Does anyone own or has anyone seen the Audi bike rack? How does is compare to Thule/Yakima? I sense the general consensus it towards the Yakima rack (no wars on the merits of those, please) but is the Audi rack decent? For $300 I can get the Audi rack w/one bike attachment. Is it worth is? What would a Yakima/Thule rack cost in comparison?<p>TIA,<br>Jon

I went with the Thule rack, and trimmed the bars to be flush with the car. You can use the Audi rack, but you may need to go out and buy some bolts and other hardware to get the Thule accessories to work with it. I didn't want to screw around with all that, so I went with the aftermarket setup. It has worked great for me.<p>Thule and Yakima are both great racks, it's basically personal preference. However, I have heard some people complain that since the Yakima bars are round, the front tire holder on the bike rack has slipped and allowed the front tire to slam on the roof leaving marks.<p>Get the fairing (for wind noise).<p>Check the archives. This question comes up way too often.<br>

It was Rich. HTH.<p>CraigB<ul><li><a href="http://www.a4.org/bbs/a4/9907/messages/85.shtml">Audi rack w/Thule bits 'n pieces</a></li></ul>

And I've had years of experience with a Thule system. I've also worked in many bike shops and sold both. <p>Ten years ago, the Yakima was cleaner, easier to use and install. The Thule was more difficult to install, harder to use, but was more industrial (read...stronger).<p>Thule has gotten easier to use (as easy as the Yak), but not easier to install. The Yak is much easier to install/remove for cleaning. Strength is no longer an issue, IMO.<p>So I hung up my Thule hat and bought a Yakima for my Audi. If you wanna inspect it this weekend (maybe while installing shocks and springs???), that would be perfect.<p>

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