Cycle Rack - VW Roof Bars or Thule aftermarket?

[evo1986]

So the official VW roof rack is £240 but aftermarket ones are are about £190.

Has anybody used either? This would be my first roof rack and I'm only looking at them so I can carry cycles on the roof instead of hanging them off the rear hatch.

Any other suggestions welcomed

pm'd

[Hobojim]

I'm after one as well, went into the dealers the other day and the VW is smart. but not worth 50 squids more. Past experience of Thule is its properly made stuff and will last.

[monsta]

I'm after one as well, went into the dealers the other day and the VW is smart. but not worth 50 squids more. Past experience of Thule is its properly made stuff and will last.

My detective work online concludes that the VW stuff is Mont Blanc rebranded.  Pretty good quality kit.

[GolfTi]

The VW bars are excellent. Solid.

I think the Thule/other brand kits may need putting together from the various packs and will not look like the VW bars at all. I will try to look at the branding (if any) later.

[monsta]

So I managed to pick up a brand new roof rack for my 3 door from the german ebay site for around £100 delivered.  A saving of nearly £150 over list price.

The other good news is that about 3 months ago (before I even got my car) I picked up two of the cycle carriers for the VW roof rack at £40 for the pair instead of about £90 each.

All in all very happy with these bargains.  I'll post some pics of it fitted the rack arrives (and the rain has stopped).

[Skinnee D]

I looked into the Thule 3-door kit which came in at about £190, but it included some intermediate load-bearing fixings for the 3 door which all looked a bit convoluted to me so I held off deciding for now.

I already have a Thule bike carrier but seemingly only VW's own carrier will fit their roof bars (somehow I doubt this is accidental...)

[Skinnee D]

I'm after one as well, went into the dealers the other day and the VW is smart. but not worth 50 squids more. Past experience of Thule is its properly made stuff and will last.

My detective work online concludes that the VW stuff is Mont Blanc rebranded.  Pretty good quality kit.

I had a look on the Mont Blanc website.  In their application guide they list a roof bar for the 5 door Mk7, but not the 3 door Mk7 which is weird considering it does indeed look like the same product range as VW's branded ones.

[titusrider]

why is nobody putting bikes inside? That's what I'm doing

Safer (from theft and falling off!)
no impact on fuel economy
Protect car with an old mattress or duvet cover
take off front wheels and get two bikes two people
Take off both wheels and you will get 3 bikes three people

Can only understand if its a full family of four and 4 bikes

[monsta]

why is nobody putting bikes inside?

Safer (from theft and falling off1)
no impact on fuel economy
Protect car with an old mattress or duvet cover
take off front wheels and get two bikes two people
Take off both wheels and you will get 3 bikes three people

Can only understand if its a full family of four and 4 bikes

- Folding seats up/down all the time and removing parcel shelf is a pain if you do it every week
- Grease/dirt on the interior (or hassle of covering interior with cover)
- Jangling noises on the motorway
- Reduced passenger capacity
- Scuffing of interior
- Scratching of bikes if carrying more than one

 

[Gnasher]

why is nobody putting bikes inside? That's what I'm doing

Safer (from theft and falling off!)
no impact on fuel economy
Protect car with an old mattress or duvet cover
take off front wheels and get two bikes two people
Take off both wheels and you will get 3 bikes three people

Can only understand if its a full family of four and 4 bikes

I'd personally think it's safer having the bikes on the outside on a roof carrier or boot carrier is safer if you have an accident - the last thing anyone needs is bikes/parts flying round the interior.