Cycle Rack - VW Roof Bars or Thule aftermarket?

[mcmaddy]

I think I'm going to go for some whispbars instead of VW ones.

[si.griffiths]

I've looked into the whispbar ones but they don't do anything for a Mk7 3 door

[dirvy]

Used my new vw branded bars and logo cycle carriers today. Very impressed very clever.

[dereks]

Set of genuine 5 dr bars on eBay at the moment starting at £75 buy it now £110 + carriage.

[si.griffiths]

How much extra height do the VW roof bars add to the car?

[JB GTI]

Can you fit a Thule roof box to the VW roof bars?? I was just about to push the button on a set of Thule Aerobars and Thule Touring 780 roof box for my 3 dr when I noticed those god awful short roof adapters that also need bolting on. Now back to square one as I don't want to be carrying Forrest Gumps leg braces on either side of the roof too !!
Anyone heard when the Whispbars are going to be available for the 3dr?
The other thing is if the Thule roof box will fit do the VW roof bars have a T track slot in the top so you can fit the Thule T Track adapters to maximise the space in the box.

[si.griffiths]

JB GTI, that's exactly what I have done.

I trawled everywhere to see what the best combo of bars and box was and went for VW bars and a Thule Touring 780.

Thule bars still have to have the short roof adaptor which are horrible to look at. As of 2 weeks ago, whispbar don't do bars for the 3 door so VW bars are the only decent solution. They're pretty good too and easy to fit after the first go.

As for boxes, I considered all makes and models. I wanted a full width box with plenty of space so picked up the Thule 780 last week. Slightly worried that it may have been a little long for the golf but it fits perfect. If I knew how to upload photos, I'd be able to show ya how it looks?! And just to confirm, all Thule boxes will fit the VW bars.

If ya want a couple of pics, send me your email and I'll send a couple through.

[JB GTI]

JB GTI, that's exactly what I have done.

I trawled everywhere to see what the best combo of bars and box was and went for VW bars and a Thule Touring 780.

Thule bars still have to have the short roof adaptor which are horrible to look at. As of 2 weeks ago, whispbar don't do bars for the 3 door so VW bars are the only decent solution. They're pretty good too and easy to fit after the first go.

As for boxes, I considered all makes and models. I wanted a full width box with plenty of space so picked up the Thule 780 last week. Slightly worried that it may have been a little long for the golf but it fits perfect. If I knew how to upload photos, I'd be able to show ya how it looks?! And just to confirm, all Thule boxes will fit the VW bars.

If ya want a couple of pics, send me your email and I'll send a couple through.

Thanks. Use Photobucket to upload photos it is really easy and free.
Also if you go on the global site for Whispbar if does show a fitment for 2014 3dr GTI but that looks like the North American markets. European site is down at the moment 

[mcmaddy]

Would you buy the whispbars instead of VW ones if they were available for the 3dr?

[si.griffiths]

Would you buy the whispbars instead of VW ones if they were available for the 3dr?

Purely because they are normally a little cheaper to buy and I could leave them on without worrying about noise/extra fuel use, I probably would buy the Whispbar ones.

At higher speeds (90+) the VW bars create a bit of noise on their own and I've heard that Whispbars are really quiet but not having tried them, I wouldn't be able to say for sure.