RJP3

Anyone have info/advice on mounting Thule bike racks to the Audi crossbars? I have existing Thule carriers. Saw a Q5 in a parking lot with the Thule carriers attached, but didn't really take the time to determine how they were connected.

Thanks in advance - Ray

tgt

Is there a specific model of Thule carrier you're looking at on the roof Ray? I have 2 Yakima fork mount racks on the roof of my Q5.

-tgt

RJP3

Yes...

But I don't know which it is, since I already own it.

:-D

Willowdog

I was talking to the rack guy when my GF bought a Thule rack for her A3. He said that Thule acually made the cross bars for Audi and that all stuff should be cross compatible, at least with the Thule aero bar.

Willowdog

Sorry, one more thing, even if you do get the rack mounted, how are you planning on getting the bikes up there? I'm 5'8" and would need a lot more inches to put a bike up there, especially if it's a rack where both wheels stay on.

Roil

The Thule bike racks comes with both a bolt to slide into the T-profile and a bracket for crossbars without a T-profile. use the T-bar bolt, remove the rubber list and slide the bike racks in from each side.

6'4" here - I make it ;-)

Atari XL

THULE has different styles of roof bars and a constantly evolving product line, so the answer will be specific to the rack you own. Try to identify it, or post pictures. From a mounting perspective, Q5 roof bars are compatible with THULE Aero bars. Your rack may be plug and play, or it might require a simple adapter kit like the xadapt1. Keep in mind, if you use the Audi roof bars, the car will sense it and modify ESP settings. I also recommend a fairing to help minimize wind noise.

I'm a huge fan of THULEs hitch racks, and have one on my GTI and the wife's Q5. The only downside is it sets off the parking sensors, which is pretty anoying.

Let us know how it turns out!

RJP3

6'2" here - no problem at all.

:-)

Looks like my Thule rack (Echelon) didn't come with the proper set screws/adapters for aero bars, so will need to pick some up somewhere along the way.

Willowdog

I don't think if I was 6-8 inches taller it would help but I do suppose you get extra arm length as part of the extended height package. Maybe that combination makes it work.

A6forMoi

Dredging up this thread hoping some folk with expertise can help me out.

I have older Thule bike carriers (Criterium 598) that work on the Thule square bars but not the Audi Q5 (2015) factory load bars. Looks like the Xadapt8 is the part for my carrier.

I'm confident the answer is that this Xadapt will work with the Audi bars, but can anyone confirm? (Or confirm they all do?)