Roof or Hatch Rack for 2004 VW GTI/Golf

[MommyBird]

My son drives a 2004 GTI and has a 63cm bike on order.
I do not think the bike will fit in the trunk area of his GTI.
I have a 2006 GTI which is quite a bit larger, by small car standards, than his 2004. I can easily put my 52cm WSD bike in my trunk but there is not much wiggle room. I have doubts that his 63cm will fit in his.

Any opinions on roof rack over hatch rack?
He wants to go the roof rack route. For the coolness factor of course.

The GTIs in the family both have garage privileges. The GMC PU and Acura have to sit in the boiling sun and freezing weather. How sad, but the GTIs are much cuter and deserve the special attention. Especially mine since it has a mischievous little smile.

We have a shorter set of Thule bars that we have used with past vehicles. When we sell the cars we have sold the feet as they were specific to the make. Kept the bars since they are universal. So, Thule would most likely be our roof rack choice.

Anyone have experience with the VW factory accessory rack on a GTI/Golf of his generation? How does it work with the fixed rear windows?
His door is radically different from mine and I know our rack feet would be different too.

Anyone love their hatch rack so much they want to try to sell us on that route? What brands and style work best on hot hatches? We are open to suggestions.

Thanks

[rubywagon]

I have the Thule roof kit on my 07 Rabbit, so I am of no help with the VW factory rack, but I wanted to say how cute it is that both you and your son drive similar cars. I have the 07 Rabbit and my hub has an 06 GTI.

Edited: Sorry I read that was your son, but my brain read husband. Still cute!

[MommyBird]

Here they are in the garage.
Not a good photo. My hand is in the way and my focus was actually the incredible amount of pine pollen on the floor and tires.

[MartianDestiny]

Here they are in the garage.
Not a good photo. My hand is in the way and my focus was actually the incredible amount of pine pollen on the floor and tires.

Ah, Georgia, how I do not miss thee...

[MommyBird]

We have lots of Fast in our house. I think GreenbeanVW will understand.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7671133360048#

[rubywagon]

Love it. Totally understand.

[lo123]

My son drives a 2004 GTI and has a 63cm bike on order.
I do not think the bike will fit in the trunk area of his GTI.
I have a 2006 GTI which is quite a bit larger, by small car standards, than his 2004. I can easily put my 52cm WSD bike in my trunk but there is not much wiggle room. I have doubts that his 63cm will fit in his.

For what it's worth, my husband's 60cm will fit in the back of a 2001 Integra 2-door with the rear seats down as long as the front wheel is off. It's a pain, but do-able.

[MommyBird]

I compared wheelbases for the 01 Integra and 04 GTI. The GTI is about 2" shorter. The Integra has a sloped hatch and the GTI has a more vertical hatch so it may even be roomier. There is hope that the bike will fit.

[whateveronfire]

I dunno if it will fit. It might. My 56 hybrid and my 54 road bike both fit in '10 GTI, but I got the roof rack anyway. It's easier to deal with and doesn't scratch the interior of the car.

Just put a "Bike!" sign in the garage to prevent the driving of the MkIV and the bike into the building.

[WindingRoad]

My BF has a Golf of that body style and he found this cool Hatchhugger rack. It's old but very nice cuz it basically sits the bike at an angle behind the car so rocks don't hit it. We have put an amazing amount of stuff in that car so maybe you should just try it before you buy anything. As for the roof rack, I have always been paranoid of hitting the garage with my bike. Turns my stomach to think about it.

[lo123]

I compared wheelbases for the 01 Integra and 04 GTI. The GTI is about 2" shorter. The Integra has a sloped hatch and the GTI has a more vertical hatch so it may even be roomier. There is hope that the bike will fit.

It's definitely worth a shot. I have friends that take front and rear wheels off their bikes so they'll fit in the cargo space of their cars with seats still up (so they don't have to remove carseats-ick). So, if he doesn't mind putting front AND rear wheels on/off, that's another way to try. Pretty sure the frame would would fit w/o wheels.

Tip: We keep a furniture pad/blanket in the back of the car so the bike doesn't get scratched by the wheel/pump/miscellaneous cycling gear in the back.

[tulip]

07 Rabbit here...such cute cars, it would be a shame to sully the backside with a hitch rack. I vote for the roof rack. Have you tried putting the 63cm bike inside? I carry my (much smaller) bike inside but am getting a Thule roof rack so that my partner and his bike can come with me.

[MommyBird]

07 Rabbit here...such cute cars, it would be a shame to sully the backside with a hitch rack. I vote for the roof rack. Have you tried putting the 63cm bike inside? I carry my (much smaller) bike inside but am getting a Thule roof rack so that my partner and his bike can come with me.

Poor boy...his bike will not ship until after the 23rd. My husband's 56cm is the biggest bike in the house right now so we can't do an accurate fit check until the bike comes home from the LBS next week.

If it takes removing the back tire to make it fit we will definitely go with a rack.

We have some time before we will need to get him set up for transporting. First he will need to take delivery, and then ride a few times with his dad. He still has five rowing practices a week through May. He won't be ready to carry the bike in to the LBS group rides for at least a month.

[tulip]

Poor boy...his bike will not ship until after the 23rd. My husband's 56cm is the biggest bike in the house right now so we can't do an accurate fit check until the bike comes home from the LBS next week.

If it takes removing the back tire to make it fit we will definitely go with a rack.

We have some time before we will need to get him set up for transporting. First he will need to take delivery, and then ride a few times with his dad. He still has five rowing practices a week through May. He won't be ready to carry the bike in to the LBS group rides for at least a month.

I'm sure the bike shop has some other larger bikes you could try just for fit-in-the-car purposes. But it sounds like there's no rush anyways. He must be a very big kid.

[MommyBird]

We are definitely going with the roof rack.

The rear seat in the MIV GTI is not the engineering masterpiece of the MV GTI. Tulip will understand. Our GTI/Rabbit seats flip down with the greatest of ease. Nick's, on the other hand, is extremely cumbersome. You have to do this goofy lift and slide move on the seat bottom from the front doors first. This leaves the bottom tilted up behind the bucket seats and takes up space. Then you move to the back hatch and drop the seat back and reroute the seat belts. At 6'4"Nick's driver seat is so far back that it compromises the cargo area. His huge bike will not fit.

We have all of the pieces of a Thule rack system with the exception of the vehicle specific feet. Now we hope that Thule makes them for his car. We can't find them on their web site. We are having the LBS check.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfWScRkqqRo

Until we have his rack set up he will either use the truck or swap cars with me. I am not crazy about his after market exhaust.