Possibly one of the stupidist questions ever asked....

wilko

wilko

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I was thinking about getting a roof rack for my 3 door... yerh yerh I no sad, old man stylie, etc, etc.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gifbut I need one to cart my bike around the peak district so I can actually get some real country side ridding done during this nice spell of weather were having.... what I want to know is where is the best place to get the roof rack from (good quality (build & durability) etc, etc..) but without costing the earth and something that looks good when on so it doesn't ruin the look of the car completely!

I used to have one of those hang off the back of your car things but that did nothing but scratch the roof of my old pug... and I don't need anymore scratched on my a3 (which will have gone by next weekend)! So I think roof rack is the only option.

Thoughts please!!!!
 
The is a roof rack with various 'bike' bits in the Audi A3 accessories catalogue. The other option for a good quality rack is Thule. Again they do all sorts of bike carriers for the roof rack system.

There website is here
 
Cool.. thanks.

Also if us Audi-Sport users get any discount anywhere that would also be good?!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/froggie_red.gif
 
Audi may do an 'official' accessory - probably cost a lot more than some of the third party ones out there though...

So did you decide to go with Chips Away then?
 
Will call in and get the "offical" accessory catalogue on the way home tonight and have a look.

Not yet... but it's looking very likey!
 
Wilko, most dealerships will give you10% off pretty easily, just ask /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Go with the roofbo company, and get Thule system. That way if you change the car, you can just get a new fitting kit for which ever car yo have. The one I have has been used on :-

a Vectra - SORRY! Co Car!
a Passat TDI - getting better, still Co Car
a BMW3 series Touring.....Mmmmm
an A4 Avant....ahhhhhh
a A4 Saloon......
and my current A3.......awesome!

Each time I have bought a fitting kit for the appropriate car, and sold the previous one.

www.roofbox.co.uk

Funkycat
 
I'm with funkycat on this one - have a look for the roofbox co on the web - just bought the Atera alloy roofbars for my 3dr A3, and a new bike carrier to partner the existing Thule one I have.

Bars were £99, carrier £64.

First class service!
 
I'm with funkycat too.

I had a Vectra with a boot mounted carrier. On my A3 it was a danger and I wasnt convinced that my car and £4k of bikes were going to end up in the same place, let alone the thought of all that stuff joining the driver behind through their windscreen...

The Thule system is a solid investment that with a fitting kit, can be swapped from car to car. If you get the Audi stuff.. its not transferrable and some brackets must remain on the car even if the rack is taken off (I think).

I got Thule aero roofbars and a VeloVise. You can get lock sets that will do everything with one key to lock it to the roof and lock the bike on the rack.

Two types, one you need to remove the front wheel, one you dont. I got the first type as the bike is lower on the roof and in my opinion, more secure using the front fork dropouts.

Singletrack Mag did a roofrack test. The Thule scored highly but some people had reported failures on the bike forks. These are not designed for lateral loads. Dropouts have failed, I guess this may have been from high speed driving andcornering loads. Hope this makes sense...

If your bike has disc brakes then make sure you get the right velovise head. There is a special cut out to take the brake caliper. If you get the wrong one, the bike wont fit.

Got mine from Halfrauds but I am sure you can get a better deal elsewhere.
 
I too am looking for a way of carrying bikes on my Sportback, none of my previous carriers will fit, and all the new ones I have looked at you cannot open the boot with the carrier mounted.

Agree that you need to be careful when mounting bikes on a roof bar system if you mount the front in the fork dropout, as has been said they are not designed to take that type of load, and one of my forks has a stipulation that if this type of carrier is used then the warranty is invalidated.

So, at present I am looking for a tansit van.
 
I've had Thule roof bars on my previous A3s and bike carriers with the front fork fixing. Not had any problems. I've just looked at the roofbox website and I must say that the German Altera roof bars do look rather nice...

My Thule bars were not of the latest type and would not fix to my current A3 so I gave them away to a good home via Audi-Sport.net.

I must say I like the idea of a tow-bar mounted rack as quite a few places we visit these days seem to have height restriction bars at the entrances, but that could work out rather expensive when you take into account the cost of fitting a tow bar as well.
 
[ QUOTE ]
a BMW3 series

and my current A3.......awesome!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's wierd. My Aero Bars wouldn't fit on my 3 series coupe, wouldn't have thought the touring is any wider.
Thinking about it, maybe you have the wider bars!

Thule Rapide is a great system though, very portable and super quick to put on! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ok.gif
 
Towbar mounts are great, solid and almost bombproof...but

Can you fit these to a Quattro?

Can you still open the tailgate with the bikes in place, or get to the stuff in the boot.

Also, my Vectra got hit by another driver from behind which luckily missed my bike. The other cars bumper went just under my bike as he was braking hard.

The bikes as a crumple zone seems a bit expensive.. what happens to the floor pan of a car with a tow bar, that gets hit?

The roof stuff works best IMO or buy an A6 with the boot load rails and lather up the inside of your car!

Rick
 
[ QUOTE ]
quite a few places we visit these days seem to have height restriction bars at the entrances

[/ QUOTE ]

So true! All of the French highways, for instance, will charge you more if you exceed a certain height. I suppose you could always take the bike off the roof, ride it acreoss the péage, and putit backon the roof thereafter... Hmmm, wonder what the Gendarmes would say /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Yes roof mounting is OK providing you don't mine stopping at the entrance to a lot of places and removing the bikes before you can drive under the height restriction barrier.

Most of the tow-bar mounted racks can be tilted to allow you to open the tailgate, but I agree that that there would be a problem if some idiot ran into the back of you. Would probable be covered by my home contents insurance which covers the bikes.
 
[ QUOTE ]
So true! All of the French highways, for instance, will charge you more if you exceed a certain height.

[/ QUOTE ]


I never knew this. Its quite a suprise. How to turn a car into a truck...

If I do long continental trips like this year I shove the lot in my car and use the roofrack when I get to the destination for shuttles etc etc.

Don't have kids but I am sure they would be more aerodynamic when on the roof than a couple of bikes, and over 100mph, no one can hear them scream.....
 
Has anyone used the Atera roof racks before?? They look pretty good, and the write up sounds superb... but you never know!
 
I had a towbar factory fitted to my 3.2 Quattro, its an amazing piece of kit. I had the towbar just to use a buke rack, its by far the safest and best way of carrying bikes, but expensive.

I think there is a Dealer fit towbar whicg fits all A3 models too. Would never use a hang of the hatch rack, oooooo!
 
That looks like you answered your own question! No height problems, solid as a solid thing, access to the boot (?), removable (?), made for the car,

All you have to do is bite the bullet with the cash and fit it !

Rick
 
there really is no good reason for buying the Audi bars...

I made that rather expensive mistake...

The horizontal bars are actually slightly too wide to fit any other accessories other than Audi ones...so if you go that route you will be paying through the nose.

I eventually ebayed the Audi bars and went with the Thule Aero system..as other posters have said you can move the carrier to other vehicles simply by buying the correct foot pack. oh and the Thule system uses the existing hidden anchor points on the A3 roof....nice.

I Use the system for regularly transporting a couple of cycles on the roof no probs....

I even had a set of 9foot ladders on there once!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

R
 
How do they connect to the rear of the car??? Can't see or don't have anything to attached roof bars too on my car currently... just wondered before I buy they!
 
Its an easy and secure fit. The foot goes on the roof of the car. The fronts have an "L" shaped piece that hooks inside the door frame. This gets tightened to hold the rack in place.

The rears are the same withe the only difference being the window needs to be opened to get the "L" piece in the window frame. The window is then closed again.

I have put a piece of clear stickty plastic on the place where the foot would rest to avoid any marking of the roof. Halfrauds sell this stuff.

Simple and secure.

Rick
 
That's how it was done on the old A3 (8L). It's gets a little more tricky with the new A3 (8P) - the rear windows do not open !

The foot has to be secured behind the rubber on the rear window by pulling the rubber away slightly from the window framw
 
Thule Aero bars are the dogs. Skidrive have them for about a ton all in. If you want a roof mounted cycle rack i would def. reccommend you get the Thule 591. Its alloy to match the bars, locks into the bars and uses a rotating wheel to tighten onto the frame of the bike so no fannying about . Secured by a multitude of locks too.
Been to Wales and Scotland mountainbiking and Penrith a couple of times with my Specialized Epic on the roof along with my wife and kids bike . No problems at all.
You could lift the car off the ground by the bars they fit that well.
 
Have you got any pics of the clips when they are actually fitted to the car? Location back window and front?
 
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