Tandem Cycling - Tandem Roof Racks in Europe?

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tandemracer
10-06-10, 03:09 AM
We have moved to Poland for business for the next few years. We brought our bikes with us and purchased a station wagon (kombi) assuming that we could just buy a roof rack for it like we have in the states. Turns out that Thule does not sell the 558P tandem roof rack in Europe. Yakima is not available - according to their website the closest dealer is in Newfoundland.

Short of buying one on our next trip stateside, is there a good quality tandem roof rack available in Europe?

dubbelop
10-06-10, 12:24 PM
We have moved to Poland for business for the next few years. We brought our bikes with us and purchased a station wagon (kombi) assuming that we could just buy a roof rack for it like we have in the states. Turns out that Thule does not sell the 558P tandem roof rack in Europe. Yakima is not available - according to their website the closest dealer is in Newfoundland.

Short of buying one on our next trip stateside, is there a good quality tandem roof rack available in Europe?
There certainly is: it's made by the Dutch company Vittorio. The tandems is loaded onto the rack at the side of the car and after securing it, the entire rack plus tandem goes horizontally onto the roof. Look at THIS PAGE (http://www.vittorio.nl/leveringsprogramma/tandemimperiaal) for details (requires QuickTime). There also is a PDF file (http://www.vittorio.nl/db/WAS4afd5f2945b7f/Tandemimperiaal.pdf) on the site.
I know for a fact that Vittorio ships these racks by mail to Germany, hopefully they'll want to ship to Poland too.
tandemracer
10-06-10, 01:30 PM
Interesting rack, but I don't think I would put any of our tandems on it. I may just have to get an ATOC shipped over from the States especially since we will be getting a triple next year and will need to be able to carry that also.

uspspro
10-06-10, 01:33 PM
Damn! That's pretty cool!
Peak Team
10-07-10, 02:26 AM
You could try these:

http://www.atera.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4.php?query=AR2213

http://www.pendle-bike.co.uk/shopping/Roof-Mounted-Racks.php

http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/product.php?xProd=6780
dubbelop
10-08-10, 04:15 PM
Interesting rack, but I don't think I would put any of our tandems on it. I may just have to get an ATOC shipped over from the States especially since we will be getting a triple next year and will need to be able to carry that also.

Just curious: why wouldn't you put any of your tandems on this Vittorio rack? Personal experience (and that of a lot of other - mainly Dutch) people tells me that the tandem is secured rock solid to the rack and thus to the car. What more can one wish for? Except for space for another bike or a luggage container on the roof, of course :)

If you prefer keeping your tandem upright on the roof, this D. Frey tandemrack (http://www.idv-dachtraeger.de/_plentyShop__Fahrradhalter-Tandem-Fahrradhalter/a-10865/) from Germany might be an alternative.
tandemracer
10-08-10, 06:04 PM
Just curious: why wouldn't you put any of your tandems on this Vittorio rack? Personal experience (and that of a lot of other - mainly Dutch) people tells me that the tandem is secured rock solid to the rack and thus to the car. What more can one wish for? Except for space for another bike or a luggage container on the roof, of course :)

I am sure the Vittorio rack will get a tandem from point A to point B without dumping it on the side of the highway. The things I don't like about the rack in no particular order are:
1 - As you stated, I would like to be able to carry additional bikes on the roof.
2 - I don't like to attach my bikes to the rack at point on the frame where the finish could be damaged
3 - We will be carrying at least 3 different tandems on the rack. Just a guess, but it looks like this rack may need a good bit of fiddling when switching between tandems.
4 - The frame brackets don't look big enough for the oversized tubes on our Ventana MTB tandem
5 - I would be surprised if we could find a way to safely attach a triplet to the rack. We don't have a triplet now, but we are ordering one soon.
6 - We live in a 4th floor apartment in the middle of the city with no garage and no elevator. If I need to remove the rack to carry something else besides a tandem on the roof I would have to carry this rack up 4 flights of stairs and find someplace to store it. I am already using all of our available wall space for bike storage.


If you prefer keeping your tandem upright on the roof, this D. Frey tandemrack from Germany might be an alternative.

Better. But I still like the ATOC much better.