Recommended fairing

[velomonkey]

Question, I have the factory Thule Rack System with bike mounts. It looks great on the car, but it is really loud and needs a fairing. I have two questions for the board.

1. Does anyone have a Fairing and if so, what?
The Volvo site has no fairings listed under accesories and the Thule site recommends the new 872 Fairing (large).

2. If you do have a Fairing, where did you install it?
I aways put my fairings towards the top of the windsheild. This was more because my past cars (87 honda civic, 92 Saab and 2000 SAAB) didn't have long roofs. However, the dealer slid the front cross bars back behind the sunroof. This is a cool feature as the bikes now do not go over the sunroof but behind it (advantage of a nice long car like the XC). However, I was wondering if people kept it there when installing a fairing or if they pushed it forward so as to have the fairing over the top of the windshield rather than in the middle of the car.

Thanks,

Patrick

BTW, I have a 2002 XC and LOVE IT!

[MichaelF]

I've been debating whether or not to add the basket or a box to the top of my car, which would probably mean having the most aerodynamic of the rails added to the top of the XC (also a 2002) and I'm very concerned about the amount of noise that I'm going to hear.

Do you ever drive with only the rails?  How much noise does this add?

Thanks,

Michael

[velomonkey]

Michael,

I've riden with the just the corss bars (these are the after-market bars that go horizontally on the car) and, for me, there is a lot of noise.  There will certainly be more with a travel box.  i have the Yakima Rocket Box for luggage and it does get loud.  This is OK, since you have a big box ontop to carry luggage.  However, I like to leave the rails on all the time with the bike mount and it's loud without a fairing.  

So, yes, it's far louder once you put cross bars on.

Patrick

[Low Tide]

I have installed the "old" Thule fairing on a couple of Volvo's s40 and s60 most recently. I do not have experience on the XC, but will in a very short time.

Here is what I can offer. The overall design of the new one is MUCH better. the benefits are fit and the clamp design keep the fairing in place. THe edging is improved and protects the contacts points from any scratches. Further, the bolt/clamp material is now much bore resistant to rust and oxidation. There have always been some problems with the fairings slipping. My advice is to try the new one- buy it at a place like REI, (http://www.rei.com) so that if you do not like the fit or have problems you can return it easily. The Yakima fairing is a great design- its also a recently redesign. If possible, install the fairing as close to front edge of the bike racks as possible. If it rides up on the rack to cover the gap on the forward blocks, then that will cut the noise by about 90%. Experiment a little ith the positioning- you can change the level of noise considerably with very small adjustments to the angle and height of the fairing.

Confirm the size of the large as well. and that it will fit between the rails rather than have to be positioned in the front of the car. Having it behind the sunroof is a blessing if it does indeed fit.

Now, my question for you. Has the Volvo bike rack also been changed? What model of Thule's rack is it closest too. The old style Volvo rack has a glass fiber block up front, aluminum colored rails- the fork skewer is a long throw type, but it has fit issues with a lot of forks- mine included. I understand it has changed a bit recently with a new design.  If possible, can you send a detail of the bike rack (fork block and tray) that would be helpful.

[coastal]

Welcome to the site Patrick

Len's got a super cool customized fairing mount. Personally, if I were getting one, I'd mount it exactly the same way.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hi,
I&#39;ve mounted fairing from my old car&#39;s Yakima roof rack (which I&#39;m using for about six years) on my Volvo&#39;s Thule cross bars and annoying sound had gone (you can see my pictures under Len). I&#39;m doing biking and skiing on occasion. Thule fairing cost about &#036;60.00 you can buy it directly from they web site thule.com.
If the sun roof is close there is no sound at all, if it&#39;s open I can hear little of wind sound but not as much as without fairing. Also it worth to put fairing on your roof to save on gas money. [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
taken from from: here







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