# Whispbar?



## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

New rack manufacturer?

http://www.whispbar.com/

Quieter, more fuel efficient and more low profile than Thule, Yak, etc.?

Could this be? If so, Im sold.


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## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

Looks really close to the OEM roof rack I had on my 1991 Toyota Corolla. Oval cross section, T-slot attachment. Thule had something similar for a few years in the mid-90's.


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## photodog (Jun 2, 2008)

Thanks for posting this, I just ordered the Rail Bar from Rack Attack after doing some more research. Wanted something that looked OEM and sits low on my JSW TDI as the rails are already pretty high so other options end up sticking way up in the air. If they are quiet that's a bonus, but nothing is all that quiet with 2-3 bikes on it. 
They are more of an airfoil design than an oval and get good reviews on the TDI and Audi forums for being quiet and easy to install/remove. Expensive though.
I'll post pics and a review when they get here.


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## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

Anyone install these things yet? Interested if the noise level gets to a bad level with a fork-mount rack installed.


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## photodog (Jun 2, 2008)

I've used them daily for 2 months now with everything from 15lb road bikes to my 32lb Nomad to kids bikes and they have been great. They racks by themselves are nearly silent, maybe a couple decibels at most of white noise.

For bike trays I use the Rocky Mounts Tie Rods which are super low profile so it's all very quiet and hardly affects my mileage. The only time I ever had any whistling I realized I had left the big lever on the Tie Rod sticking straight up into the wind, otherwise they are very quiet even with the bike trays. Not to say they are silent, they aren't, but they are way more quiet than other racks, especially with the Tie Rod's vs. the larger profile offerings from Yakima/Thule.


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## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

To update on this, I got the same setup the poster above has on an Acura TSX and the intial results are disappointing. I see very little difference in noise between this setup and my previous Yakima one (with fairing). Yes, they are quieter, but the impression from the website and their selling materials is that these bars are "silent." Not even close. In fact, the Whispbars has a NASTY whistle at tany speed over 30 that Im working to solve with the company now. 

Ill post more findings as things progress. But initial findings, at least for me.....not great.


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## photodog (Jun 2, 2008)

RkFast said:


> To update on this, I got the same setup the poster above has on an Acura TSX and the intial results are disappointing. I see very little difference in noise between this setup and my previous Yakima one (with fairing). Yes, they are quieter, but the impression from the website and their selling materials is that these bars are "silent." Not even close. In fact, the Whispbars has a NASTY whistle at tany speed over 30 that Im working to solve with the company now.
> 
> Ill post more findings as things progress. But initial findings, at least for me.....not great.


Is all this noise with or without bike trays on them? I get zero noise from the bars, only the trays make noise. I got the super low profile rocky mounts tie rods which don't make nearly the noise my yakima trays made.

Every now and then I've had whistling, here's the 3 times:
1. When I first mounted I had the front bar too far forward so the wind came off the windshield at a weird angle and made noise 
2. my QR knob on a bike tray was flipped backwards so the knob was causing a whistle
3. I left a Hurricane 20mm adapter on the top. While this doesn't normally cause any noise, it got pushed back and all the way down to the bike tray which caused whistling. I pushed it up 1 inch and it went away. It happened anytime I went over 35mph and got worse up to 65 then went away.

It's probably your bike trays making the noise, try taking them off and seeing what happens. If they still whistle, try scooting the front one back a bit. If that doesn't work, try to identify exactly what part of the rack is making the noise then look at that part for anything odd. Maybe it's a QR sticking up or the rack is sitting a little crooked or something.


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## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

Its the trays. For sure. But also, I got the rack about 1/2 inch too far forward. 

Will make adjustments and report back over the weekend!


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

I've got some whispbars on my discovery 4 and have a thule pro rack mounted to the bars. Not a ounce of noise from them that I can hear. Didn't notice any increase in fuel consumption after the installation either


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## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

Alright...it was indeed those Rockymount TieRods that were causing my noise. There was a gap in the front of the mounting that I filled with black silicone and the problem is gone. The Whispbars themselves are nice and quiet....not silent...but much quieter than Yak/Thule and without a fairing. They have a much more "factory" look to them, rounded ends and sit close to the roof, so they look great.


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## g-t- (Dec 22, 2004)

photodog said:


> I've used them daily for 2 months now with everything from 15lb road bikes to my 32lb Nomad to kids bikes and they have been great. They racks by themselves are nearly silent, maybe a couple decibels at most of white noise.
> 
> For bike trays I use the Rocky Mounts Tie Rods which are super low profile so it's all very quiet and hardly affects my mileage. The only time I ever had any whistling I realized I had left the big lever on the Tie Rod sticking straight up into the wind, otherwise they are very quiet even with the bike trays. Not to say they are silent, they aren't, but they are way more quiet than other racks, especially with the Tie Rod's vs. the larger profile offerings from Yakima/Thule.


would you mind posting a pic of how the tie rod fits around the whispbar at the fork and at the wheel ? I tried to install Thule echelons on it but did not like the rear mount adaptor as the bar is too curved to take a flat bracket.

Thanks


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## photodog (Jun 2, 2008)

g-t- said:


> would you mind posting a pic of how the tie rod fits around the whispbar at the fork and at the wheel ? I tried to install Thule echelons on it but did not like the rear mount adaptor as the bar is too curved to take a flat bracket.
> 
> Thanks


Someone else asked but I forgot to post so here's some with bonus close ups of all the bugs I hit on the way back from Nor Cal yesterday. I'm kind of confused by your description as to what's not working on yours but these are super easy to install as it's just 2 rubberized metal straps that hold the front on. The rear uses a bracket but it's not like the curve makes a difference as they don't need to tighten all the way down to the metal, just tight enough to not move.


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## Rouleur321 (Feb 27, 2004)

Wanted to give a little extended review on the Whispbar/TieRod setup. 

Im very pleased. Im still getting some noise, but I think thats the aerodynamics of the TSX coming into play. Still much quieter than any other type of rack and without a fairing! The look is very factory and low profile. 

Best part of all, MPG has hardly been hit. Trucking along the Interstate at 75 with one bike on the roof, the TSX is averaging 29 MPG. Thats approx ONE MPG less than a naked roof. 

One other thing Ive noticed....ever take your rack off and notice how the lack of roof turbulence without the rack/bikes up there allows the car to ride smoother on the highway? Well, with this setup there was NO noticable increase in turbulence that affected the car's ride. Very nice.

One nit (theres gotta be one!) ..less than impressed with RockyMounts' skewers. They seem to bind up easily and are hard to adjust correctly. But still overall the TieRod is a very very nice product and their customer support was very good.


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## cracksandracks.com (Oct 22, 2009)

RkFast said:


> One nit (theres gotta be one!) ..less than impressed with RockyMounts' skewers. They seem to bind up easily and are hard to adjust correctly. But still overall the TieRod is a very very nice product and their customer support was very good.


i'm curious...are you using a lock core in the black plastic cap on the top of the tie rod?
we've noticed, that when locking that cap, the skewer doesn't move freely inside. 
i have ground down the small fins of plastic on the underside and it has alleviated that issue.


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## tednugent (Apr 16, 2009)

photodog said:


>


I love the low profile of that set up. But can't carry 2 bikes & a box though.

S16/K328 combo is probably what I'll get for my passat wagon (and sell my Yak to a friend)


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## jaltura (Aug 29, 2011)

Thanks to all those who posted on here about the Whispbar/Tierod set up and impressions. Was trying to figure out what to match up with my new crossbars and this was very helpful.


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