Re: [Paddlewise] Thule v Yakima -

>> I've always been so happy with Yakima, that I've never tried Thule.
>> However - I do have a question about Thules...  why do I see so many
>> of them "sagging"? (often, quite a bit).  I've never seen Yakimas sag
>> like that, but I see many Thules doing it.  Anyone know why?

    --It's not weakness or flimsiness in the bars.  They're very sturdy.
Mine sag, too.  I have a car with raingutters so I use that type of tower.
Part of the forces that hold the bar in place and keep it from moving is a
downward one exerted by the tower and aimed inward toward the center.  That
would produce the appearance of a 'sag'.  I also really tie down, with
straps, my canoes.  This also will affect that sag.  Really, it's not a sag
but a bend.
>
> I've had Thule racks for years, on a number of cars, for a number of
>different activities (bikes, canoes, skis, kayaks. . . ).  I've not had a
>problem with "sagging", ......
        You may have a different tower arrangement from mine.
A friend has Yakima bars, and they are equally good as the Thules in my
estimation.  But there are pluses and minuses.  The way the Thules are held,
the towers will slide along the bars if I take them off and I have to
readjust them every time I do that.  The Yakimas clamp separately on the
bars and the raingutters, so that's not  a problem.  However, things tend to
rotate around the Yakima tube but they're held in place very well on the
square-barred Thule.  As was pointed out in another post, if the car has a
significant rounding then the Thule bars may not be parallel.
    Yakima, at least, sells adapters so you can use Thule stuff on their
bars.  Don't know if it's vice-versa.




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