Road Cycling - Thule upright mounts

Anyone heard that a Thule upright mount for roof rack could damage an aluminum frame road bike when it grips the downtube? I see that Yakima makes an upright mount that grabs both wheels instead of the frame. Is that better?

Save yourself ALOT of trouble - Use either a fork mount, or a mount that attaches to the crankarm (a' la Yakima Anklebiter). I would never use a rack that clamps to any of the aluminum tubing. It is _really_ thin! That's why you don't ever clamp the seattube in a workstand vise - you always clamp on the seatpost.

So the Cobra by Yakima that attaches to the wheels is no good either? Just the crankarm version? Also, there's been much debate elsewhere that the fork mounts are really bad for road bikes. Is that bull?

The Cobra looks fine - it attaches to the wheel, so it doesn't clamp to the frame tubes.

I don't think fork mounts are bad. Think about the stresses that a fork undergoes while you are riding. Your body weight, hard cornering forces, hitting bumps and potholes, etc. The fork mount attaches to the bike the same way the wheel does. I've used fork mounts for over ten years with no problems.

Some of the debate that you mention may stem from fork mounted trainers. They can cause problems because as you pedal, the bike will slightly rock side-to-side. On the road, this is OK, because the wheels allow you to rock slightly. The fork-mounted trainer fights this side-to-side rocking, and can wallow-out a head tube. Some trainers attach to the rear axle, and the fork. These are OK, since the stronger attachment at the rear wheel resists the rocking, and stress on the headset is minimized.

Yup that makes sense. Thanks a lot.