Cheap Roof Bars?

[three5]

Hi All,

I guess that there are a fair few of us with roof rails but no corresponding roof bars. The usual option is the Thule kit at about £140 ( for their aerobars ). For most of us the roof bars will live in the garage for 11+ months of the year so they are pretty expensive in terms of the service that they provide. I came across these today: http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg//lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_25037.htm?offerdate=&ar2= They do not lock onto the car in the same way as more expensive options but for once or twice a year use they must represent good value at £29.99.

[CharlieFarlie]

Chris. The link just takes Us to a lidl homepage so cannot see the bars ??

Wee Charlie.

[three5]

Chris. The link just takes Us to a lidl homepage so cannot see the bars ??

Wee Charlie.

Hi Charlie,

the link goes to the special offers on "Car Accessories" on 17/10/2011 when I try it.

[pmb]

That looks a great price if they fit and are OK. I have some Thule ones on my 4.2 and I think they were about £60 when I bought them back in 2002. The link goes to the homepage but car accessories are listed for me. Maybe a cookie issue?

[CharlieFarlie]

Chris. The link just takes Us to a lidl homepage so cannot see the bars ??

Wee Charlie.

Hi Charlie,

the link goes to the special offers on "Car Accessories" on 17/10/2011 when I try it.

Thanks Chris. Sorted it now !! I will be having a look at those !! I could do with a set and like You will use them once in a blue moon so having pucker expensive ones is daft !!

Thanks for the heads up Mate !!

Wee Charlie.

[*srjp*]

Do Thule not make a none Aero version for the 4.3, they are generally cheaper?

[jedi134]

I have 2 set of those lidli roof bars and for the money they are great, They look like Thule aero bars, very sturdy...I have had a 415 liter roof box fully ladened on them with no problems..... I paid £20 a year ago. Very easy to install also....just fit to roof rails and tighten with allen key.

[RedRoss]

eBay is your friend for good value, used and still decent Thule bars. There are a reason other brands are cheap.

[CharlieFarlie]

EBay is your friend for good value, used and still decent thule bars. There are a reason other brands are cheap.

Cheapest on eBay are double the price !! Dont get Me wrong I'm not one for buying cheap crap ! But if they are sturdy And I cant see a reason why they would fail to do the job they are designed to do then spot on !!!

After all as said above for Me they will get used once in a blue moon so I don't give a monkeys if They appear budget so long as they do the job...

Wee Charlie.

[Joylove]

Can anyone who has these describe how easy they are to remove and replace when not in use?

[jedi134]

The bars and fittings are no different to Thule ones as far as I can see. You pay a premium for the the name. The Lidl ally bars are rock solid identical to the Thule ones. I have done 6k mile on Lidl bars with a roof box and swear by them. If you want to pay 5x more for the same

bars that's up to you.

Just for your own info my roof box is now £260 more than what it was 5 months ago. So what so of moneys are these places making.?

[jedi134]

Can anyone who has these describe how easy they are to remove and replace when not in use?

5 mins to remove bars complete with roof box. Lidl ones. Maybe a bit longer to put back on due to me being annal and wanting it perfectly cymetrical.

[three5]

Do thule not make a none Aero version for the 4.3, they are generally cheaper?

Hi srjp,

Thule certainly do make their rectangular section bars for the 4.3, however having had a set on an Isuzu a few years back I won't be buying any more as they were VERY, VERY noisy at anything above about 35 MPH. I have to admit the my current bars are Thule Aeros but they are the ones that I had on my Suzuki and fit the 4.3 just as well. As I have said before, I wasn't born in Yorkshire, but I've learn an awful lot from the natives in 40 odd years ;)

[three5]

............ Maybe a bit longer to put back on due to me being annal and wanting it perfectly cymetrical.

Phew! that's a relief - I thought it was just me that did that sort of thing!

[jedi134]

............ Maybe a bit longer to put back on due to me being annal and wanting it perfectly cymetrical.

Phew! that's a relief - I thought it was just me that did that sort of thing!

If I had access to a wind tunnel, i`d make sure my roof box was in the optimal position also

[xr650]

just picking up on this thread re cheap roof bars ? picture the scene..£22.000 new rav + expensive quality Thule roof box + £1000.00 of goods stored in box & a journey to the windy north of the border, pop off goes the box on its crap fixings.......is it really worth the saving.? sometimes you have to buy genuine....sometimes you get what you pay for is it worth the risk i ask !!!!

[firemac]

just picking up on this thread re cheap roof bars ? picture the scene..£22.000 new rav + expensive quality thule roof box + £1000.00 of goods stored in box & a journey to the windy north of the border, pop off goes the box on its crap fixings.......is it really worth the saving.? sometimes you have to buy genuine....sometimes you get what you pay for is it worth the risk i ask !!!!

Valid point, Steve. A few weeks ago, M1 southbound @ J29 was not a comfortable place to be: someone lost their roofbox, complete with roof bars/rack & assorted other bits (including what looked like it might have been a pram once upon a time) all over lanes 1 & 3. Forced everyone to brake furiously & try to get through lane 2 without contact!

Could have been badly loaded, badly fitted or crap kit, who knows?

I've got two sets of bars, both Toyota (read Mont Blanc), one square section that we bought with our 02-reg RAV & one aeros that I bought for my LC4 but now also fit the RAV's. Must say the quality is top notch and you just know that they will be durable. Also, the aeros are quiet.

[*srjp*]

Can't say I've noticed the noise of the rectangular bars on my 4.2, and I use them four months a year to transport skis. Guess it depends where you put them, in my experience right at the front is noisy but further back less so.

[Joylove]

I just trundled down to a nearby Lidl and Aldi for good measure. No roof bars in sight

[three5]

I just trundled down to a nearby Lidl and Aldi for good measure. No roof bars in sight

Hi Joylove,

Lidl and Aldi have special offers, usually twice per week and different on each day. They have limited stock of each product on offer and there is usually no chance of getting any further supplies when they run out. The Roof Bars are at Lidl but they are NOT AVAILABLE until the shop opens on Monday 17th October. HTH

[Joylove]

I just trundled down to a nearby Lidl and Aldi for good measure. No roof bars in sight

Hi Joylove,

Lidl and Aldi have special offers, usually twice per week and different on each day. They have limited stock of each product on offer and there is usually no chance of getting any further supplies when they run out. The Roof Bars are at Lidl but they are NOT AVAILABLE until the shop opens on Monday 17th October. HTH

Aha! Thanks!

[CharlieFarlie]

just picking up on this thread re cheap roof bars ? picture the scene..£22.000 new rav + expensive quality thule roof box + £1000.00 of goods stored in box & a journey to the windy north of the border, pop off goes the box on its crap fixings.......is it really worth the saving.? sometimes you have to buy genuine....sometimes you get what you pay for is it worth the risk i ask !!!!

Mate there is no more risk of the cheaper bars giving a problem than ones costing several times more ! The ones at Lidl have a 3 year warranty and any kit of this kind will have had to have been tested by law.

I will be into the store on Monday and if these units are good and strong I will be getting a set. Spending moer money does not necessarily mean a better product.

For Me as said I will use them once in a blue moon so spending a 100 quid or so ?? Well You tell Me ................

Wee Charlie.

[Joylove]

Lidl special offers are often excellent quality gear with a no-name brand. 10 minutes on google often reveals them to be being sold at twice the price with a famous brand name on.

[jedi134]

All I can say is you will have to get there early, twice I missed these bars they were sold out in 5 minutes, I even tried 4 other stores all sold out.....In the end I got mine while I was abroad from lidl.de ......I just was not quick enough in the UK..........So they can`t be that bad if everone is buying them. They just look like Thule ones maybe even better.

I was so impressed with them I bought 2 sets,as its still cost me less than half the price for Thule ones, TUV GS approved

[*srjp*]

Sounds similar to buying a laptop from Aldi a few years ago. I had seen a good one in the offers book and discovered it was a rebranded Asus being sold much cheaper as Medion. Turned up at the store on Sunday morning 15mins before opening to find 20 people already outside. A minute or so later a member of staff came out and asked who was waiting for which offer then gave out numbered raffle tickets to hand over at the till. Anyone arriving at opening time wouldn't have got one, and that was a large South London store.