Bike rack for a saloon....

[carreauchompeur]

Hi all,

I'll keep it brief- I have an Audi A8 which has recently failed to sell- Therefore I'll be keeping it for a while rather than plan A of a new Estate.

I need to get out on my new MTB over to Wales, and need a rack to carry it- I wouldn't mind roof bars but can't see anything reasonably priced (would want OEM if poss). Had a bad experience with a Hellfrauds roof rack which didn't fit properly and dented my old Primera.

Therefore, I'm probably looking at a high mounted rear rack- I don't want to be faffing with a lighting board.

Any recommendations? Preferably under £100... What are the Hellfrauds £50 ones like?

Edited by carreauchompeur on Sunday 31st January 19:57

[anonymous-user]

http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk/Car-Products/Bike-Ra...

sadly you are going to have to pay a bit more for something that you can trust. the halfords stuff isnt the best and i wouldnt trust it personally. dont bother with anything cheap, put it this way, you are sticking your pride and joy on it, if you love your bike as much as the rest of us d0, you want it to be secure and safe up there so why get pay less and risk buying some cheap wobbly crap that might break under force?....

i have had cheap bike racks and bits on them have broken and the rack came loose, luckily the bikes on hte rack at the time werent that valuable but it damaged the car, the bikes too and we were lucky it was on a minor road not a busier road with more traffic.

[h4muf]

Err... put it in the back?

Buy a plastic hd loadliner,job done.

[carreauchompeur]

h4muf said:

Err... put it in the back?

Buy a plastic hd loadliner,job done.

good call- my roadbike fits in the boot sans wheels. However my new MTB just won't go. Managed to get it back from the shop without wheels, but it involved significant scratching of leather. The a8 is a saloon. Huge boot, but still a saloon!

[snotrag]

carreauchompeur said:

The a8 is a saloon. Huge boot, but still a saloon!

To fit bikes in the back of saloons - they go on the back seat, through the rear doors. Wheels off.

Cover up the interior to prevent damage obviously.

[carreauchompeur]

snotrag said:

carreauchompeur said:

The a8 is a saloon. Huge boot, but still a saloon!

To fit bikes in the back of saloons - they go on the back seat, through the rear doors. Wheels off.

Cover up the interior to prevent damage obviously.

I've tried that, it only just fits, even with some judicious shuffling around of bike and loss of wheels. Wouldn't be much better even if interior was covered. My MTB is quite large- 20inch cube full sus.

[sjg]

Alu boot as well as panels, presumably? I wouldn't want to put a boot rack on one, not that I'd really want to use one on any saloon.

A set of Thule bars (which are great kit, use the OE fixing points and won't scratch if fitted properly and carefully) is £100 from roofbox.co.uk - bike carriers from £20 upwards.

That said, look on ebay - there's a set of genuine OE ones with the aluminium bars going for £70, or brand new Mont Blanc sets (which are also decent quality) for a similar amount.

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks- Rapidly getting towards the idea of roof rails. Would also be useful for lugging other stuff around, such as when Im bullied into an Ikea visit

I do like the Saris "bones" rack but again, it's on the rear and would cover the rear lights/plate.

[snotrag]

If going 'in' the car is not possible, then a towbar mounted rack is by far the best option - more secure than roofbars and easier to fit.

The only downside is cost... you'll have to see how much a towbar for an A8 is. needent be a proper Audi one though, check witter and the like.

[Agoogy]

If you have a towbar, you can get Thule Express 970 for £50...I use one and its GREAT!

http://www.bikerackshop.co.uk/tow_bar_mounted_bike...

Edited by Agoogy on Tuesday 2nd February 09:19

[sjg]

Agoogy said:

If you have a towbar, you can get Thule Express 970 for £50...I use one and its GREAT!

http://www.bikerackshop.co.uk/tow_bar_mounted_bike...

Edited by Agoogy on Tuesday 2nd February 09:19

Still need to sort out a lighting / numberplate board though if the bikes obscure either.

[Agoogy]

sjg said:

Agoogy said:

If you have a towbar, you can get Thule Express 970 for £50...I use one and its GREAT!

http://www.bikerackshop.co.uk/tow_bar_mounted_bike...

Edited by Agoogy on Tuesday 2nd February 09:19

Still need to sort out a lighting / numberplate board though if the bikes obscure either.

Well if you're going to be THAT fussy take the wheels off. You should be fine then.

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks for the replies. I'd love a towbar rack- But once I've fitted a decent towbar and bought the rack it becomes a very expensive proposition.

Going to try to find some decent Thule/similar roof bars and a rack.

[Ghisallo]

carreauchompeur said:

Thanks- Rapidly getting towards the idea of roof rails. Would also be useful for lugging other stuff around, such as when Im bullied into an Ikea visit

I do like the Saris "bones" rack but again, it's on the rear and would cover the rear lights/plate.

Is the partially obscured numberplate likely to be a major issue?
I have a Saris bones which I put on the back of an A4 Cab. It's a three bike rack although I only carry one bike on it. Police here in N.Ireland have seen me with it but not bothered me about it.

Edited by Ghisallo on Wednesday 3rd February 18:01

[CatherineJ]

Another vote for the saris bones.

[Dave Webbo]

hello bike rack people,i have seen a bike rack in a shop that sits high enough up to clear lights and number plate on a saloon car it was 129 quid it held 3 bikes and looked quite solid but i didn't get the name of it ,with this you can also use the towbar for a trailor
Its helpful if you want to put the bike inside your saloon to have fold down back seats,i have had 2 road bikes in the back of mine,but ultimately you can only carry 2 people in front seats.
i will have to have another look at the high rider bike rack.

[bakerstreet]

I had the cheapest set of roof bars available on my Saab and they were absolutely fine. Same with my bike holder which sat on the roof bars.

What I would say is aero bars are worth paying the extra for. My cheap ones were a square profile and were a little noisy.

I had a multi adjustbale Halfords bike rack and that never fell off. I think I paid about £80 for it and it worked fine.

I certainly wouldn't bother buy an Audi branded roof rack.