Cycle carriers

[I_Am_Machine]

Could do with sorting out a cycle carrying solution now the kids are needing bigger bikes. I'm leaning towards a rear mounted solution as one of the places we like to take them on their bikes has a height restriction at the car park entrance which means putting them on the roof rack probablywont work. How secure are the towball mounted type? Seems like they rely on clamping tightly on the towball, worries me they might move around. I'd want to be able to get in the boot while the bikes are on as well. This would be for fitting to a v70.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Nothing wrong with towball mounted options. I recently did nearly 3000 miles up, around and back from Norway with four bikes on Thule Velospace XT3. As long as you have it set up properly it will be rock sold and not move. The Velospace XT3 even tilts enough to allow me to open the back without removing any bikes.

[Harpoon]

I've done thousands of miles with a tow ball mounted rack without issues. My rack is an really old Tradekar (not sure they are even made anymore) but it drops onto the ball, an arm locks it tight and then a bar (which can be padlocked) slides to stop the arm lifting. B-i-L has a Thule which has taken us to the Alps and Belgium with no issue.

Plenty of models will tilt or slide to allow a boot to open - have a look through

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bike-carri...

Roofbox sometimes have returned carriers at good prices, so keep an eye on

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/bargains-sale-clearance/...

I think the BiL got his Thule via Facebook marketplace, so worth looking around.

[Squishey]

Tow ball mounted racks are excellent. I bought my 4 bike Buzzrack from Gumtree earlier this year as I hated the roof bars being on the car year round. It's the best £60 I've spent in ages!

As has been said before, have a look on Gumtree, Marketplace, eBay, etc as there's real bargains to be had.

[RicksAlfas]

The bike carrier to the towball is rock solid. What can lead to wobbles is how solid the tow bar is mounted to the car!
I got an Atera Strada from Roofbox a good long time ago and it has been great. As mentioned above the swing away ones are so useful because you can't believe how many times you are ready to leave and someone has left their helmet/gloves/bottle in the boot.

[J886ATV]

Atera Strada user here - many thousands of miles at Motorway speeds. Best thing ever for transporting bikes

[573]

Towball mounted racks are great. have used a few on different vehicles and they're stable, relatively secure and allow you unhindered access to the boot (as shown above, they tilt out of the way).



I only stopped using them when the kids got too old and I often needed to transport 5 or more full-sized enduro bikes at once so needed a better solution to accommodate that.

[573]

I would say that if you've got a load of heavy bikes dangling off the back, be aware of how it may affect your car's stability and handling. I tried to use a smaller estate car, (an E46) for a while and it was rubbish. Something larger, especially if it has self-levelling air suspension will compensate for that weight levering down a long way from the rear wheel fulcrum.

[Davie]

You're likely to be well within the limits but bear in mind towbars have a nose weight load rating, from memory mine was 75kg which is likely playing safe but 4 x bikes at 20kgs a piece plus luggage etc adds up. I doubt it'd cause issues however.

I flipped between roof mounted carrier and a three bike towbar system previously. Pros and cons to both systems but the tart in me didn't like my new bike on the back, more so in grimey weather when it'd come off covered in a film of road grime and general filth. However, for quick trips out there was no difference in the two set ups... the roof was quicker as I left the carriers in place all the time, extra scene points there too. Rear mount, definitely get a tiltable one or it's a complete pain in the arse.

[ChocolateFrog]

I've hit severe undulations in the road, the kind where lorries ground out at 80mph with 75kg on the towbar.

They're incredibly strong I wouldn't worry.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Davie said:

You're likely to be well within the limits but bear in mind towbars have a nose weight load rating, from memory mine was 75kg which is likely playing safe but 4 x bikes at 20kgs a piece plus luggage etc adds up. I doubt it'd cause issues however.

I flipped between roof mounted carrier and a three bike towbar system previously. Pros and cons to both systems but the tart in me didn't like my new bike on the back, more so in grimey weather when it'd come off covered in a film of road grime and general filth. However, for quick trips out there was no difference in the two set ups... the roof was quicker as I left the carriers in place all the time, extra scene points there too. Rear mount, definitely get a tiltable one or it's a complete pain in the arse.

When I researched these before my purchase the total maximum carrying capacity of any tow ball mounted carrier appears to be 60kg.

[oddman]

Some great illustrations of why the towbar system is really good. I've got the Thule one and never had any doubts about it. I abandoned the strap on (fnarr) after seeing the aftermath of a carrier failure on the motorway and hearing of it happening to a friend on a family holiday.

This must be a fairly common failure as we were pulled by Police in Normandy to check security of our bikes. The only thing they found fault with is one of the wheelstraps was obscuring the number plate.

Edited by oddman on Thursday 31st October 08:50

[RicksAlfas]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

When I researched these before my purchase the total maximum carrying capacity of any tow ball mounted carrier appears to be 60kg.

Yes. There are two weights to be aware of.
Tow bar nose weight - dictated by the vehicle manufacturer.
Bike carrier capacity - dictated by the carrier manufacturer.

e.g.
https://www.atera.de/en/dl-3.html#:~:text=An%20ult...

Before electric bikes it was unlikely the weight of the bikes was going to cause a problem.
Bit different with some of the beasts out there now!