Best roof rack

[saab2000]

So I have my new GTI. It is fun to drive when I have time, but I never have time. This is a mixed blessing. I have also never yet filled the tank! I have about 150 miles in the past 3 weeks. Can't drive much if I am in Huntsville, Alabama like today.

I am thinking of getting a rack for this thing. What's best? Yakima? Thule? Even the VW rack which will hold bikes at the fork? Fork mounting is the only way I will do it BTW.

Are there better ones that I have not heard of? I have too many bikes so I will probably get at least 3 bike mounts for the rack.

I won't be driving around much with the rack on with no bikes.

The more I look at this car, the more I think it needs lowering springs to drop it about 1 inch. And some 18" wheels with summer tires.

Stealth rocket.

[Greg Wright]

I've been very pleased with my Yakima set up. I've moved some components to newer vehicle with some originals that are now 15 years old and weathering just fine. I agree the fork mount is the only way to go. Rock solid. Not much confidence in the racks available from car mfg as they don't typically mount to a tower and bar, only to the standard roof rack that is screwed into the car roof.

Not sure of other brands, but I think the Yakima products are getting pretty pricey!!

Now if they only came up with an idiot detector to alert you before you drive into the garage.................I could make a fortune if I could dream of the right functionality.

[Bud]

I like our Yakima stuff, too. We have a system on top of our Jetta that works well. We use the steelhead trays and wheel forks for the front wheels. In the winter, we also have a lift ticket 6 mounted in the middle (just took it off last week).

As far as price, watch for some sales. Last week during the REI anniversary sale we got 2 wheel forks for $23 each. I think whne we got our steelheads last year they were $100 each.

Oh yea- get the fairing, too. It really cuts down on the noise.

[Greg Wright]

I forgot.................fairing is a must, especially if you have a sun roof. Even with the fairing the noise is substantial, but it cuts down immensely.

[JohnS]

Spiraling a rope around the front rod cuts wind noise as well, if not better, than a fairing.
I have a yakima rack but it's been sitting in my garage the past year. It's too much hassle for the few times I use it. I just fold down the rear seat and throw the bike in there.

[zeroking17]

The best roof rack is...no roof rack. I've known too many people who've cursed the day they decided to get a rack, either because they've driven into a garage, not tightened the locking skewer enough, or had some other sort of mind-slip that ended poorly.


.

[wwtsui]

We have both Yakima and Thule stuff, and have generally been pleased with both. I'd say that Yakima may have the bike stuff a bit better thought through than Thule (based mostly on the design of the respective tandem carriers). The only problem I've had with the Yakima bike stuff is that sometimes the wheel fork (if you choose to mount the front wheel on the roof) is hard to tighten enough so that it doesn't rotate backwards on the round bar as you drive (I've wound up with the tire resting on the sunroof a few times at the end of a long trip). Haven't bothered to get a Thule one to see if it's any better, though...

I'd agree with the earlier recommendation to stay away from the VW rack -- I bought an Audi rack when I got the car, but basically never use it because I wound up deciding to buy the Yakima/Thule attachments so that I didn't have this huge sunk cost if I didn't stick with VW/Audi cars in the future... Not sure if VWs are the same, but I've found that the mounting points that are marked on my car for the OEM rack work perfectly with the Yakima setup.

Good luck!

[BarryG]

The best roof rack is...no roof rack.
The best roof rack is . . . a hatchback (and you've got one!)

[djg]

Saab--check to see what VW is marketing as a rack system, at least for the towers and bars. I say this because I think that they may have something like the thing I bought from Volvo, which is designed to mate with my specific car, and works great despite being sorta cheap for that kind of thing. Volvo (and I think maybe VW) have their stuff made by Thule. My rack has integrated towers and bars and the towers clip neatly into steel brackets that are inside the rain gutters already. I paid 80 something bucks for the thing and added Thule mounts (you can add Thule or Volvo-branded Thule or all sorts of other things).

The fact is, I often leave the rack off the car and stick the bike in the back, but it's nice to have the rack when I want it and it's easy enough to pop on or off the roof.

[Ginger]

I just picked up a Hollywood rack for the back of my Mazda 3. Sure you've got to put a hitch mount on the car...but it keeps the bike behind the car and doesn't mess with gas mileage as much as a roof rack...fork mount as well!

Prorider 2

http://hollywoodracks.com/2&3.htm#prorider2

[crossjunkee]

When I owned a GTI a few years back, there were slots in the rain gutter. Thule made a rack that fit those slots perfectly. It was the best fit of any rack I've owned to date. I can't tell from your picture if you have those slots, or even a rain gutter on the top of yours. Saab has a similar setup too.

Here's a link to the type of rack. It only goes up to a 99, which was the year of mine. I miss that VR6!!!

http://www.prolineracks.com/thule-444-vw-racks.html

This was my only Thule purchase. I was Yakima before, and I'm Yakima now. The Yakima bars are so much stronger. Look at Thule crossbars, over time, they develop a sag in the middle.

[Tom]

Garage door openers come with a garage door opener controller. You push a button and voila the door goes up. So.... how about you push a button and voila the door goes up and the radio signal from the door opener controller causes a latch to release on the back of your roof rack and it causes something like the top half of a fishing rod to flip forward and dangle in front of you with a little flag that says "Got Bikes?" It'd only work if you have a bike on the rack and a switch is depressed, enabling the function. I'm a goddamn genius! This is perfect!

If somebody puts a bike on and forgets to latch the little fishing rod/flag thing so they're such a dork that they drive all the way home with the flag flapping in front of them they probably don't know how to ride a bike so it is a foolproof system. If the system fails to work and they mash their bike I can get around that one because I can just say the system reminded them so many times they should have remembered this time. Perfect. What could go wrong?

Oh heck, this gets better all the time. The truly foolproof one: it just releases all the things holding the bike so the bike either falls off the car or when it does hit the garage it just gets brushed off. Very convenient. No more reaching up to get your bike when you get home, it'll already be right handy laying on the ground. Wow. Two million dollars.

[goonster]

I'd look at the OEM towers and then get a Yakima carrier.

I'm also considering a MKV GTI/Golf and would love to know how well a bike fits in the hatch with front wheel off, bar rotated, rear seats folded down. It works in my MKIII Jetta, but there's not a lot of room to spare.

The more I look at this car, the more I think it needs lowering springs to drop it about 1 inch. And some 18" wheels with summer tires.

There's a reason for that. The USDM cars have taller springs compared to the Euro cars, to achieve some kind of higher crash rating. That's why the wheel gap looks a bit big. Be careful with 18's. The cars that come with the OEM 18's have spring inserts to reduce suspension travel, IIRC, so if you go this route, double-check that everything fits.

[Bud]

I've never understood how people can forget they have their bikes on top of the car and drive into the garage, etc. ***? Maybe they do need Tom's invention.

The Yakima towers work very well with my '03 Jetta. There are tabs under the seals above the door that the towers clip onto very securely. I would imagine that your new GTI has these as well.

Good luck with the choice.

[BigDaddySmooth]

The best roof rack is . . . a hatchback (and you've got one!)


I must forcefully concur w/ this assessment. Why would you compromise the sleekness of the GTi w/ a silly roof rack? I have a '96 BMW 318Ti and my bike fits inside nice and neat. I can even have the toddler on one side w/ no problem. When I have to pack the wife, kid, mutt and luggage, I use my rear carrier. No bugs, no adverse effect on gas mileage, no garages to worry about, etc. Throw the bike in the back and you have no worries my man(except maybe a little grease stain if you are not careful).

[stevep]

to save the bike into garage door headache...we have begun to sell this little flag that attaches to the bottom of the garage door... as the door ascends the flag drops and reminds " the idiot" that they had better think before they pull ahead.
good idea. plenty of technology in this.
could probably be devised using alternative materials.

[Serotta PETE]

Keeping the bike inside the car is best rack....and more fuel effecient, as well as quieter.

For those occasions where I use a rack, I have had Thule for 25 plus years and no problems. Friends have equal experience with SARIS and Yakina.

Thule and Yakina have the most attachments for consideration.

A must for keeping things quiet on the roof is the fairing.

Pete

[Kevin]

I like my Thule hitchrack.

Kevin

[97CSI]

Garage door openers come with a garage door opener controller. You push a button and voila the door goes up. So.... how about you push a button and voila the door goes up and the radio signal from the door opener controller causes a latch to release on the back of your roof rack and it causes something like the top half of a fishing rod to flip forward and dangle in front of you with a little flag that says "Got Bikes?" It'd only work if you have a bike on the rack and a switch is depressed, enabling the function. I'm a goddamn genius! This is perfect!

If somebody puts a bike on and forgets to latch the little fishing rod/flag thing so they're such a dork that they drive all the way home with the flag flapping in front of them they probably don't know how to ride a bike so it is a foolproof system. If the system fails to work and they mash their bike I can get around that one because I can just say the system reminded them so many times they should have remembered this time. Perfect. What could go wrong?

Oh heck, this gets better all the time. The truly foolproof one: it just releases all the things holding the bike so the bike either falls off the car or when it does hit the garage it just gets brushed off. Very convenient. No more reaching up to get your bike when you get home, it'll already be right handy laying on the ground. Wow. Two million dollars.I'll take ten thousand. Must be here by next Tuesday. Price no object. And, must be in all standard auto colors.

[Ti Designs]

The more I look at this car, the more I think it needs lowering springs to drop it about 1 inch. And some 18" wheels with summer tires.

Two comments: First, how can someone named saab2000 drive around in a VW??? Second, in the world of VW tuning, lower isn't better. Friends of mine have done lots of racing in VWs, the cars always do best when the suspension arms are straight out when the car is sitting. Lowering the car means right means changing the suspension pick-up points which is probably way more work than you want to do. Remember, there's nothing wrong with cornering on three wheels.

[saab2000]

Two comments: First, how can someone named saab2000 drive around in a VW??? Second, in the world of VW tuning, lower isn't better. Friends of mine have done lots of racing in VWs, the cars always do best when the suspension arms are straight out when the car is sitting. Lowering the car means right means changing the suspension pick-up points which is probably way more work than you want to do. Remember, there's nothing wrong with cornering on three wheels.


1. Well, the Saabs I used to drive were not cars......

2. I would probably want the Euro-spec springs, which would lower the car about 2.5 cm. Then get some summer tires and I'd be all set. I don't want anything drastic, but the car was designed for the European market and changed for the US market.

I used to drive Opels when I lived in Switzerland and there are some very nice Astras. The GSI is at least as good as the VW.

Thanks all for the comments. I am not in a hurry for a rack. The hatchback is exactly one reason. But one reason is for mobility. Hatchbacks can carry a LOT of stuff the space is not wasted with bikes. OTOH, I could carry the bikes inside and get one of those Mr. Spock Star Trek movie coffin-shaped thingies to go on the rack. Well, we'll see.

Ebay usually comes through for me and this will be no exception I expect!

[BigDaddySmooth]

[QUOTE=saab2000]1. Well, the Saabs I used to drive were not cars......

The Saab 2000 is a Swedish built 50 passenger aircraft so I'm thinking that saab2000 flew it earlier in his career and formulated his call-sign from the experience. Remember Saab the car company was started by a group of Saab pilots so the aircraft proceeded the car. Given the choice between a 9-3 or a Viggen, I'd go w/ the later.

[saab2000]

[QUOTE=saab2000]1. Well, the Saabs I used to drive were not cars......

The Saab 2000 is a Swedish built 50 passenger aircraft so I'm thinking that saab2000 flew it earlier in his career and formulated his call-sign from the experience. Remember Saab the car company was started by a group of Saab pilots so the aircraft proceeded the car. Given the choice between a 9-3 or a Viggen, I'd go w/ the later.

Big Daddy Smooth got it 100% right.

[kokies]

I like my bikes like my cars. But I am not about to slap a bike on the roof and kill the look of my cars.

This was a thule space station add-on that they sold about 4 years ago. I bought it and had a friend weld on a 1 ¼ receiver. They make similar rack now, but they do not sit as low as this did. I ran it at times with one tray but it did fit two.

The hard part is finding a receiver for your car. Took me a while to find the hit for the Lex.

[Bud]

I like my bikes like my cars. But I am not about to slap a bike on the roof and kill the look of my cars.


No offense, but I think roof racks and bikes, skis, etc. on top of cars make them look pretty good. I think our Jetta looks better with the racks on top- very sporty. Out here, roof racks are kind of necessary equipment and most people appreciate them.

[kokies]

I do agree. They make some cars look better, but then again, anything will make jetta look better.

[Bud]

I do agree. They make some cars look better, but then again, anything will make jetta look better.

Hey man, that was not cool. Our Jetta is a great car and I happen to think it looks pretty good :D .

To each his own. . .

btw- my other car is a '68 mustang convertible and it happens to be way cooler than any Lexus ;)

(all in good fun- really)

[kokies]

The lex was a faze. I was just out of college, consistent paycheck and no other bills.
I dislike jetta’s so much I bought a beetle once, but the new jetta are better. Now I just spend my money on bikes.