10-19-2011, 10:16 AM | #1 |
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Nice Rack!
...And the base crossbars and awesome too! I know there are a few that purchased aftermarket Thule, Yakama, Aereo, and a few other very good, stand-alone brands, but I found the BMW base support racks/crossbars to be very high quality, custom fit to our cars, and flexible enough to carry what most of us need.
The same quality carries over to the BMW Touring Bike Rack as well as their 6 ski/snowboard rack. High quality, solid construction, streamlined, made for our cars. Seems like the engineers that designed our cars, did some work on their downtime for these racks. If you're looking to get roof racks to carry stuff. I think you can do no better than getting the BMW roof system.
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10-19-2011, 10:52 AM | #2 | |
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10-19-2011, 11:00 AM | #3 |
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Drives: 2006 330i, 2011 X3 , 2000e39
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Been thinking about getting the base and snowboard rack.
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10-19-2011, 12:16 PM | #4 |
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Base System
The base system (crossbars) is solid. It's stream lined (meaning, the bars don't protrude beyond the support bases). They're tight fitting and solid construction. You can tell when you handle them that they are beefy but not overly heavy.
I like the snowboard carrier because you can actually carry other stuff in there. I play hockey too, so I throw my sticks up there sometimes. 2X4X8 that you couldn't get in the car... you can throw up on the carrier (though, I wouldn't get on the highway in that scenario)... strictly for slow, back streets driving. But hey, at least you can do it. Bike rack is equally as strong. I'll say this, if you get the 6 ski and snowboard combo... it does stand high off the roof. No problem getting in the garage, but you can definitely hear them going down the road. Same with all racks, but a little more so if you get the taller ones.
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10-19-2011, 01:17 PM | #5 |
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I plan to put on the new Thule Aeroblade bars on mine (when it eventually arrives) in the hope that they'll keep wind noise to a minimum. Hoping that my Yakima Fatcats can mount to the wide profile bars...
I remember someone telling me that Audi & BMW roof racks are all actually manufactured by Thule. |
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10-19-2011, 02:44 PM | #6 |
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Audi & BMW use multiple manufacturers for roof bars and accessories. Thule, Mont Blanc, Atera, KAMEI are all used.
The accessories can often be really obvious rebadges like the Thule Atlantis being offered as an Audi roofbox and my Audi snowboard carrier looks uncannily like the Thule Deluxe.
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10-19-2011, 03:09 PM | #7 |
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I've never used them, but I would agree that even at a slightly higher cost it would be advisable to use the system that was designed for the vehicle. They are probably made by Thule anyway... but precision fit is guaranteed.
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10-19-2011, 09:46 PM | #8 | |
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10-19-2011, 09:59 PM | #9 |
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Or you can buy the same rack from REI and if there were a fit issue (doubtful) you can return it. Also you'd get 10% back in dividend in the Spring.
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10-19-2011, 11:22 PM | #10 |
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Thule Custom Design, I like it!
Well, if Thule makes the BMW racks, all the better. Whoever makes 'em, makes 'em well. As for the base rack, none of the aftermarket brands, including Thule, are custom fit as well as the BMW racks.
Some of the aftermarket components are nice, like the Yakama fatcats. It would be interesting to know if the Fatcats fit on the BMW rack... The BMW base rack crossbars aren't round, kind of oval shaped. The front crossbar has little spoilers on the underside of the bar. To help with wind-noise I suspect. Sometimes when a company makes products not in their 'wheelhouse', the quality tends to be questionable. These racks and base support are of the highest quality I've seen. And if they're made by Thule or another professional transport company, that would stand to reason.
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10-20-2011, 06:15 AM | #12 | |
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http://www.thule.com/fitguide/index....e=en&Market=SE |
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10-20-2011, 12:27 PM | #13 | |
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