Bike Rack for Audi?

coeski

Hi,

I have Just got my first road bike (Trek 2.3) and was looking for a bike rack; does anyone have any advice on what are best options(make, type??)

Cheers
Coeski

andy162

I've used a Saris Bones on numerous cars & never had a problem. A good bit of kit.

anto164

what kind of rack are you thinking of? Roof rack/towbar/rear door mounted?

Firstly, i wouldn't get a rear door mounted one, as they're S#1T. Scratch the hell out of the paint, and just really unsafe. The amount of strap on ones i've seen half hanging off the back of cars is testament to this.

I got a towbar fitted to my car and use a Thule 9503 rack. Secure, safe, and doesn't affect fuel consumption and you don't have to think about height restrictioned gates. (And it tilts so you can get into the boot when it's fully loaded, my rack on my mates car is shown below, my bike is the one at the very back, the white one) It's got two slots in the wheel cups, one for road bikes and one for mountain bikes. The road bike slot is in the middle of the mtb slot.



A lot of people use roof racks, but i don't so i can't comment, but it's a cheaper option than a towbar rack.

ForumNewbie

I have roof bars and 2 Thule cycle racks which are really good. Much better than the racks on rear with straps. However as the poster above says, a good Thule rack on a TOW BAR is probably the best option, as you don't have to bother about height restrictions getting into some car parks etc. However if you have to fit a tow bar and buy a good rack (which will hold 2 or 3 bikes) it will be a bit costly, especially if you only need it for the one bike. I'd therefore consider Thule aero roof bars (about £140) and a Thule ProRide 591 cycle rack (approx £80).

Hrun

I have a Passat and have a set of Thule bars with Halfords racks on them. I leave it on all the time as it clamps against the paint and will damage it if I take it on/off every weekend.

I makes a difference of about 3 mpg empty.

ForumNewbie

Hrun wrote:

I have a Passat and have a set of Thule bars with Halfords racks on them. I leave it on all the time as it clamps against the paint and will damage it if I take it on/off every weekend.

Luckily I don't have that problem at present as there are fixing points on my car roof, but I understood that the clamps worked okay and could be taken on and off without damaging the paintwork. Just wondering as my next car may be a Fiat Bravo which does not have fixing points and I may have to buy Fiat bars that clamp on.

potters1863

I have the Thule roof bars and cycle rack fitted on the roof of my Audi A4, they are easy to fit, easy to use and have locks on the bars and the bike clamp/holder.

Have found them to be very good, not tried to get into a low entry point with them yet though and don't intend trying. Expensive but well made and worth the money.

Hrun

ForumNewbie wrote:

Hrun wrote:

I have a Passat and have a set of Thule bars with Halfords racks on them. I leave it on all the time as it clamps against the paint and will damage it if I take it on/off every weekend.

Luckily I don't have that problem at present as there are fixing points on my car roof, but I understood that the clamps worked okay and could be taken on and off without damaging the paintwork. Just wondering as my next car may be a Fiat Bravo which does not have fixing points and I may have to buy Fiat bars that clamp on.

It definately leaves marks on the paint. I had to take it off for a works photo shoot and it took an age to T-cut them out.

Also it is a company car and taking it on and off every weekend is around 20 minutes each way

matsegers

tons of good products out there. I would check Thule or Yakima, but there are others and I don't know specifics for Audi.

One thing though - if you've never had a roof rack, you may want to put a reminder that "it's up there" somewhere very visible while driving. The first low bridge, garage opening or similar can cause so damage!
Not speaking of first hand experience, but came very close a while back!

skdotcom

andy162 wrote:

I've used a Saris Bones on numerous cars & never had a problem. A good bit of kit.

Yep, Saris Bones is good. I use it on my Audi A4 Avant (with a spoiler), and my Mini Cooper S too with no probs.

No marks on the paint and it hangs off the back, so no issues with getting the bikes up onto the roof.

Mossrider

I had a set of Atera roof bars for the older models of A4 (ie the two models prior to the present version) and they were excellent - once set up they are on and off in a couple of minutes. If they would suit your model and you're in the West Yorkshire region PM me and you can take them off my hands (I'll have to check if they still have the key though). I currently run a pair of Atera Giro carriers, though I'm not 100% happy with them (they're secure, but the bike seems to wobble - probably no issue but I do get nervous).

Used to have a very basic Fapa Velo carrier - and I had every confidence in it - absolutely rock solid.