Which tow bar mounted bike carrier

[Hackney]

Having a tow bar fitted to my new car so I can use a mount to carry four bikes - two adult, two children’s.

I’ve previously had a Thule roof rack and very happy with that although never put bikes on it. However Thule comes at a price.
Halfords have a circa £100 one and a £320 one (for which the only negative reviews for are about it not fitting adult MTBs. We don’t have MTBs)

Any recommendations?

[loskie]

Keep your eyes open for a second hand one. Many are sold that look barely used.

[Barchettaman]

Just get one that tilts when required.

[osterbo]

We have the Atera Strada DL3 from roofbox.co.uk. It's fine over several years of almost weekly use.

It slides backwards, which you may well need to open your tailgate.

You can get an extension bracket that will let you put the 4th bike on. I found this pretty fiddly - we don't need it because mostly we have 3 bikes. Proper 4-bike racks are pretty rare.

If you've got bikes with racks, or as the children grow to bigger bikes, it can be an absolutely pain trying to get everything lined up so it doesn't rub. I think you'll be OK if 2 of the bikes are kids bikes.

[RicksAlfas]

I don't think the cheaper ones will slide away and it is such a useful feature to have.

[JQ]

We've had the Atera Strada DL3 with the 4th bike extension for around 8 years and it's been brilliant and the bikes have been all over Europe and the UK.

4 adult bikes is fiddly as you need to remove pedals off the last bike, but we carry 3 adult full suspension mountain bikes with ease and carried 2 adult and 2 kids bikes with ease for a number of years. It's a solid piece of kit and tilts out to provide access to the boot, which is essential if you're going to be using it regularly.

With bike carriers it's worth paying the extra for quality as the cheap ones are a pain to use. We bought ours 2nd hand off Facebook Marketplace, just keep your eyes peeled they come up for sale quite regularly.

[Curlyvizsla]

We used MAXXRAXX towbar mounted carriers. No longer made, but they appear on secondhand market from time to time. We "towed" many times across Europe, including Alps, Pyrenees, mid Italy and long way into Spain.. I would imagine with second hand you would want to make sure ratchet straps were good / available for replacement, and of course you will need tow bar and light board. One thing to be wary of from experience is coming on and off ferry ramps as the plug which goes into the electric socket at the back of the bar can get caught in the ground . Carry a spare !!.
We probably did 15k+ miles with bikes on back
Hope that helps - otherwise it's Thule

[JQ]

Curlyvizsla said:

We used MAXXRAXX towbar mounted carriers. No longer made, but they appear on secondhand market from time to time. We "towed" many times across Europe, including Alps, Pyrenees, mid Italy and long way into Spain.. I would imagine with second hand you would want to make sure ratchet straps were good / available for replacement, and of course you will need tow bar and light board. One thing to be wary of from experience is coming on and off ferry ramps as the plug which goes into the electric socket at the back of the bar can get caught in the ground . Carry a spare !!.
We probably did 15k+ miles with bikes on back
Hope that helps - otherwise it's Thule

Check your kids bikes fit on this type of carrier, many don't and you have to then purchase an adaptor - all a bit of a pain and hence why we ended up with the Atera.