Roof Bars / Bike

[JampoTT]

Stupid question, but since I've given up on the towbar options, I'm going to get a roof-mounting solution for a bike.

Its a big electric mountain bike, but I can at least get it lighter by removing battery for travel. I want to mount on the roof.

So my stupid question is, apart from the bit that needs to hold the bike, what else do I need to attach to the roof of my car? Obvs it has the rails that run the length of the car, but do I need to buy horizotal bars too? From Audi?

Very very stupid question.

Oh and if anyone has a recommendation for a decent bike holder, let me know!

[Jubilee77]

Yes, you need the roof rack/bars to then attach the bike holder onto. You are not forced to buy the official Audi ones. There are plenty of independent manufacturers that will offer bars to suit your particular car/model . Check Thule website and EBay. You must remember that however you attach the bike to the outside of the vehicle, left unattended or even when you are in it, some scallywag will try and pinch it!!

[JampoTT]

Yes, you need the roof rack/bars to then attach the bike holder onto. You are not forced to buy the official Audi ones. There are plenty of independent manufacturers that will offer bars to suit your particular car/model . Check Thule website and EBay. You must remember that however you attach the bike to the outside of the vehicle, left unattended or even when you are in it, some scallywag will try and pinch it!!

Thanks! I found some lockable Thule bars and the bike racks themselves are also lockable - but point taken, people will try and nick stuff. But the plan is to travel with the bikes on top, but not to leave them there.

There will be times when the dogs need to be in the boot and the bikes still carried, so having them on the outside is a necessary evil I'l afraid. Plus, I ride an XL size frame with 29er wheels, so don't want to have to try and squeeze that into the narrow boot! I'm used to my old RS6 which was a little bigger, but I swear my son's Citroen C1 is better for carrying bikes!

[Jubilee77]

I have a Thule roof box, which I can get two complete Bikes inside. I remove the wheels, pedals and seat post. So I still have all the boot available for luggage and I can cram other items in the roofbox around the bikes. We drive to France most summers and can leave the bikes in the roof box overnight unattended with less worry.

[ARSEY4]

I used the Thule aero bars and cycle carrier on my old B8 and they were great. They never marked the rails and are really secure (as in holding the bike). If you look at www.roofbox.co.uk they are really reliable and sell everything you need.

[coffey555]

Thule slide bars can help depending on how tall you are. Lets you put a bike on the roof without having to press up against the door with muddy riding gear on. More of a bonus when trying to load a bike in the middle position on the roof.

[JampoTT]

Haha my next issue. I just realised how heavy the bike is! Its a Giant Stance E+ Pro full suspension electric mountain bike. Damn thing has to be almost 30kg with the battery in. Not sure I can dead lift that onto the roof. Can remove battery, but its still going to be 20kg+

[0xSam]

Did you check the Thule models which can be attached to the trunk door? No towbar required and still convenient to mount. Something along the lines of THULE BackPac 973.

[Graeme4130]

I haven't got around to fitting them on my B9 yet (even though I've had it nearly 2 years), but I've always used the Thule wing bar roof racks with 591 bike carriers
The audi ones look crap as they protrude over the edges and look pretty industrial, whereas the Wing bar ones look decent if left on the car (Mine stayed on my B8 for nearly 4 years)

Wingbars:
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/accessor ... lsrc=aw.ds

Bike mount:
https://www.roofracks.co.uk/proride/p/555

[Andy_S]

Towbar option.

https://www.facebook.com/TowbarExpress/ ... &__tn__=-R

[Rs4spark]

Hi Andy, is this your Nardo Carbon Edition , ?

Does the Towbar fold away & does any of the Carbon on the lower part of the Bumoper require Cutting ?

Thanks Andy

[Andy_S]

Yeah, it's mine.

The towbar neck is detachable, lives in the boot in a bag. You wouldn't know there was a towbar fitted once the neck is off.

On mine the carbon diffuser was pre-cut underneath from the factory. I'm assuming that all RS4's with standard suspension would be the same. Cars with DRC can't have a towbar fitted.

There's loads more pictures on the Facebook link in my previous post.

Towbar Express is my company. We don't list them as fitting the RS4 on our website, but the standard A4 bar fits. Quite honestly the neck sits a bit close to the RS4 bumper, so we didn't want to fit them for Joe Public, because we could see issues with people damaging the bumper and blaming us.
Having said that, I use it with a Thule Cycle Carrier, and I've had my dads caravan on it once, just got to be a bit careful.

For anyone planning on doing this themselves, you need a Brink towbar, part number 610900, it's the only one that comes trough the pre-cut hole without any extra cutting.