Best Bike Carrying Options?

[mortimerchris]

Morning all,

Does anyone have any recommendations for carrying 2 mountain bikes?

I have looked at the official one and seem to have gone in circles and still no clearer on what's best.
The less I spend the better but I would rather spend more on the best option that put up with something sub standard.

Thnaks

Chris

[kodkod.84]

I find the best is the towbar mounted carriers, expensive but advantages are

1. You can use a large roofbox at the same time
2. You don't have to worry about overhead gantries
3. You're not lifting the bike right up to the roof

On my MK5 that doesn't have a towbar I have a normal Thule roofrack system with the Proride carriers- these are also good.

You can often get package deals online with the carriers and the bars/feet

[mortimerchris]

Thanks for that,

Has anyone got any experience with the official one?

Volkswagen Genuine Compact III bicycle carrier
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/accessories/all/Golf%202013/golf-2013-2013/none/bicycle-holder/3C2071105A/1#details

[clubsport]

Not the VW one, but a friend has, what appears to be the same system on his Mrs' Mini Countryman.

We have used this quite a few times and is the best system I have seen for carrying bikes.
No rattles on the move, lockable straps and ability to get into the boot space by extending the rack with the bikes still secured.
For expensive carbon bikes, other than inside the car I wouldn't transport them any other way.

From memory, the VW one appears cheaper than Mini charge?

Not cheap, but I would expect there is a good secondhand market for these if you move to another car.

[mortimerchris]

Not the VW one, but a friend has, what appears to be the same system on his Mrs' Mini Countryman.

We have used this quite a few times and is the best system I have seen for carrying bikes.
No rattles on the move, lockable straps and ability to get into the boot space by extending the rack with the bikes still secured.
For expensive carbon bikes, other than inside the car I wouldn't transport them any other way.

From memory, the VW one appears cheaper than Mini charge?

Not cheap, but I would expect there is a good second hand market for these if you move to another car.

I was ready to say yes to this approach however a tow bar is required and is going to mean at last another £500 on the price.

looks like roof bars are the way for me to go!

[titchy]

I have a hatch mounted system similar to this: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/rear-mounted-bike-racks/rear-high-mount-3-cycle-carrier, on my current Renault Megane and it works fine with 2 mtb's. I'm a little nervous though about using it on my new GTi as it uses metal hooks that have the potential to scratch the bodywork. I reckon a bit of tape for protection would solve that issue though.

It cost me £25 from Gumtree and tbh I could probably sell it for that so it's pretty cost neutral.

[clubsport]

Not the VW one, but a friend has, what appears to be the same system on his Mrs' Mini Countryman.

We have used this quite a few times and is the best system I have seen for carrying bikes.
No rattles on the move, lockable straps and ability to get into the boot space by extending the rack with the bikes still secured.
For expensive carbon bikes, other than inside the car I wouldn't transport them any other way.

From memory, the VW one appears cheaper than Mini charge?

Not cheap, but I would expect there is a good second hand market for these if you move to another car.

I was ready to say yes to this approach however a tow bar is required and is going to mean at last another £500 on the price.

looks like roof bars are the way for me to go!

That probably explains why it seemed such a deal compared to the Mini one!

On reflection, even though there is no tow ball hitch as such, the bike mount does slot into a subframe under the bumper.
Can't you follow my lead and get a mate to buy one for their car to transport the bikes?

[dubber36]

On the Passat I have both roof carriers and a tow bar mount platform rack.

I prefer the tow bar carrier, but when I'm towing or need to transport 4 bikes, I'll use the roof bars. I'm always concerned about the bikes on the roof, even though they are perfectly safe. I'm constantly checking the shadows or reflections to make sure they are still upright. Height isn't an issue, as even with the bikes on the roof, they are still a few inches lower than the caravan.

[jockonabike]

I use a Saris Bones 2 on my GTi, I've put a small strip of helitape on the bumper sill where the feet rest on it to prevent any damage.  Not had any issues with carrying two full suss MTBs at reasonable speeds on the motorway. Also found that the impact on my MPG is a lot less than when I carried them on the roof of my A4 even with thule aero bars.

G

[simonj67]

I've had several Golf's and Audi's and always use the VAG bars with Thule 591 bike carriers, VAG bars offer the best fit and don't overhang the roof of the car like Thule bars and the Thule 591 carriers are quality tried and tested items.