Colville

Also posted this in the general discussion but not getting too many solid answers. Hope someone has some experience here with this.

I have done tons of research and called tons of places and still not 100% sure with what I want to go with for a bicycle carrier. So here I am asking for good opinions and what to do.

Heres what I have:

2012 Volkswagen Jetta SPORTWAGEN (station wagon) with the OEM cross bars.

1 Papillionaire classic mens bicycle
1 Papillionaire sommer female bicycle

First off trying to decide between a hitch carrier or a roof rack must just be all personal preference. I already have the crossbars so I figured I would go with the roof rack style. I know to be careful not to run your car under things too low when the bikes are on. Im also wondering how the fenders on the bicycles will be when in the wind on a highway? They are metal fenders.

So far, the types I've looked at are as follows:

Yakima Raptor Aero
Thule Big Mouth
OEM Volkswagen racks 6Q0-071-128-A

Looking for any recommendations or opinions... Need to pick something soon, im sick of looking! haha

THANKS!
Here is the bikes from some photos I pulled off the internet. I also put up a photo of our car with the OEM bars installed.

Lascauxcaveman 

Yakima Raptors are what I've got my Subaru wagon. I recommend them highly as long as you

a) can easily lift your bikes overhead
b) put a cloth between the shifter cables & the downtube (scratch protection for that gnarly clamp)*
c) pay attention to low overhead clearance while driving

Otherwise, a hitch mount might be better. But those usually interfere with your tailgate, so "meh" in my book.

Either way, no worries on the fenders, if they've been installed properly.

*looks like this is not an issue for your particular bikes

zukahn1 

+1 Can't see any way around top mounting the bikes less than ideal but for that Yakimas likeley the bes way to go.

oddjob2

Roof racks = noisy + 10% loss in mpg at highway speeds, YMMV.

You can mount a folding rear carrier, use pipe foam to protect paint.

Barchettaman

2 on the top with generic no-name bike carriers
2 kid´s bike on a tail mounted Mont Blanc carrier, minus the wheels as they are cantilevered out so far and the kid´s bike weigh a ton.

The surfboard is an 8´6" stepped pintail minimal.

Both work well, in fact we had 3 on top and 3 on the back coming home from Sweden in July.

I tape down the top of the front fender round the tyre and rim with duct tape to keep it out of the wind.

pastorbobnlnh 

The Thule Big Mouths will work well for your bikes, although the woman's bike will be a tight squeeze, but it should work. On steel tube bikes I use a small section of foam pipe insulation under the clamp on the down tube. Helps to allow you to clamp really tight and keeps the calmp from falling towards the BB shell.

Colville

Finally some good feedback! Thank you guys!!

photogravity

Here's my solution. I took pickup truck bed mounts attached to a channel and attached some boards to create a riser so the fender wouldn't be on the floor. It works perfectly and I no longer need to worry about my bikes getting whacked going under a low hanging tree limb or getting crushed by someone rear-ending me in traffic. I can easily fit 5 bicycles across the rear and there is more than enough length behind the row of bench seats to fit tandems. The Sprinter even gets pretty good mileage. After filling three tanks of fuel so far, I managed to get 25 MPG, 26 MPG and then 27 MPG (I've only had it a month, so I don't have a lot of data yet.). I'm willing to bet that once loaded with a roof rack your VW, unless it is a TDI, will probably return similar mileage but without the advantages of the Sprinter.


2002 Sprinter Wagon by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

badger_biker 

I was thinking of the BT-HT51 from ATOC for my touring bikes with racks and fenders. You might want to take a look at them if you decide on a roof mount.
https://www.atoc.com/biketopper.php

not_me

I use a hitch mounted rack. I drive an SUV, so mounting them on the roof would've been a pain in the ass getting them up there (and worrying about overhead clearance).

https://www.amazon.com/SportRack-SR29...ef=pd_sbs_sg_1

PlanoFuji

I settled on Yakima Raptor rack with their Q-post system. Compared to hitch racks it was cheaper (I would have had to add a hitch to my car in addition to the rack) but it does impact gas mileage. Its mileage impact seems to vary considerably with wind speed and direction. I don't think the noise is particularly noticeable.

The Yakima does deal with bikes with fenders with no problem and seems more secure than the trunk/hatch mounted cheaper options.

ctmullins 

My Thule hitch mount holds up to four bikes, is very sturdy, and swings down for tailgate access (Ford Edge). Roof mounts hold no appeal for me.

zandoval 

I have personally seen three respectable adults with disgust anger and tears when they trashed their bikes using roof racks - I am still not sure its a bad idea - But I don't use them... $0.02

SteveSGP

I can fit three on the roof and one in the hatch, the roof rack is super handy but it does destroy gas mileage.



Just ordered a hitch mount rack for my wifes car.

Glennfordx4

I prefer hitch mounts myself but that's because my wife & I both drive SUV's & it would be a pain trying to get them up & down from the roof, the one thing I don't like about hitches for cars compared to trucks & SUV's is the car hitches mostly come in 1 1/4" which are very weak compared to the bigger 2" models and are easy to overload and bend. I see more damaged/totaled bikes from failed 1 1/4" hitch mounted bike racks then damaged/totaled bikes from low overhead strikes ( and we have tons of under ground parking lots here). The one good thing I like about having a hitch is it's got other uses like using a cargo carrier ( which I leave on my Bronco 99% of the time) or towing a trailer.

Glenn

CACycling

I've got a Yakima Kingpin hitch mounted rack that holds 4 bikes, has built-in lock for bikes and a bottle opener. Works awesome. ($50 CL find)

I've got a couple of no-name roof racks that work great though getting the bikes up on the roof of the van is a bit of a pain.

I've got a Yakima universal-mount rack that holds 2 bikes and is very secure. ($10 thrift store find)

Bianchigirll 

Personally I would never mount a bike holder to a factory cross bar, I don't care what the manufacture says. Some of the mounts Thule made for the rails are OK but no factory cross bars for me.

I think in this case the hitch since it adds the versatility of then having one of the junk trays to carry you cooler or kids on.

YoKev

Those bikes look nice, but heavy, and a major pain in the ass to hoist up onto the roof.

I'd do a hitch in your situation. I think you'd be happier and it'd serve you better with your current fleet of bikes.

Bianchigirll 

Those are neat but too skinny since they were made for the European market.

I want one of these babies!

photogravity

They just look skinny because they are so tall. I'd look skinny if I was taller, too! I can fit 5 bikes side by side using fork mounts.

Colville

Velognome 

I'm a cheap -skate. Bought a Bell trunk rack, holds two bikes happily and morphs to fit just about any vehicle. Tested it with a Raleigh Sport and Tourist (can't imagine a heavier payload) on a Crown Victoria and it did fine. Augmented the attachment method so you can open the trunk with the rack mounted ( Took 2 people with the Raleighs on board) Anyway, cost me something like $29 on sale. Ugly but it works and didn't cut too deeply into the bike $'s which I'd rather spend on a bike than a rack.

Admittedly, Photogravity wins the quest with the "buy a truck to haul your bikes" move. That's just totally wacked! I've often thought about it, but you did it! Congratulations on the bike hauler PG.

Harlan

My 1upusa racks held fendered bikes just fine. Though I'm swapping over to a hitch system for a cleaner look. Selling mine if you are in the market

BluesDaddy

I recently carried my Schwinn, which has Zefal fenders, from NH to VA and back, using an old Yakima fork mount carrier on the roof. Fit and security were trouble-free. The fenders were not harmed at all. Lower gas mileage and noise were the down side. Having said that, my setup was dictated by the fact that I have a Toyota Sienna with roof rails, no tow hitch receiver, and lots of old Yakima stuff.

My ideal rack would be a receiver-mount, tray-style carrier; one that you set the bikes on by their wheels. Those look easiest to use and most adaptable. I also have a Thule Helium hitch-mount rack on my VW and it is very tricky with odd frame sizes like the women's bike you posted. The pros of carrying the bikes behind the car are: No bug splatter; lower lift height when loading bikes; better gas mileage; bikes are easier to see/check on; no low clearance/drive-through/garage accidents.

cycle_maven

I have a hitch-mount tray type carrier. Yakima by brand. No complaints- easy to install and remove, swings up out of the way when empty, bikes are simple to put in and take out, very secure and doesn't rattle, doesn't affect gas mileage very much. Probably more expensive than the other options, though, but worth it IMO.