# mounting 1up roof rack to whispbar?



## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

Hi-

I just went to install my two roof rack trays to some whispbars. The carriage bolts do not go into the security nuts all the way. They consistently (two packages) only go about 2/3 of the way in, so I cannot tighten them properly.

Has anyone else run into this issue? How did you mount your 1up USA roof racks to your whispbars? How much did you have to tighten the bolts? Any issues?

Also, how far back are you mounting the racks and how did that effect the noise? My thought is I paid "extra" for the silent whoosh of the whispbar, so I want to mount the roof racks as far back as possible to limit the aerodynamic interference.

(PS Forgive the double-post... the "main" 1up thread is primarily for the hitch racks.)


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

I have probably the very first roof racks that 1UpUSA made and the mount is now different and better. I convinced Cal - the engineer that used to work at 1UpUSA - to make me a set of trays that could be either roof mounted or mounted on the hitch. 

Anyhow, part of the problem with any of the trays of any manufacturer that use the method of a strap that goes below the bar and is held in place with two bolts is that you must make sure that you tighten them equally and alternately. You cannot screw a nut on one side and the just have to tighten one nut. The best way to do this is to just barely thread on the nut on the first side, then do the other side the same way. Tighten the nuts alternately until the strap contacts the bottom of the whisper equally across the span then continue to alternately tighten both sides maintaining the contact with the bottom. 

If you don't do it this way, you'll thick that your strap under the bar doesn't fit right or that the bolts are not long enough. You'll also note that the strap then unevenly contacts the bottom of the bar.

This problem is not unique to 1UpUSA - my Thule Echelons also have the same problem with the rear mount that uses the same method.

J.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

Hi-

Thanks for the response. When I was mounting the rack, I had hand-tightened both bolts equally (as you suggested) and they still could not tighten enough to secure the rack. It looks like they could, if the carriage bolts were allowed to thread into the security nut/sleeve, but I can only thread them in about 2/3 of the way in until I get the kind of resistance that says stop. 

I wonder if I got a bad batch of security nuts, and/or if I need shorter carriage bolts.

Thanks,


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

I'm not tracking you on this. Are you saying that the nuts don't thread onto the carriage bolts? Or that the carriage bolts are too long and you are running out of threads because the nuts are going on the bolts too far? If it's the second case, go to the hardware store and get shorter carriage bolts, I guess (would give you more usable thread).

J.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

The former... the nuts don't thread onto the carriage bolts.









There also a chance they are too long, however, I told 1up on the order it was for whispbars. I figured I ask here and see if others had a similar experience.

Thanks again,


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

You'll have to call them and ask. In the interim you could just use a regular nut, lock washer and a regular washer.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

Quick update... 
I got the call back (from the weekend) this morning. They had a bad batch of sleeve-nuts and are sending me a set of 8. In addition, they are sending me 1" carriage bolts, just in case.

Other than not being available over the weekend, I am happy with the customer service.


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

Good news. Finally it all makes sense. Love to hear what you think about it when it's all set.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

Thanks for this post. I will be upgrading my old nuts to these. I'm hoping for a bit more tray security but how exactly are these less theft prone than the old nut and socket style?


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

They require a special wrench (note the little rod in the middle of the bolt). However, they are so large any pipe wrench or vice grips will easily grab on to them. It really defeats the purpose. In addition, the wrench they send you is tricky to insert into the nut, so for me, it keeps falling onto the car (fortunately, on the sunroof and not the paint).


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

I used the 1up with my whispbar to bring my son's bike to the shop and back... and had my first issue. The rack was not tightened enough, and towards the end of the ride home, the rack slid and shifted quite a bit (marring my roof rack). You can chalk it up to user error, for sure. 

That said, it is a very frustrating experience mounting this rack to the whispbar. The rack and bottom mounting bracket are very straight, while the whispbar is curved, so there is not much surface area to grip on to. This means that, without modification, you must tighten the rack quite a bit. Since the bottom mounting bracket is huge, there is not much room to get the wrench on the security sleeve bolts. In addition, the bracket is a solid piece of metal and it would likely "win" in an over-tightening scenario, crushing the whispbar. I don't trust this situation.

One improvement might be to use a piece of rubber gasket to grip the bar and allow for some cushioning. I will likely try that if I don't return the racks.

Another comment I have has to to with a resonating rattle. The arms of the bike rack rattle and vibrate when they are folded all the way down. When I close my car door, that rattle resonates in my car. It is a very loud rattle and twang. This can be alleviated by opening them slightly, but a medium bump in the road will still be heard via the racks.

As a general review comment, the racks were a bit of a pain to mount the bike to. The issue is the triangular part of the arm, which you have to lift the bike over to get on and off the rack. While this is not an issue when this style of rack is on a hitch, it becomes a bit of a pain with this style on the roof.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

PS... I did drive up to 70mph with and without a bike mounted, and have not heard any whistling. This means the benefit of the whispbar is not ruined by this rack, which was a concern of mine.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

Tweakophyte said:


> They require a special wrench (note the little rod in the middle of the bolt). However, they are so large any pipe wrench or vice grips will easily grab on to them. It really defeats the purpose. In addition, the wrench they send you is tricky to insert into the nut, so for me, it keeps falling onto the car (fortunately, on the sunroof and not the paint).


Thanks for the photo. I placed an order for a set of these to retrofit the regular bolts. It's a least a bit more tamper proof than what I have now.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

Here are some pics I took before I returned the rack. FWIW, the process has been smooth so far. I sent an email, they send two return labels, I repacked them, and dropped them off at UPS. The return policy is 60 days, per their website, but with the mounting issues, I decided to ship them back after one week of them being on the car.

Front mount (front view)









and front mount (rear view)









Rear Mount (from rear)









Profile with racks open... see the support pieces you need to lift the bike over.









3/4 view with racks closed. I should mention, with the carriage bolt you have a lot of flexibility for mounting fore/aft.


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## thatdrewguy (Jul 28, 2009)

I paid for the new safety nuts and tried to install them today. I have the old school Thule square bars and the new nuts top out before it comes close to securing the lower bracket to the bar. I'll see if 1up is able to provide shorter bolts.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

They sent me some shorter bolts as a just-in-case. As you know these are standard carriage bolts, so if they are charging you, you can just go to your local HW store and get the length you need.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

Can anyone with the Whispbar follow up with an opinion on whether the 1up roof rack works well enough on the Whispbar setup? I need the low profile of the 1up rack with my new taller SUV (Mazda CX-5) and low garage door -- the Yakima Frontloader's I have available don't fit through the opening (by just a smidgen).

A second question, how wide a space on the Whispbar is taken up by the 1up roof rack clamping system? On my old setup on an Outback, I run the round cross bars off to one side so I have enough overlap (about 8 inches) to clamp a Frontloader outside the clamps that attach the cross bars to the roof rack. That way it's possible to open the tail gate with the rack mounted so the bike faces forward and it's much easier to load. Ideally, I want to do something like that with Whispbars on both sides of the clamping towers (so a longer bar than normal) -- so two bikes, riding sort of "outboard" on each side of the car. Does anyone run the 1up rail racks this way or are able to give me the "width" measurement of the clamp area?

I'm opting to stay with a roof rack on this new vehicle (Mazda CX-5) rather than a hitch rack due to the bikes on the roof staying clean compared to what happens with a hitch rack. That's been my observation (having never owned a hitch rack) and advice from an experienced hitch rack user. To me that seems a no-brainer -- deal with bikes on top and the lower mileage rather than getting them dirty and grimy and being in the way of the rear door when on a hitch. Anyone else have to make that decision and come to a different conclusion?

Thanks!

(Sorry if this is a bit of thread highjack, but I was considering exactly the same system and the first two questions are largely on point.)


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

You already know my opinion on #1.

For #2, take a look at the way these 1ups mount to the bars and ask yourself if you're okay with the increased risk of hitting your head. I'll also point out the nuance of have to lift the bike a bit higher to clear the diagonal supports. This could make it even tougher to mount on a tall vehicle like the CX5.

I have some Rockymounts brass knuckles on order. They are similar to the Yak and Thule upright racks, except the piece that clamps onto the front tire lays inline with the overall tray when not in use. This might give you the extra bit of clearance you were looking for. They also mount with a flexible strap that adds minimal thickness to the whispbar or aero bars. They were delayed, so I won't be able to test them out for a few weeks.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

Tweakophyte said:


> You already know my opinion on #1.


I understand and appreciate that you weren't happy with them, but it appears others have had it work for them, so I was hoping for additional feedback with my question. If you would, perhaps you would elaborate on what you ultimately tried to do to make sure the rack wouldn't move on the Whispbars.



Tweakophyte said:


> For #2, take a look at the way these 1ups mount to the bars and ask yourself if you're okay with the increased risk of hitting your head.


I already run racks like this and it seems the 1ups would be even less intrusive and allow me to run the rack more inboard. I'm just trying to figure out how long the cross rails should be to let me do this either with 1ups or Frontloaders on both sides. The outboard position does three things that I see as positives: more space for bikes internally (I sometimes need to carry 4 bikes), it keeps the bikes and racks from interfering with the liftgate, and it makes it easier to load bikes. The lift over the triangle/brace of the 1up might be an issue, but I'm not short and my son is both taller and stronger and I've got two more years of having him toss the bikes on the roof before he heads off to college.

My current setup on the old car:


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

PeT said:


> I understand and appreciate that you weren't happy with them, but it appears others have had it work for them, so I was hoping for additional feedback with my question. If you would, perhaps you would elaborate on what you ultimately tried to do to make sure the rack wouldn't move on the Whispbars.


I tried tightening more, but did not push it because I did not want to dent the whispbars. Even though I was able to shake the car with the racks, the rack still slid and marred the whispbars. The sleeve nuts were tricky to deal with, but outboard they would be easier.

If it was a traditional round or square bar, I would have tried to torque down some more. I think I posted this, but a little rubber would have helped.

With the way the 1ups mount, if the nut becomes loose the rack can slide fore and aft. While I don't think the whole thing would just slide back and off the rack, it did work its way so that the entire rack was diagonal several degrees.

The real solution is for 1up to make something that fits inside the rail slots. They said they had considered that before.



> I already run racks like this and it seems the 1ups would be even less intrusive and allow me to run the rack more inboard. I'm just trying to figure out how long the cross rails should be to let me do this either with 1ups or Frontloaders on both sides. The outboard position does three things that I see as positives: more space for bikes internally (I sometimes need to carry 4 bikes), it keeps the bikes and racks from interfering with the liftgate, and it makes it easier to load bikes. The lift over the triangle/brace of the 1up might be an issue, but I'm not short and my son is both taller and stronger and I've got two more years of having him toss the bikes on the roof before he heads off to college.


Outboard, it might be easier attached the bikes, or at least you might have less of a concern of scratching the roof. I wanted to do outboard on my car, but there was not enough room. That was probably good, because the way I mounted it the rack would have slid completely off.

Based on your picture, I think the clearance of the 1ups would work,


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## JohnJ80 (Oct 10, 2008)

I've had Whispbars on both of my cars and I've used my 1UpUSA trays on both of them. Mine are little different than the current ones, but the idea is the same. They work fine.

Mounting 
I've had *all* the rack systems and I've had loads of attachments from a variety of suppliers. They *never* perfectly fit anything. Example: I have a Yakima Skybox on the Whispbar rack on my BMW wagon. Fit guide says no problem, but it doesn't fit because there isn't enough clearance in the center of the roof by about 1/4". So I had to modify the clamp on the skybox - remove the bottom jaw, drill a hole and them mount a T-bolt in the Whispbar rack and then screw it down from inside the box. And that's the same manufacturer for both - go figure. In my experience, expecting it all to fit perfectly and on your particular vehicle is pretty much a fantasy. Would be nice it if weren't this way, but it is and with the large number of car models out there, it's got to be a challenge for the rack mfgs to get it right. In general, they get it *mostly* right.

I have to make shims out of mountain bike tires to fit my Thule Ski racks flush to the Whispbar and to have them not whistle.

My Thule Echelon trays rear bolts have insufficient clearance to the top of my roof. I had to get shorter bolts.

It's hardly ever a slam dunk. You usually have to shim or do something, sometimes it can be extreme. What I've found is helpful is looking at the parts that REI has for the Thule fit kits. There are all sorts of T-bolts, straps, nuts etc... that you can use to make it work great. When you get it figured out, it's great.

In this particular case, I'd suggest either shimming the strap or getting one of the Thule straps and using that. It's actually got a bend in it to fit an aero bar better. Hard rubber like from a used MTB tire doubled over, would probably work great in this case.

As far as anti-theft nuts etc... Nice touch, but I think they are pretty useless anyhow. Just use two standard nuts stacked. No one is going to take the time and effort to unbolt the rack. If they were intent on stealing your rack, they'd just cut the bolts and be gone with it anyhow. I just bolt mine on and after spending the time to do that, I'm pretty sure no one is going to get out a wrench and take them off - would just take too long.

I cranked mine down there nice and tight. The Whispbar rack didn't get dented and I doubt it would with any reasonable tightening. If it was mounted loose enough that it moved around on the rack, that is not very tight at all. When I mount stuff, I test it by jerking it with my full body weight against it while standing next to the car, if it moves, it gets tightened. I do that with any mount or attachment (boxes, bikes etc....)

Mount Width
The strap width is less than the width of the rack. So if you can fit the rack above it, the mount below it is narrower.

Usage
I've got thousands of miles on my 1UpUSA trays. Mine rattled too when I shut the door and it bothered me even though it didn't rattle underway. I just put a toe clip strap around the arm and that was enough. You could also just close the rack on a large enough closed cell piece of foam and that should work too.

The 1UpUSA trays are lower profile than just about any two wheel roof tray out there. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and suggest it's the narrowest and most aero of that class.

Loading is is easy if you pick the bike up with both hands - one on the seat tube near the bottom bracket, the other on the the fork leg up about half way from the hub to the crown - and use one hand to slightly turn the front tire. Then put the back tire in first then the front one. It's not hard or harder than any other rack, you just have to do it properly. You don't have to lift over the braces, you put the bike between them and then turn your body with the bike and it will all be fine and fit very easily.

Comparison
As for bikes with both tires on while on the roof, I have the 1UpUSA and the Yakima HighRoller. I find the 1UpUSA to be much more secure and easier to mount the bike. The Yakima HighRoller requires kind of an awkward holding movement while you bring up the ratchet arm. It also tends to rock side to side a lot and I don't care for the kind of flimsy mount to the bars. But worst of all is the ratchet mechanism can strip (it's just a little plastic gear) and you have no way to tell because it's a riveted in non replaceable and non visible part. So, on balance, I'll take the 1UpUSA's set up every day.

I like the looks of the Rocky Mounts brass knuckles, but that thing has got all sorts of junk hanging out in the wind. Nothing at all aero about that.

In general, I prefer to have fork mount racks on my cars just because it's a bit lower profile and because the racks (Thule Echelons) are a lot better looking on my BMW wagon and a lot more aero than pretty much anything. When my kids are needing transport with their university bikes that have pitlocks on their wheel skewers, and where it's a pain to take the wheels off, then I put on the 1UpUSAs.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

Go the new car (2015 Mazda CX-5), got the Whispbars, got the 1UP roof racks. The car is taller than my old Subaru, but so far that's the only negative for putting bikes on top. I have had no issue tightening the 1UP racks to the Whispbar rails. I very much like the low profile of the 1UP racks when bikes aren't there. The racks are installed outboard, and there's no issue with banging heads getting in and out and there's a ton of room in the middle for other bikes or gear. The rear door opens easily with racks and bikes installed. Since we spent so much money on a new car, what's a bit more for a good rack system? If I hit the lotto, I could see getting a hitch installed and using the 1UP system for fair weather transport.


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## Tweakophyte (Sep 3, 2013)

FWIW, I saw a guy that had his outboard on a Honda Element. Even though he is tall, he carries a small step-stool in his car so he can mount the bikes.


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## spirit4earth (Apr 30, 2007)

Tweakophyte said:


> You already know my opinion on #1.
> 
> For #2, take a look at the way these 1ups mount to the bars and ask yourself if you're okay with the increased risk of hitting your head. I'll also point out the nuance of have to lift the bike a bit higher to clear the diagonal supports. This could make it even tougher to mount on a tall vehicle like the CX5.
> 
> I have some Rockymounts brass knuckles on order. They are similar to the Yak and Thule upright racks, except the piece that clamps onto the front tire lays inline with the overall tray when not in use. This might give you the extra bit of clearance you were looking for. They also mount with a flexible strap that adds minimal thickness to the whispbar or aero bars. They were delayed, so I won't be able to test them out for a few weeks.


I'm very, very interested in what you think of the Brass Knuckles. I have questions about not having an arm over the rear tire, and what will happen if the front tire goes flat. I love the look of the rack, and it's on my short list.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

PeT said:


> Go the new car (2015 Mazda CX-5), got the Whispbars, got the 1UP roof racks.


Just following up after a half-dozen big road trip (about 2500 miles total) with this system (1UP roof racks on Whispbars) and want to give a ringing endorsement for the setup. A very fast learning curve and it's now very easy to mount bikes. Bikes are steady on top at 75 mph with the gentle Wyoming breeze blowing in from the side (@50 mph). I should note that "steady" means a bit of a wobble but they're not rattling and I have no concerns about them coming off. Without bikes in the mounts there is no additional wind noise and I don't believe there is any significant impact on mileage (but I don't know for sure). I would recommend this system for anyone looking for roof racks.


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## twindaddy (Jun 18, 2007)

Resurrecting an old thread to ask if the fore/aft positioning of this rack is left to user choice. It looks that way to me. I see a T channel on the bottom that I could use with a home made Thule bracket to mount to a Thule T channel rack. My concern is that I want the rack as far rearward as possible - to almost flush with the front rack, or at lease not past the front faring. Thoughts?


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