[Vitesse304]

Anybody else have any experience with Malone?

I saw Trainman's review of his...

I have Thule rack systems on all my previous vehicles and have loved the sturdiness and rugged looks of the system.

How does the Malone set up stack up? Can you remove the cheesy malone stickers from the bars? How secure is the clamp system?

Thanks!

 

[Trainman]

I covered my bars with old bicycle inner tubes to help protect the canoe, so the Malone labels do not show up.

Other than that, I can't offer any other thoughts that are not in my thread. Seems sturdy enough, clamps just fine, and is a good value for what I need cross rails for. Time and use will tell. Its only been on the market for a few months so it may be tough to get any long term experiences.

 

[Vitesse304]

ah, I didn't realize they were so new!

Thanks for the info!

 

[Vitesse304]

are the malone labels sitckers, or are they sublimated to the bars?

 

[Trainman]

ah, I didn't realize they were so new!

Thanks for the info!

Malone has been making rack accessories for about 10 years but only got into the base rack side this year, according to their web site.

As for the labels, they are thick stickers, maybe even some sort of thin plate. Best bet may be just to paint over them with black paint. Or try the heat/dental floss trick and see if that works.

 

[Xanthophyll]

I just got my Malone Universal Cross Bars late last week. Mine do NOT have any kind of stickers on them. (And I *wanted* Malone stickers or plates on them! -- cheesy or not! )

I'm going to mount my Malone Sea-Wings on tonight...pictures forthcoming. For $85 from Amazon these things are a hell-of-a-deal. Very very pleased with mine so far. Seem rock solid.

I owe it all to Trainman. Thanks for the great review.

 

[Vitesse304]

I just got my Malone Universal Cross Bars late last week. Mine does NOT have any kind of stickers on them. (And I *wanted* Malone stickers or plates on them! -- cheesy or not! )

I'm going to mount my Malone Sea-Wings on tonight...pictures forthcoming. For $85 from Amazon these things are a hell-of-a-deal. Very very pleased with mine so far. Seem rock solid.

I owe it all to Trainman. Thanks for the great review.

Yes, his review was very inspiring, I'm just about to pull the trigger on ordering the bars.

As for the stickers, I'm not even a fan of the dealership putting their logo on my car! Never have been a fan of advertising something that I'm not getting paid for. i.e. sponsorships. But don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of de-badging my car, just not the free advertising!

 

[Xanthophyll]

Agreed with the Dealership logo (already removed part of mine) ... But I'm a sucker for aftermarket logos and crap like that for some reason....

Not sure why my bars don't have the logos, but if you check out the actual PDF of the manual on the Malone website, they are not there either... but yet they are in other shots...

So looks like some have them, some don't?

 

[Trainman]

Ha! Maybe you two could do a trade!

BTW, what lengths are you getting? Mine are the 50" and I was wondering if I should have gone longer.

And thanks for the kind words on my review, I am glad you found it helpful.

 

[Vitesse304]

just ordered the 50 in. bars from amazon for $85.

I'm hoping they don't have the logos!

I'll let you know how they look!

 

[Vitesse304]

Alright! Got the Malone Roof Rack and a Thule MOAB over the weekend!

Install went very well.

The roof rack was SUPER easy to install, and seems rock solid. I drove around with just the rack on to guage the wind noise, and honestly couldn't really hear much difference. Once I opened the sunroof, I could hear it, but it wasn't too bothersome.

The MOAB went on very easy as well. Looks solid and I"ll be using the cross bars on it for a ski rack this winter, but for the summer, I'll just be hauling additional cargo in the basket.

After driving around with the basket, I can hear it, but again, it's not bothersome. No whistling or annoying sounds!

I can honestly recommend the Malone as a great alternative to the factory or Yakima and Thule.

 

[snitch]

I ordered Malone Universal Auto Rack from Amazon and just mounted the 50" crossbars on my 2010 Forester Ltd.

It's a very easy install. I highly recommend using the rubber spacers that are included, they will not only protect your roof rail paint, but also seem to provide a snugger fit to my car. Seems very solid and the built in locks are awesome. Just don't misplace those keys!

I have been driving around with only the 50" bars and have no other rack system or accessories on it. I've noticed that the closer you put the front bar to the front of the car the more noticeable/louder the whistling. There is a very noticeable whistling wind noise above 25 mph. If the radio is off or at low conversation volume I can hear it until I get above 40mph. The whistling goes away but when I get up to highway speeds a low groaning/moaning sound can be heard instead.

The 2010 Forester has a very large panoramic sunroof and to not obstruct the grand sky view, I've put both bars behind it. To keep full use of the large sunroof also makes it more difficult to use a permanent wind fairing to reduce wind noise.

So this is what I've come up with to reduce wind noise and keep the rack on the roof for when I need it. The further back they go, the less noticeable the noise. Since I only occasionally use the roof rack, I've actually pushed both bars as close together as possible, as far back as possible for everyday driving around. Clustering the pair together in the way back, seems to help bring down the noticeable noise a lot and it goes a long way to keeping the overall look of the car (especially the roofline more tidy/sleek). One other small thing, I also taped over the ends of the bars with black duct tape to smooth over the cavity left by the end caps. That also seems to help reduce the whistling a little at lower speeds.

 

[Vitesse304]

If your only going to use them occasionally, why not just take them off?

They are very easy to get on and off and if you don't have any rack system anyways, there's on need to have them on the car!

 

[Trainman]

I too have been very happy with mi9ne, with little noise noted as well. I do find that they are not that easy to take off/on due to the short length of the Allen key, so I am looking for a screw driver type that will make it a snap!

 

[DallasMike]

I've been very pleased with my Malones. I have no issue with the decal either - if I like the product, I don't mind giving free PR to the company that makes it. I carry a big Thule Atlantis box on trips, and am in the process of getting a cargo basket.

I think they're a good value.

Mike