I’ve been using Thule J cradles on my factory rack but want to get some aftermarket crossbars. The local paddle shop carries the Malone universal crossbars. Anyone have theses? Online I read they cause a fair amount of noise and I was wondering how difficult they are to remove. I don’t leave my cradles on when not in use now but would probably leave them attached to the crossbars and put the crossbars on when I need them.
I’d like to hear what owners think of them. Fit guide says I need 58s
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– Last Updated: Oct-15-13 12:35 AM EST –
I had a set of Malone cross bars. Maybe my imagination but they seemed louder than the Thule bars I had. I went back to the Thules after about a week. I don't think they were much different than the Thules to put on or take off.
I am very happy with mine
I’ve had 50" Malone bars for 3 years. Unfortunately, Subaru Foresters have litltle sound deadening so everything is noisy (yet I love my Subie).
Add a Thule wind fairing to minimize noise.
ABZ
work fine
Take 5 minutes to put on/take off using either hex driver or power driver.
Don’t know how noisy they are - when kayaks are traveling with me their contribution to noise levels are more than likely to be larger that cross bars.
I ordered the next size up, and cut the length to suit my needs.
Sometimes noise due resonant vortex shedding can be reduced by wrapping rope around cross bars, works for both round and square bars.