Roof bars

Does anyone know any place in Dublin that sells Thule roof bars and roughly what price they're looking for?

I'm looking to get some aluminium bars for my 1999 Opel Astra 4dr and the Thules seem a good bet. Does anyone have any experience of these bars and if so is it a disadvantage that the aluminium ones aren't square? I will be using the bars for carrying lots of timber etc.

Alternatively, does anyone have any experience of Opel roof bars - quality and price?

A quick Google throws up [broken link removed] (free nationwide delivery - but they don't provide an address on the website?)

Thule are pretty much the best make, I gather. I had a pair for years and sold them 2nd-hand for the same money I'd paid for them...

The idea of the rounded bars is to reduce drag (and therefore fuel consumption) - don't know how they compare for strength, though.

[Edit: Have you had a look on [broken link removed]?]

I found Consort on the Drumcondra road the cheapest by far for roof bars - Didnt buy Thule - but Carac - Suit me fine - Use them weekly and no hassle so far - (other than roof bars making a car look ugly - But what you gonna do!)

Thanks for the replies.

DrMoriarty - I had come across that website and sent them an email today but no word back. Judging from the camping site linked to off that page (which uses the same contact email address) it seems they are based in Cork. I will ring later today to suss them out as the 'Ring today with your credit card' is a bit odd.

Sol28 - what price did you get your bars for and do Consort stock aluminium bars?

I take it its quite quick and simple to attach and detach the bars?

OhPinchy said:

Sol28 - what price did you get your bars for and do Consort stock aluminium bars?

I take it its quite quick and simple to attach and detach the bars?

Click to expand...

I think I got the whole kit for about 100 (ish) Will need to check it out. I just got standard bars - nothing fancy. I'm sure they would order the aluminium ones for you - most places dont have the full range of bars in stock anyway. The ones I got were between €30-80 more expensive in other places for same model.

I think you can get locakable ones with keys and all that - but they are generally the same make as your car - and hence more expensive. Mine screw into the roof rack slots on the roof. And came with a series of adapters for some other cars. Some cars will require you to clamp the bars to the inside of the door frame and under the rubber door seal.

I leave mine on all the time since I use them weekly and because I can have anything up to four kayaks on the roof i dont like taking them off as I feel (rightly or wrongly) the more you loosen them the less stable they will get. And i dont fancy four boats flying off my car in the middle of a motorway!

Also - With Roof bars on your car - You will no longer be able to use automatic car washes. And the manual car washes are getting increasingly scarcer in the city!

Buy a van. Roof racks/bars suck.





Joke btw.