Advice on bike carrier
Discussion
Apologies this isn't about something sexier than a bike carrier, but looking for a bit of advice.
I've been using a three bike Thule carrier for a few years now, one that hooks over the top and bottom of the tailgate and braces against the rear window. I bought it for our Land Rover Freelander 2 and it has served us well, albeit because of the way it attached to the car, it scratched the paint at the bottom of the tailgate, and when the rear wiper activated when reversing (with front wipers on) it hit the rack where it was on the screen and burnt out the wiper motor. Now I have just sold the Land Rover and replaced it with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I would rather the same thing not happen again.
Thankfully, the Jeep has a towbar, as does my Saab (which the old rack wouldn't fit) and I am considering the towball mounted Thule 970 Express 2 bike carrier. Does anyone have any experience of these? Are they any good? I like the idea of the fact they are quite compact and I could take it off the car and throw it in the boot when the car i sparked up, but I'm curious as to how rigid they are when carrying the bikes over a distance. We are off to Cornwall at Easter and France in the summer, so my daughter and I want to take our bikes, but how good are they over long distances (we live just outside London)? I've watched videos on how they attach, but I can't seem to find any real world user videos as to how they are after driving a few hundred miles.
My daughter has a little Ridgeback mountain bike (she's 8) and I just take my old Carrera town bike when I am with her, but I do have a Genesis road bike too that I may wish to take places on my own in the summer, but I rarely carry more than 2 bikes at once. Are these ok? Am I better off with a bigger three bike towbar mounted carrier?
Any assistance appreciated.
I've been using a three bike Thule carrier for a few years now, one that hooks over the top and bottom of the tailgate and braces against the rear window. I bought it for our Land Rover Freelander 2 and it has served us well, albeit because of the way it attached to the car, it scratched the paint at the bottom of the tailgate, and when the rear wiper activated when reversing (with front wipers on) it hit the rack where it was on the screen and burnt out the wiper motor. Now I have just sold the Land Rover and replaced it with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I would rather the same thing not happen again.
Thankfully, the Jeep has a towbar, as does my Saab (which the old rack wouldn't fit) and I am considering the towball mounted Thule 970 Express 2 bike carrier. Does anyone have any experience of these? Are they any good? I like the idea of the fact they are quite compact and I could take it off the car and throw it in the boot when the car i sparked up, but I'm curious as to how rigid they are when carrying the bikes over a distance. We are off to Cornwall at Easter and France in the summer, so my daughter and I want to take our bikes, but how good are they over long distances (we live just outside London)? I've watched videos on how they attach, but I can't seem to find any real world user videos as to how they are after driving a few hundred miles.
My daughter has a little Ridgeback mountain bike (she's 8) and I just take my old Carrera town bike when I am with her, but I do have a Genesis road bike too that I may wish to take places on my own in the summer, but I rarely carry more than 2 bikes at once. Are these ok? Am I better off with a bigger three bike towbar mounted carrier?
Any assistance appreciated.
My experience relates to quite different vehicles (both convertibles), but I used to use a Saris Bones 2 on my 1 Series. Was cheap and functional, but a hassle and increasingly impractical with non-traditional frame shapes (e.g full-sussers).
When I got my 4 Series I had a towbar fitted purely so I could have a towbar mounted bike rack. It was expensive but *totally* worth it. I have a Thule Velocompact (for two bikes) as (I think) it's the lightest Thule made and reduces in size (slightly) for storage.
In terms of rigidity, totally fine. Looks to wobble slightly in the rear view mirror when on the motorway, but as close to zero movement as realistically possible. I use mine almost exclusively for two- to four-hour motorway trips (West Yorkshire to; Lakes, Scotland, New Forest, etc.), no issues at all.
If you have two vehicles with towbars, I wouldn't consider anything but a towbar mounted rack. If you might need to carry three, I'd just get the three-bike rack. I didn't because I rarely would need to and I wanted to minimise the weight where I could.
Other benefits I've found: -
- Locks to the car, no worries about leaving it attached at a trail centre.
- Bikes lock to the carrier, some (limited) deterrence to theft (wouldn't leave it unattended at Leicester Forest East though...).
- Tilts out of the way with the bikes so allow access to the boot.
- Seems to catch less wind than roof-mounted alternatives (certainly quieter).
Also, Thule seem to have good parts / accessories support. E.g. they do fittings for carbon frames to help avoid crushing.
When I got my 4 Series I had a towbar fitted purely so I could have a towbar mounted bike rack. It was expensive but *totally* worth it. I have a Thule Velocompact (for two bikes) as (I think) it's the lightest Thule made and reduces in size (slightly) for storage.
In terms of rigidity, totally fine. Looks to wobble slightly in the rear view mirror when on the motorway, but as close to zero movement as realistically possible. I use mine almost exclusively for two- to four-hour motorway trips (West Yorkshire to; Lakes, Scotland, New Forest, etc.), no issues at all.
If you have two vehicles with towbars, I wouldn't consider anything but a towbar mounted rack. If you might need to carry three, I'd just get the three-bike rack. I didn't because I rarely would need to and I wanted to minimise the weight where I could.
Other benefits I've found: -
- Locks to the car, no worries about leaving it attached at a trail centre.
- Bikes lock to the carrier, some (limited) deterrence to theft (wouldn't leave it unattended at Leicester Forest East though...).
- Tilts out of the way with the bikes so allow access to the boot.
- Seems to catch less wind than roof-mounted alternatives (certainly quieter).
Also, Thule seem to have good parts / accessories support. E.g. they do fittings for carbon frames to help avoid crushing.
I’ve had a Thule rack now over 10 years and no problems with it during that time.
It carries two bikes from Yorkshire to the Loire and back every year, and occasionally down to the alps and Provence with no damage.
I do use extra straps to stop the front wheels moving about and as a security measure in case the bike clamps come loose, which they never have.
Good solid piece of kit, protects both car and bikes when in use.
It carries two bikes from Yorkshire to the Loire and back every year, and occasionally down to the alps and Provence with no damage.
I do use extra straps to stop the front wheels moving about and as a security measure in case the bike clamps come loose, which they never have.
Good solid piece of kit, protects both car and bikes when in use.
This has helped, thank you. I just feel for the few occasions that we need to carry the bikes long distances, to have the more compact and easier to use Express one seems the right way rather than the larger "tray-type" (if that makes sense?) with light boards and the extra bulk. They just didn't make sense. Yet both my wife and I questioned how secure the Express would be on the towball! You've helped answer that, so thank you.
I've got a TradeKar towbar carrier - it's probably 15 years old now and still going strong. It's been up and down the UK, plus a ~1700 mile round trip to the south of France. Looks a bit rudimentary compared to the new Thule carriers but it tilts for boot opening. If / when I have to replace it, I'd be sticking with a carrier that holds the wheels.
Worth keeping an eye on the returns section at Roofbox - you can sometimes spot a bargain which has some cosmetic scuffs.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bargains-sale-clearance/...
Worth keeping an eye on the returns section at Roofbox - you can sometimes spot a bargain which has some cosmetic scuffs.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bargains-sale-clearance/...
I've had experience of a number of towbar mounted carriers over the years and by far the best I've used is the Atera Strada DL. Brilliant piece of kit.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.ph...
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.ph...
Harpoon said:
I've got a TradeKar towbar carrier - it's probably 15 years old now and still going strong. It's been up and down the UK, plus a ~1700 mile round trip to the south of France. Looks a bit rudimentary compared to the new Thule carriers but it tilts for boot opening. If / when I have to replace it, I'd be sticking with a carrier that holds the wheels.
Worth keeping an eye on the returns section at Roofbox - you can sometimes spot a bargain which has some cosmetic scuffs.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bargains-sale-clearance/...
Oh, hadn't heard of that site before. I'll keep an eye out there as I will also need to buy some cross bars for the Jeep to fit our roof box. Thanks for that!Worth keeping an eye on the returns section at Roofbox - you can sometimes spot a bargain which has some cosmetic scuffs.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bargains-sale-clearance/...
I've always used a thurle tow bar mounted carrier. Works well (had two bikes on the back on a 5 series touring from norwich to cornwall a couple of times, no issues).
I now have a car with a bloody spare wheel on the back; does anyone know if theres a suitable solution for a clamp on tow bar carrier to take this into account?
I now have a car with a bloody spare wheel on the back; does anyone know if theres a suitable solution for a clamp on tow bar carrier to take this into account?
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