Finally got the use of the car this morning to test out the sea sucker copy and I'm quite taken with it.
Fitting is easy, each sucker takes about 20 pumps so the front part was fitted well within 2 minutes. The only down side is positioning of the rear suckers can't be done until you have the bike is on the roof meaning your muddy wheels are sat on the paintwork whilst the QR is tightened up and the rear sucker is positioned. This same problem would occur with the £400+ Original sea sucker so maybe an old towel to rest the wheel on if you like your paintwork.
Rear sucker is a pump again and is installed in less that 30 seconds with a Velcro strap over the wheel rim.
There is a couple of Velcro straps in the box to strap your crank arm to the chain stay to stop pedals clashing with the roof too.
The roof does flex a small amount but nothing I'd be worried about in respect to a catastrophic roof failure. Once all four suckers are pumped, the amount of flex lessens.
On went my gravel bike and I went for a test drive down the country roads.
I didn't drive like a loon like I normally do when I'm released in the wife's car, I also had two dogs rolling around in the boot so I drove sensibly for the most part. Twisty roads were fine, twisty hills up and twisty downs, I found a clear straight stretch and booted it up to nearly 80mph, there was some whistling but I'd expect that from any roof mounted bike.
Other than motorway, it got a pretty good test.
There was no loss of suction on any of the suckers and my bike was still attached on return.
The only downside I can see so far is the QR skewer hasn't got a big enough throw on it.
Other than that, I think it's a bargain for the £60 I paid rather than the £480 that sea sucker want to relieve you of.
Delivery from Germany took about 4/5 days iirc.
4CAF4B11-A151-43D6-8DFF-84088A435A8A by flatfishrufus, on Flickr
35F91585-A58D-4F3A-801B-01C1C63FAA36 by flatfishrufus, on FlickrLink:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/302638512848?c ... 0632446633
Poor car.
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