Johnno, welcome to the group. You will find lots of information here. As for your question, a lot of it comes down to what sort of options you are wanting/needing. Some bike racks have a fold down feature to make loading the bike easier, some have padded holding grooves, some have padded clasps that make it very difficult to remove the bike by others. Then you have cost. As a general rule, the more it costs, the nicer the rack. So, how much are you willing to spend? If you have a very nice bike, spending some extra on a good/secure rack will be well worth your money. If you have a cheapy bike, probably not worth it.

The big things that I would look for is one that keeps the bike out away from the vehicle (prevents scrapes and whatnot on the car from the tires spinning, pedals, etc), something with a hook that helps to keep the handlebars in a fixed location, and a means on the rack to lock the bike in place to prevent theft. Beyond that I would find one that will be able to handle your body weight (ie, attach it to your car and then gently put your weight on to the rack and be able to lift your feet off of the ground). This will garantee you are getting a well constructed rack and will not fail over time because of the shocks seen from the bike being bounced up and down due to rough roads.

 

I know they make a factory roof rack for the x-type. I am not sure if they also have a bike attachment like VW makes. Try the dealer and see what they have. Your best bet is to get a parts book from them since they do not make the car in the states anymore and the dealer may not be 100% on what they can get.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

Hello! Several years later, I am dealing with the same problem. I own a 2007 X-Type and want to use it to transport road bikes (2). What I do now is put a blanket on the seat then fold both sections down, cover the rim of the trunk with another microfibre blanket and slide my bike, gears up, into the extended trunk. It acutally fits right in, but takes some manoevering and tends to throw things out of adjustment. There must be an easier way! I'm SURE I'm not the only one who owns this model and travels with their bikes on it. What is the best way? Thank you.

Denise

 

Pop over and look at "exexpat"s garage. Jeremy has the bike rack on the roof.

 

Thanks, Morhd. Called Jaguar Victoria and they have found a roof rack (in Toronto) and bike holders (in Michigan) for me. I hate ruining that beautiful topline of the car but hey, I did say I appreciated its practicality!