Has anyone use Rockbros Roof-Top Suction Bike Rack
 

Hi guys,

I have a question, has anyone here use the Rockbros Roof-Top Suction Bike Bicycle Car Rack Carrier before?

I have a friend who is using Sea Sucker and I think that product is very expensive.

I found a cheaper alternative which is the Rockbros Roof-Top Suction. But I don't know if its good.

Any advise and feedback?

Thanks

Rockbros = pure Chinese.

I don't think attaching your bike to the roof of your car via suction cups and driving at highway speeds is the place you want to try and save a few dollars - I'd recommend going with the tried and true brand. If you're wanting to save money, I'd buy the marine grade suction cups SeaSucker uses and try to fabricate a rack yourself - or look for people selling used ones.

Yep, what they ^ said. ;)

My phone holder uses suction cup to attach to the windshield. this works fine, but every few weeks i have to re-suction because some air penetrates the vacuum. So now add significant windforces and a bike heavier than my phone.......

Suction cups are fine for short term. Like glazing installation, but not for long term.

FWIW, you can't compare the suction cups that hold your phone with the high-grade suction cups on SeaSucker racks. I've used their racks before with no issues, and I'd put them in the category of short term use rather than long term use, since you are only using them for a few hours at a time before at least checking the suction cups if not removing the rack altogether.

i agree. i have been using a seasucker for about 4 months with great success. i regularly drive 70+ mph on the freeway with it on my car.( i have a 2010 specialized roubaix bike, soon to be a 2014 roubaix) the only time the rack is on your car is when it's in use. if you aren't using it the rack it is in the trunk of the car, compared to the phone suction cup that stays on the car full time..

You would never catch me using a roof rack let alone one with suction cups. Suction cups are you serious?


Roof racks have too many problems. You risk the roof being scratched every time you mount the rack or the bike. And you can forget the bike is up there and drive under low clearance.

Spend the extra money and get a hitch rack.No scratches and a solid mount.

I wouldn't use any RockBros product, all of their "designs" are just stolen from more quality manufacturers and made very cheaply in China. I personally wouldn't trust the Sea Sucker stuff much anyway so a cheap knockoff I wouldn't trust at all. Get a quality hitch rack if you want to carry your bike, Thule, Küat, Yakima, Saris... and then you won't have to worry so much.

the suction cups on a seasucker rack are incredibly strong. i attached the front part with 3 suction cups on the vertical side of a spray booth at work. and it easily supported myself and 2 co-workers weight without problems. i weight 225lbs, 1 co worker weighs 210 and the other was 175.
each suction cup is rated to hold 200+ lbs ( i have to read the instruction for exact weight ratings) and a seasucker has 4. 3 on the front part and 1 in the rear.

"incredibly strong" until you fail to suction one correctly or it simply fails. You tested in a stable enviroment. There is a heck of a lot of vibration and flexing going on your roof. It is an accident waiting to happen.

the fail to suction one correctly argument could be used on any bike rack. failure to properly secure a latch on any bike rack and it can easily fall off.
using the suction pump is idiot proof. place it on the car, pump until the pump retracts into the housing. there is a bright orange warning mark on the to easily see from a distance if the vacuum is lost or weakening. just like anything you need to use common sense to use it. you can't use it on a dirty surface, the cups must be clean and kept clean. when you store it away there are plastic caps to protect the cups from nicks that cause vacuum loss.
according to the FAQ on seasucker website. they have tested them on a NASCAR race car at 140mph without problems. they also recommend regular inspections of the cup pumps for vacuum loss during use.
i myself have driven 200+ miles at freeway speeds, 80+mph, without any problems.

i myself like it. if you don't i won't have any problem with that also. there is more than 1 right answer for almost any situation.
i like it because it's easy to use, you don't have this ugly thing on your car when not in use, it's light and extremely easy to install and stow away, and my favorite is it's easily transferred to other cars without additional effort.

the biggest downside is it can leave light marks where the cups were on your paint. they are most noticeable in the mornings when dew is on your car or you drive down a dusty road. a quick wipe with cleaner or wax and they are gone. i would assume that if you use it a LOT in the same exact place it might leave a fade mark in your paint just like anything that is left on your paint when the car is in the sun for long times. the other big problem is it must be used on a smooth surface so it won't work on every car.

here is a link to the FAQ https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjS882onfnjAhXPLc0KHUhqBgcQFjABegQ IABAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seasucker.com%2Fapps%2Fhelp-center&usg=AOvVaw3GLqCI_sex_69wBpQB5TO9

The cycling industry has, for decades, copied itself.
Japanese brands copied French and Italian component and frame designs, for example. You know this though.

I'm not suggesting rockbros is good, but citing a company copying another as a bad thing is...different from how much of the last half century has gone in the cycling industry.

I guess in a sense but I feel like what RockBros and others are doing is a bit different then some of the other copies out there. There are some that are the direct copies with no changes except in lower quality or manufacturing standards and then there are some that are similar but different maybe not in looks but in material. Frames are a perfect example of this, a lot of steel frames especially the older stuff looks very similar but is somewhat different. A welded frame might look the same but could use different tubing or have different finishing work done by the builder or something.

The physics are the same, air diffuses under the cup over time. There is no 100% airtight material, the molecules are just too small and the gaps between atoms too large.

Many people leave racks on the car for longer. And checking the rack before every drive is just not what people do. Heck, people are supposed to check engine oil, light and other things and never do. A bike rack should just be solidly attached without the need to re-tighten.

IMHO, a hitch rack with platforms is the very best solution. Everything else has some shortcomings.

Except in general, that's not the way people use SeaSuckers. You buy one because you want a temporary roof rack. So you're putting it on when you head out, and then check it when you get where you're going, then take it off when you get back home. When I had mine, it was never on the car for more than a day. All racks have short comings, including a hitch rack. FWIW, I had a SeaSucker for when I needed to carry more bikes than would fit on a two-bike hitch rack.

They're not perfect either. Depending on the vehicle they can greatly impact rear visibility on say a sedan or smaller hatchback. I don't keep my Kuat rack on my hybrid, because even in empty-and-stowed configuration it obstructs my backup camera--which on that vehicle I really need as the rear visibility is poor. There's also the matter of blocking your rear license tags from LEO view, which I've known people to get pulled over for (but not ticketed, at least yet).

Hi I want a quality product but I don't want to spend more than $50.

I.e. bikeforums in a nutshell.

As it turns out, the best way to transport a bike is to ride it.

Sea Sucker has been proven and tested. The RockBros knock-off product, still unknown. I'd say go for it and test it out for everyone.