Which bike rack?

[clockwork.satan]

Hey guys,

I'm about to purchase myself a shiny new lung-bursting 2-wheeled torture contraption (mountain bike) and, along with that, I need a means of transporting it to and from the gnarly trails. Dudes.

I've been looking at a few different racks and roof-mounted cycle carriers, but thought I'd throw it out to you lot to see what you're using. I need one that's capable of carrying two bikes comfortably on the rear or roof of my A4 saloon and isn't going to cost a bomb.

Any suggestions/places to purchase, etc?

 

[badlydrunkboy]

This thread is relevent to my interests. My bike used to fit in the boot but it's currently have a sound system put in with a boot build so I may lose the capability to do so.

 

[D2NY G]

I bought a saris sentinel 2, off ebay, real smart bike holder think its a lower range carrier more than anything does the job though, I have seen a few others by the same make thing im going to get one of them soon so this would be for sale

 

[clockwork.satan]

Looks good! As long as it's cheap and does the job, it'll do me fine!

 

[NHN]

TBH as its a saloon, the saris is very good, iirc they were a little pricey, but check the site for the car selector, should help allot, then ca search the bay or net for good price:

http://www.saris.com/en/bike-racks/vehicle-racks/trunk-racks.html

 

[SebRogers]

Looks good! As long as it's cheap and does the job, it'll do me fine!

'Cheap' and 'does the job' aren't phrases that sit well together when it comes to bike racks. A cheap rack is more likely to scratch your car's paint and/or let go of your bike if (for example) you need to do a sudden lane-change manouevre. Not good. Buy the best you can afford - you won't regret it. As boot-mounted racks go the Saris ones are good 'uns...

 

[NHN]

TBH I use a removable towbar on my 8P, best of both worlds, costly but so much easier.

 

[SebRogers]

TBH I use a removable towbar on my 8P, best of both worlds, costly but so much easier.

Me too. If you've already got a towbar fitted it's a no-brainer. The towbar racks from the likes of Thule and Atera are far more solid and stable than anything that mounts to the boot with hooks and straps, and don't have the mpg penalty of roof-mounted carriers. It's the most expensive option, but far and away the best (i carry bikes all the time for my day job, so right-rack-for-the-job is something that I've spent a lot of time on! )

 

[clockwork.satan]

Handily enough, my A4 come with a towbar already fitted, so it would seem that a towbar-mounted one is definitely the route to go down. Saw a Thule one earlier for £60.

Looks like a done deal!