Can Anybody recommend a roof bike rack for A4 1.8T
07-10-2000, 08:51 AM
#3
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I love my Yakima rack...
You'll find people will recommend both the Thule and the Yakima racks. I found the Yakima Q-towers to be easier to remove and replace (since I don't want to keep the rack on the car all of the time).
I also found the Yakima attached to the car a little more securely.
I've had the rack for about a year and I still love it.
Good luck<p>Wayne H.
99 1.8TQMS APR
I also found the Yakima attached to the car a little more securely.
I've had the rack for about a year and I still love it.
Good luck<p>Wayne H.
99 1.8TQMS APR
07-10-2000, 09:19 AM
#4
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Thule isn't bad either, I liked their ski mounts better and the bike carrier was as good as Yak.
<p><a href="http://registry.audiworld.com/audi/registry/details.asp?car=2361">
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07-10-2000, 09:25 AM
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Saris makes a great rack
It's aerodynamic and looks great on my A4. It's also easy to operate. It tightens via a screw mechanism which tightens both sides at the same time. IOW, you don't have to keep going back from one side to the other (which I had to do with my Thule).
07-10-2000, 09:51 AM
#7
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Thule is a good rack
<p>- <a href="mailto:adhand@san.rr.com">Anand Dhanda</a>
'00 A4 1.8TQMSx Silver/Onyx
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'00 A4 1.8TQMSx Silver/Onyx
<a href=" http://sdaoc.sixmillion.com/aas/" target="_blank"><img src=" http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/adhandasigpic.gif" border=0></a>
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07-10-2000, 11:47 AM
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Wayne, any negatives so far like rubs or scratches
I have a yakima now on my other car and it has been pretty good, but I am leery of putting anything on my new baby. Does the yakima fit on those little white arrows that are inside the door. Who makes the factory roof rack or who's rack does Audi endorse.
Jim
Jim
07-10-2000, 12:27 PM
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Just installed a Yakima last week and am mostly very happy (long) ...
I chose this rack over Audi, Thule, Saris, and Mondial (that sleek, low profile rack that some people have discussed on this forum) for the following reasons:
1. While the Mondial rack looks the sleekest, my own inspection as well as reviews from owners I've spoken to mostly reveal it to be poorly constructed. Plus, it does not use a custom fit system with clips designed for your specific car. I thus judged it most likely to cause cosmetic damage to the car.
2. The Saris rack is also very aero looking and is supposed to be quite easy to install (it's self-centering. I played with one in the store and liked its look a lot. However, reviews on mtbr.com and elsewhere reveal that while the rack itself is nice, the accessories are less well designed. There is little clearance between the fork-mount bike rack skewer and the load bars, making it very touch to properly mount a mountain bike with thick suspension fork. Also, the skewer does not lock, requiring a cable to secure the bike. Finally, some people have reported the accessories loosening in the load bar slot, causing everything o have some wobble and play, either right out of the box or over time.
I have heard about problems with corrosion on both the Mondial and Saris racks as well.
3. From a fit, quality, and available accessory viewpoint, I judged both Thule and Yakima to be excellent. However, I dislike the look of the square Thule load bars and the way they angled on the curved A4 roofline. I think the Yakima bars look much nicer. Their round shape also permits the bars to be spaced closer to the windshield (less occlusion of the sunroof) and with more space between front and rear. The Yakima towers also have a more molded, contoured tower that I feel looks nicer. The foot pad itself is substantial and contoured, not just an ugly flat plate. Plus, the clips themselves are quite custom (they fit only the A4, A6, and A8) and are thinner than Thule's, making for less distortion of the rubber door seals.
Although I've seen some Yakima racks with load bar corrosion, bars currently for sale are made with galvanized steel and come coated with some type of oil on the interior. They shouldn't rust.
4. The Audi rack is also very nice and preserves the whole look of the A4. However, I felt funny buying such a custom designed rack when I might pick up a new A4 within the next 18 months (don't know if I'll buy out my lease or go for a 2002 model). I felt the Yakima would be easier to transfer to another vehicle or to sell if necessary. Plus, there are likely more accessories available for the Yakima.
Now that I've installed the Yakima, my opinion is that I made a good choice. Setup is a bit tricky (same with Thule, I'm sure) in that you have to measure out all the dimensions carefully and have to hop back and forth from one side of the car to the next as you tighten down the towers gradually and evenly. Once this is done once, though, future removal and reinstallation is easy. Mounting accessories (I got the Steelhead fork-mount bike rack) was also a breeze.
Some problems, which annoyed me but not enough to deter a recommendation:
1. There were some metal burrs inside the load bar ends where the bars were cut to size. this made it hard to install the plastic end caps. Destroyed one in the process. However, Yakima happily mailed me a new bag of caps for free.
2. The vinyl stickers that you place over the mounting clips to protect the car tend to bunch up when you mount and tighten the rack. Don't know if they'll be reusable as a result. May have to ask Yakima for spares. This may be the result of installing on a hot day (although I was in the shade to cool the paint and minimize scratching).
3. Rack is noisy and thus pretty much rules out opening the sunroof above 30 MPH. The clip-on Windjammer airfoils did little for me. I just bought a fairing, but a new one just came out and I will be exchanging mine for it. From everything I've read, this should be a certain cure.
1. While the Mondial rack looks the sleekest, my own inspection as well as reviews from owners I've spoken to mostly reveal it to be poorly constructed. Plus, it does not use a custom fit system with clips designed for your specific car. I thus judged it most likely to cause cosmetic damage to the car.
2. The Saris rack is also very aero looking and is supposed to be quite easy to install (it's self-centering. I played with one in the store and liked its look a lot. However, reviews on mtbr.com and elsewhere reveal that while the rack itself is nice, the accessories are less well designed. There is little clearance between the fork-mount bike rack skewer and the load bars, making it very touch to properly mount a mountain bike with thick suspension fork. Also, the skewer does not lock, requiring a cable to secure the bike. Finally, some people have reported the accessories loosening in the load bar slot, causing everything o have some wobble and play, either right out of the box or over time.
I have heard about problems with corrosion on both the Mondial and Saris racks as well.
3. From a fit, quality, and available accessory viewpoint, I judged both Thule and Yakima to be excellent. However, I dislike the look of the square Thule load bars and the way they angled on the curved A4 roofline. I think the Yakima bars look much nicer. Their round shape also permits the bars to be spaced closer to the windshield (less occlusion of the sunroof) and with more space between front and rear. The Yakima towers also have a more molded, contoured tower that I feel looks nicer. The foot pad itself is substantial and contoured, not just an ugly flat plate. Plus, the clips themselves are quite custom (they fit only the A4, A6, and A8) and are thinner than Thule's, making for less distortion of the rubber door seals.
Although I've seen some Yakima racks with load bar corrosion, bars currently for sale are made with galvanized steel and come coated with some type of oil on the interior. They shouldn't rust.
4. The Audi rack is also very nice and preserves the whole look of the A4. However, I felt funny buying such a custom designed rack when I might pick up a new A4 within the next 18 months (don't know if I'll buy out my lease or go for a 2002 model). I felt the Yakima would be easier to transfer to another vehicle or to sell if necessary. Plus, there are likely more accessories available for the Yakima.
Now that I've installed the Yakima, my opinion is that I made a good choice. Setup is a bit tricky (same with Thule, I'm sure) in that you have to measure out all the dimensions carefully and have to hop back and forth from one side of the car to the next as you tighten down the towers gradually and evenly. Once this is done once, though, future removal and reinstallation is easy. Mounting accessories (I got the Steelhead fork-mount bike rack) was also a breeze.
Some problems, which annoyed me but not enough to deter a recommendation:
1. There were some metal burrs inside the load bar ends where the bars were cut to size. this made it hard to install the plastic end caps. Destroyed one in the process. However, Yakima happily mailed me a new bag of caps for free.
2. The vinyl stickers that you place over the mounting clips to protect the car tend to bunch up when you mount and tighten the rack. Don't know if they'll be reusable as a result. May have to ask Yakima for spares. This may be the result of installing on a hot day (although I was in the shade to cool the paint and minimize scratching).
3. Rack is noisy and thus pretty much rules out opening the sunroof above 30 MPH. The clip-on Windjammer airfoils did little for me. I just bought a fairing, but a new one just came out and I will be exchanging mine for it. From everything I've read, this should be a certain cure.
