Bike rack options
thespanishadam
Posts: 341
Looking to get four bikes on the car. Audi A3 5 door. It has the roof rails installed so can attach roof bars fairly easily if need be. Are there any straightforward options to mount four bikes on the roof? Or does it need to be a mix of roof and a boot rack. There will be four people and luggage...
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
0
Comments
-
0
-
Thanks for your response. Will certainly look in to that as an option.
Has anyone got any first hand experience of getting four bikes on the roof?
The other option is two cars and pop them in the boot.0 -
Just my humble opinion, forget the roof and go for a tow bar mounted Thule system.0
-
I've tried various set ups including 4 MTBs on the roof, boot mounted racks and tow bar racks
4 on the roof is a ball ache, not too bad putting the outer bikes on but the inner ones are a pain even on a lower car like an A3
I hate boot mounted racks, never felt 100% confident in them
I now have tow bar mounted thule rack, the hang on type. Towbar fitted (removable swan neck) was just over £300 IIRC
Not sure how much the rack was new, I picked it up second hand
The tow bar solution is far the best if you can stand the outlay. We have horses and sailing dinghies so i need a tow bar anywayGET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™0 -
Cheaper than i thought - £130 for 4 bike rack
https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/bike-rack/towbar-bike-racks/thule-hangon-9708-_-970805
A set of aero bars will cost you £60-70 plus feet probably another £50-60 then you need 4 bike racks, the 532 (cheapest ones are £60 ish i think so you're looking at £350 plus for the roof set up i would say. Benefit is that you can just fit 1 or 2 if you need toGET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™0 -
Thats great advise for some first hand experience. With the tow bar option do you have to remove all the bike and the mount to access the boot?
The bikes wont be coming on and off the car too much. So if its a bit of a faff getting them on its not a big issue. Will be dealing with light Road bikes, assuming you need to lose the front wheel to get four on a roof? Then I need to find space for four front wheels...0 -
0
-
thespanishadam wrote:Thats great advise for some first hand experience. With the tow bar option do you have to remove all the bike and the mount to access the boot?
The bikes wont be coming on and off the car too much. So if its a bit of a faff getting them on its not a big issue. Will be dealing with light Road bikes, assuming you need to lose the front wheel to get four on a roof? Then I need to find space for four front wheels...
Maybe not. I use one with my MTB and it can swivel forward to allow access to the boot of my Bentley - well Ford Focus.
Heads up on the insurance for a towbar mounted system. Although it is not classified as a modification and thus attracts no additional premium you should (have to) tell the insurance of its installation. I had a pedantic discussion declaring that I had a towbar and on it a bike rack and on that a bike. That satisfied the insurance mendicant who had told me that had I not revealed the purpose of the towbar then I would not be covered and would be subject to Air Strikes on my house. On the other hand when I got a job and told the insurers of this new status they suggested that the purpose of being aware of the towbar was to source a replacement avec tow bar should you trash the car.
But in any event the bike is not covered when being transported....take your pickelf on your holibobs....
jeez :roll:0 -
thespanishadam wrote:Thats great advise for some first hand experience. With the tow bar option do you have to remove all the bike and the mount to access the boot?
The bikes wont be coming on and off the car too much. So if its a bit of a faff getting them on its not a big issue. Will be dealing with light Road bikes, assuming you need to lose the front wheel to get four on a roof? Then I need to find space for four front wheels...
The rack that i linked to has 2 hand tightened screws, you unscrew these, lift them up and then it hinges at low level to let you get in the boot, you can see them on the image, 2 black knobs.
in terms of roof mounting, it depends which racks you use. I've got the Thule Pro ride 591, these are more expensive but more robust (bought for MTB not road bikes), Wheels stay on and are attached with straps and you clamp the downtube to hold the bike upright
https://www.thule.com/en-gb/gb/bike-rack/roof-bike-racks/thule-proride-598-_-598001
The Thule Freeride is a slightly cheaper, less robust version but i would think perfect for road bikes
I've never used the type where you remove the front wheel, they would appear to be more stable but I've had 2 bikes on the roof of my old car at 100+ mph without any issues using the Pro rides
I don't think you will fit more bikes on using the front wheel off system. With thr Pro ride you mount the racks so the bikes are top to tail so they overlap a littleGET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™0 -
FishFish wrote:
But in any event the bike is not covered when being transported.
A good point, also in terms of security, with the roof mounted racks you can turn a key and 'lock' the clamps once the bike is in place. Don't rely on this for security, a bike thief who knows what they're doing can remove a bike in 2 seconds flat.
I always use a long heavy duty cable lock (Kryptoflex or similar) looped through the permanent bars on the car and then D locked to the bikesGET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™0 -
0
-
I have a Thule 4-bike tow bar mounted rack and it is faultless. It's much easier to put bikes on it than up on the roof (even my kids can do it), and not being on the roof helps massively with fuel economy. Access to the boot of my Focus estate is incredibly easy as the whole rack tilts away from the car on a simple mechanism.
Not the cheapest option, but does the job 100% perfectly every time.0 -
E17Blade wrote:I have a Thule 4-bike tow bar mounted rack and it is faultless. It's much easier to put bikes on it than up on the roof (even my kids can do it), and not being on the roof helps massively with fuel economy. Access to the boot of my Focus estate is incredibly easy as the whole rack tilts away from the car on a simple mechanism.
Not the cheapest option, but does the job 100% perfectly every time.
What do you do for security? Thinking about stopping at service stations etc, or do you always need someone on sentry duty?0 -
Thigh_burn wrote:E17Blade wrote:I have a Thule 4-bike tow bar mounted rack and it is faultless. It's much easier to put bikes on it than up on the roof (even my kids can do it), and not being on the roof helps massively with fuel economy. Access to the boot of my Focus estate is incredibly easy as the whole rack tilts away from the car on a simple mechanism.
Not the cheapest option, but does the job 100% perfectly every time.
What do you do for security? Thinking about stopping at service stations etc, or do you always need someone on sentry duty?
I've got 2 Kryptoflex long cables, loop the ends around the towbar under the car, then pass through as many frames and wheels as possible and secure with a decent D lock. It's not faultless but would deter the opportunist thiefGET WHEEZY - WALNUT LUNG RACING TEAM™0 -
I have put 4 bikes on a roof rack in the past. I use Halfords cycle carriers (They used to do a 'deluxe' version that was sold in pairs and included a locking system - this is now called the Thule Freeride 532 and is a lot more expensive).
I could get 4 mountain bikes in the roof of my Honda Accord. The trick is to put the outer carriers as far outboard as possible and to alternate the direction of the carriers (i.e forwards-backwards-forwards-backwards) to get all 4 to fit.0 -
4 bikes - no problem, we have a system that fits any Thule or Thule compatible roof racks at 1/4 the price. When do you need it ? We are in the process of registering intellectual property protection, but otherwise ready to deliver0
