Aluminum T-bolt hardware for roof rack??

I have S53 bars with a pano roof. Everything operates fine without gear installed. However, with clamps installed to hold the Inno box, the pano roof doesn't operate. YES, I knew this before purchase. I thought we could live with it, but now prefer not too.

I can get taller bars, but also prefer not too.

Another option is to source some T-bolt hardware that slides into the slot on the whispbars, allowing me to fasten the box with nuts or fasteners this way, as opposed to clamps wrapping under the whispbar. Has anyone done this, or, can anyone point me in the right direction to source these out in Canada or NA?

The t-bolts are a common thule part... available from just about anywhere that sells Thule, and they are fairly inexpensive. Yakima may offer something similar, but I can confirm the items below fit the whispbars just fine because I bought a bunch of them (from etrailer, but you can take the part #'s to any Thule retailer) to more easily mount my cheap bike racks for my kids' bikes.. now I can just slide them on and tighten rather than struggle with the original mounting hardware.

Bolts: http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Thule/853-208909.html

Nuts: http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Thule/753-0783.html

You might also check wtih Inno, they may make a "fit kit" to convert the box from clamps to t-bolts.

Etrailer won't ship Thule products to Canada but if you log into the Thule Canada website you can order direct from the Trois Rivieres distribution centre at a reasonable cost. I used the e-trailer website to identify the parts needed. Took a lot of searching but if memory serves I got my eight t-bolts for around $20 complete with shipping.

So the T bolts go into the channel on top of the Whispbar/Aeroblade? Does the rubber strip need to be cut or removed to install? Does anyone have any pics of these in use? Thanks.

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/inno-brp12-t-slot-adapter-kit.html

If they don't ship to Alberta... then find a local reseller that can order that kit.

hskrdu said:

So the T bolts go into the channel on top of the Whispbar/Aeroblade? Does the rubber strip need to be cut or removed to install? Does anyone have any pics of these in use? Thanks.

Click to expand...

you can cut the rubber strip to fit, if that is your only accessory.....

or remove it altogether

No cutting of the rubber strip is ever required with whispbars- honestly the flexibility of this is one of the BEST features of these bars, The rubber strip fits within the bars completely, rather than wedging into place like on most bars, and has a hollow "D" profile that just squishes down out of the way, and bounces back up whenever you remove whatever you mounted in the bars.

I don't leave all of my bike racks on my car, plus I often mount a cargo box, so the ability to not have to constantly remove/reinstall different configurations of rubber strips, or remove them entirely and deal with the resulting noise is really, really nice

I've been looking at various rooftop bike carriers, hoping to find some that mount/dismount as easily from T channels as the quickdock on the WB-100 and WB-200. The Rockymounts Euro Pitchfork is a reasonable price and claimed as designed specifically for Whispbars and Aeroblades, but both the video and manual call for cutting the rubber strip.

How have you set up your bike racks for easy on/off?

sarahspins said:

No cutting of the rubber strip is ever required with whispbars- honestly the flexibility of this is one of the BEST features of these bars, The rubber strip fits within the bars completely, rather than wedging into place like on most bars, and has a hollow "D" profile that just squishes down out of the way, and bounces back up whenever you remove whatever you mounted in the bars.

I don't leave all of my bike racks on my car, plus I often mount a cargo box, so the ability to not have to constantly remove/reinstall different configurations of rubber strips, or remove them entirely and deal with the resulting noise is really, really nice

Click to expand...

I have a euro pitchfork on my car (you can see it in the pics below, it's orange), the rubber strip is NOT cut on the whispbars... the rack just slides into place on the bars, over the rubber, really easy. I'll go outside and snap a pic with just a t-bolt going on the bars real quick so you can see better. The mounts for the pitchfork are basically an elongated bar that slides into the whispbars that the two bolts screw into to hold the rack in place.

Side profile (note that I have the through-bars, I'm not sure how different the flush mount bars would be, but the bar itself and the rubber is the same, all that would be different is the plastic ends)



With t-bolt slid into place, you can see how the rubber strip "squishes" down to accommodate it.

I know this thread is 3.5 years old. I'm just adding this for my own reference. If it helps someone else great:



Yakima #8880237 is a set of 8. I've ordered them and can not confirm that they fit yet. They are reputed to though. I think these would be inserted from the sides and then left in place whereas t-bolts would be always sticking up if they were left in place when not in use. The rubber inserts in the Whispbars should keep these wherever they are set as well, so your locations should always remain where you left them.

Thx for posting! How is a bolt secured at the under side (away from any rooftop accessory)?