Rich W

Any cyclists out there?...<p>Any suggestions on Roof or Trunk Mount racks?<p>In the past I've always gone with THULE, but I do not like the way the Aero foot clamps the a4 door frame. It looks like it will eventually cause molding damage. Being an avid cyclist, I carry my bike in the car several times a week... I've seen some good trunk mounts, but they are also damage prone...<p>any thoughts would be greatly appreciated...<ul><li><a href="http://www.rwnewmedia.com/a4">My future a4...</a></li></ul>

Tom Halter

I put down a blanket over the rear bumper when loading and unloading to prevent scratches on the bumper. Very clean and simple. No wind noise or body damage from racks, no awkward mounting or tying down. Of course, if you need to carry more than one bike, this won't work...<p>Tom Halter<br>98.5 2.8QM

Andy Hedin

I've got a Yakima rack with two "SteelHead" fork-mount bike trays on the top along with the Yakima fairing. I love it! Great quality, extremely sturdy mounting, bikes lock to rack, rack locks to roof -- very secure. I also have the wheel carriers, but I don't use them as I had a bad experience with them on my Corrado. Since the bars are round, as I was driving along the wheel mounts moved downward an eventually my spinning front tire came into contact with my roof leaving a nice "burn" mark, most of which I was able to buff out. Now I just through the front wheel in a trash bag (I'm a mountain biker and I like mud :-) and throw it in the trunk.<p>Yakima has great customer service also. They sent me some new end caps for the round bars free after one cracked after 5 years of use. They're also shipping me a new set of cam-locks for the towers as my original ones faded from black to gray.<p>Andy Hedin<br>'97 A4 1.8Tqms, Wett 1.0 Bar, E-codes...

ChuckH

...you're going to be driving on the highway. I almost lost my bike the other day when water spray from a truck driving the other way nearly blew the whole thing off. Around town at slow speeds would be OK. I would recommend a roof mounted rack, but remember to take your bike down before driving into the garage! :-) Anything you put on, minus the trailer hitch mount racks, will probably cause some sort of damage over time. Take a look at the Yakima racks though. <p>Charles<br>

Rich W

Andy,<p>Do you keep it on for long periods of time... Does it leave marks? My previous Thule rack, on a Jetta III left some marks in the paint. Does your fairing marr the paint?<p>I think I'll look into the Yak Rack.<ul><li><a href="http://www.rwnewmedia.com/a4">my future a4...</a></li></ul>

Andy Hedin

I keep my rack on year-round. I do remove it twice per year when I wax my car. It leaves very slight marks, but you have to position yourself just so to even notice them. Not a big deal in my opinion. The mark is probably just on the clear coat. It's not a scratch...it's more like you can kind of see the outline of the rubber foot. Like I said, I think it's pretty mild and not that big of a deal. I feel the roof racks (or a hitch rack if you want to install a receiver hitch) is the way to go. I used to have a rear rack on my Corrado. It sucked with two bikes...it would move around and I was always watching me rear view mirror to make sure the bikes were still there.<p>The way I have the rack positioned (about 1.5 to 2 inches in front of the rearmost marking arrow in the front door) the fairing touches the very top of the window...it does not touch the paint. I have no problems with water leaking into the car. All-in-all I'm very pleased with it.<p>Andy Hedin

spudman

Rich - I have been using a Mondial roof rack for a year now and have been very happy with it. Looks great - more aerodynamic than any of the others. Looks like it was built for the A4 (although it wasn't). Rack locks onto roof; bikes lock onto rack. Again, seems very secure. Leaves no marks on the roof, no damage to the chrome edging (on my 2.8). Easy to put on and take off. Doesn't interfere with sunroof operation, although it's loud enough that you probably wouldn't use the roof anyway (I haven't sprung for the wind deflector yet, but probably will). I have run with two road bikes over several hundred miles at a crack (Indy -> Traverse City, MI) with no problems. Would recommend it. Bought it mail-order from either Bike Nashbar or Performance, can't remember which.<p><p>E-mail me if you need more details.<p><p>Good luck!<p><p>Spudman

david budd

Have many audis over the years...been an avid road & mountain biker as well. Here's what I've found. I've used products by rhode gear, yakima, and thule...mostly roof mount systems. Finally I said enough. I didn't like having to mount these products for fear of scratching the paint or the mud and oil that would come off my bikes after a hard ride. Removing the rims was becoming a pain the neck too. I went for a thule trunk mount and have been happy ever since. It has good absorbtion over bumbs, protctive padding that wont scratch your finish, and didn't whistle or make noise on the road like roof maountain systems. However, if your mountain a sub 22lb titanium frame, be careful to tie it down well. Wind aerondymaics of the audi are so good its almost taken off my bike a few time. Good luck