carrier includes some really useful innovations, especially in the ease of use department. Ease (which means speed) of use is the big issue when you've already heaved your bike onto the roof. So what's so special?

• For starters, the frame holder will stay in whatever position you place it in, so you can position it before lifting the bike onto the roof.
• The bike comes to rest between the wheel clamps which, unusually, can and should be locked in position, adjusted for your bike, so the bike won't roll up or down the wheel tray. Now all you need to do is hold the bike vertical with one hand, even if the car is parked on a slope. Clever stuff...
• Now give the control grip a quick twist and the clamping jaws spring shut, i.e. adjust automatically to your bike profile.
• Give the control grip a further twist to tighten the mechanism, and then lock it and remove the key.
• Push the wheel straps into their quick release catches and pull tight.

All these adjustments are made at shoulder level (on the average car). When you come to take the bike off you'll loosen the wheel straps, unlock the control grip, twist it and pull it down until it clicks - all ready for when you put the bike back again. Believe us, there's no faster or neater system on the market.

Further specifications:

• Holds oval down tubes up to 100mm by 80mm, and round tubes from 22mm to 80mm diameter
• Weighs only 3kg
• 240mm wide, with 125mm between the roof bar fixings
• Quick release fixings to roof bars, including an integral lock
• The bike is locked to the carrier, and the carrier is locked independently to the roof bars (these locks are supplied)
• Identically keyed lock barrels are available, which makes sense if you're buying 2 or more carriers; you need 2 per carrier
• Thick rubber coating to protect the bike frame
• The quick release straps accommodate all common wheel sizes
• Easily changed from right hand to left hand mounting
• Holds bikes up to a maximum weight of 17kg
• Fits 32mm x 22mm standard steel bars
• Comes complete with 20mm x 20mm aerobar adapters for e.g. Atera, Prorack, CRUZ or Thule aerobars. Also fits many other manufacturers aero bars including Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Vauxhall
• A complete range of spares is available.
• Has passed the European "City Crash test"

Atera has a proud reputation to uphold as Germany's premier car rack systems manufacturer, making own branded gear for most of the German car companies as well as their own branded systems. Their testing regime is, as you can imagine, very extensive, and their quality is exceptional.

The GIRO AF has featured in numerous product tests over the years. 2011 tests include Germany's ADAC test which rated the GIRO AF in 2nd place behind the Thule ProRide 591, and Germany's auto magazine "Auto Strassenverkehr" test which put the GIRO AF ahead of the Thule carrier. Which one to go for is very much a matter of personal preference.

Exchange Scheme: Roof mounting bike carriers are part of our unique 90 day Exchange Scheme - see the tab for details. The bottom line is that if you aren't satisfied that the GIRO AF fits the bill you can exchange it for an alternative roof mount, or a tow bar bike rack.

Made in Germany.

Click here for a fitting video

Deciding which bike carriers to buy is not always easy, especially as you may not have had experience of using bike carriers before. We hope that our buying guides provide useful guidance about which bike carrier 'strategy' will be most appropriate for your circumstances, as well as highlighting the best features of particular models. We also have troubleshooting FAQs - for example, some customers struggle at first to fit four bikes onto a tow ball carrier, and wonder whether a different carrier would allow the bikes to be spaced wider apart. (It won't, but we have some good tips which make bike fitting much easier.)

Our bike carriers Exchange Scheme covers roof mounting and tow ball mounting bike carriers only. Rear door mounting / strap on carriers are not included, and nor are roof bars. It allows you to exchange within 90 days of invoice date. Most exchanges are for roof mounting upgrades, or are tow ball carriers with very basic tilting systems being exchanged for easy to use sliding / tilting carriers.

These are the rules of the bike carriers Exchange Scheme:

• You are allowed one exchange only.
• The original equipment must be in "as new" condition, subject only to fair wear and tear.
• The replacement items must be different models from the originals.
• The replacement items must not be part of a package deal or be from our Bargains section.
• Roof bars are never part of the Exchange Scheme.

This is how the exchange scheme works:

• We charge in full for the replacement items, including the appropriate carriage charge and a charge for any packaging needed for the return of the originals.
• We pay the return carriage costs.
• When the originals arrive back here we refund you for their invoice value, but you won't get back more than the invoice value of the replacements. In other words, if the replacements are cheaper than the originals we won't be giving you "extra cash back".

If you want to exchange bike carriers that were purchased as part of a package deal, the scheme works in exactly the same way. Please note that the roof bars in package deals will be invoiced at the full “Our Price” that was advertised at the time of order, with the bike carriers representing the difference between the package deal price and the roof bars, this difference being split equally between the number of bike carriers. You will see therefore that package deal bike carriers are often invoiced at a very substantial discount to the cost of buying these items on their own.