Roof Rack and Bike Racks for 2009 Volkswagen Jetta  

Question:

Expert Reply:

You've got a lot of great options, and of them, I recommend using a square bar kit and frame mount racks for the best value and functionality of your new roof rack system.

First, you'll want to verify your vehicle's roof capacity prior to installing. The capacity will include the weight of the racks plus roof rack plus the bikes.

For the roof rack, I recommend the Rhino Rack Square kit, consisting of:

# RRVA126B-2
# RRRLKVA
# DK055

This installs a standard, square bar kit onto your roof rack and is easy to install and remove. This will let you pull the rack off when you don't want it on your vehicle. The square bars are great for simplicity, and a lot of companies produce their bike racks and other accessories to be compatible with square bars, giving you a wide range of compatibility.

For the bike rack, you'll want to pick these based on how you want to transport the bikes. If you don't want to mess with removing the wheels, frame racks are your best value choice.

The Thule ProRide XT Roof Bike Rack, part # TH598004 is a great choice that installs quickly and lays flat when not in use. The frame clamp grips the bike on its lower frame tube, keeping it steady by ratcheting closed around the frame. Included locks keep the bike and rack secure on the roof.

If you want to spend a little more on each rack, you can get a significant upgrade that works well for a wider range of bikes with the RockyMounts TomaHawk, part # RKY1222. This is a wheel mounted rack that grabs the bike by the wheel and holds the bike into the front cradle. It includes locks for the bike and rack, and is fairly easy to load the bike into. The design of this rack allows compatibility with larger bike wheels, as well as smaller ones.

I've included video reviews of both parts so you can get a better look at these racks features and installation process.

expert reply by: Jacob W

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