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Are bike roof mounts wind noisy when empty ?

5K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  mikesn5va 
#1 ·
Can anybody with bike roof mounts confirm if they create too much wind noise on highway ( without the bikes ) or noise is within reason, or what ?
 
#3 ·
I've never owned an Outback until last week when I purchase my 2015 Premium. I must be boring, because when the dealer showed me the fold-a-way cross-bars my reaction was "Where do I sign?"
In all my cars over the past 2 decades (after taking up kiteboarding) I've had to purchase much crummier looking Thule or Yakima towers & crossbars... with also awful wind noise. At least with this I can fold these away for the many months when I'm not in summer sports mode.
 
#5 ·
I have the Thule bike mount (fork mount) on my 2015. I leave it on and travel on the highway at 120, 140 kmph with little to no wind noise. It sits back far enough, the front is almost behind the sunroof.
Compared to my old 1998 OB with the original cross parts, the new one is way quieter.
Bicycle wheel Tire Spoke Wheel Rim


Automotive exterior Vehicle Architecture Car Auto part


Sorry for the crappy photos :p
 
#6 ·
I have two Yakima Forklift racks and leave them on my factory roof rack frequently empty. There is slightly more wind noise at highway speed, but not enough to motivate me to take them on and off all the time.
 
#7 ·
Thanks guys, I installed the factory ones which I had ordered a while ago yesterday afternoon, and drove it this morning at 110 KM, and noticed very very slight increase in wind noise. Maybe depends on wind direction, but I`m very happy with them. I did install them very close to the side roof racks, so it would be much easier to lift the bikes and put them on. But the side rails are not straight, and by the look of it, when I mount the bikes, they would be leaning slightly to the outside. Is that a concern, or should I move the racks more to the center, then it becomes a pain to mount bikes ? And I don't know what I pressed on my keyboard, so second half of the post is in italic now !!!
 
#8 ·
Your factory roof racks may be identical to the Yakima Forklift racks that I use. I think I read somewhere here on the forums that Subaru simply rebrands the Yakima racks. To mount a bike to the Forklift rack you remove the front wheel and the bike's fork clamps into an axel-like clamping device and the rear wheel is held in a small tray with a plastic strap. It holds my bike very securely, so I do mount them very close to the outside edge of the roof rack on the Outback. As you have observed, the bikes do lean a little bit to the outside of the car, but since the racks hold the bikes very securely I'm not too concerned about them. I just double-check everything before I drive away with the bikes on top.

Also...be very careful about low obstructions like parking ramps and your garage when you arrive back at home after a nice ride. That's probably the biggest hazard to roof-mounted bikes.
 
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