Roof rack for A4 Avant

[Lee M. Levitt]

"ricematthews" <ricematthews at msn.com> writes:
>
> I am looking at purchasing a roof rack for the A4 Avant (i.e.:  one that
> mounts onto the standard factory bars).  Are the factory racks worthwhile?
> Who makes them for Audi?  Any preferences between Yakima vs. Thule?  The
> fitments came down to the Yakima "DoubleCross" or "LowRider" or the Thule
> "415 Railing Foot" or "751 Rapid Railing Carrier".  Do any Avant
> owners out
> there have experience with accessory racks?

I'm using a Yakima rack on my S6 avant. I had been a longtime Thule owner,
but a recent bike mount series had some significant problems - not
distributing clamping force evenly with the result of bikes toppling and
breaking fork tabs off front forks.

The Yakima foot is a bit of a PITA to get over the luggage bar, but once
it's on, it's very secure. I put a very special Colnago road bike up on the
roof, plus a vintage Wicked Fat Chance, so I'm a bit fanatical about the
mounting system :)

Some of the factory systems use thinner bars, which relegates you to using
the factory add-ons. Very pricy, and may not be what you're looking for.
Figure out what attachments you want to use, and then choose a system that
has the best attachments.

Also, btw, pick up a fairing - either the mini one from Yakima that mounts
on the bar itself, or the front fairing that mounts ahead of the bars. This
will dramatically cut down on the wind noise.

HTH,

Lee
'95.5 S6 avant (toys on top!)
'96 A6 quattro avant