Recommend me a tow bar Bike rack..
Discussion
Had the same question and ended up getting a Mottez one. £200 versus nearer £400 for the Thule.
Ours hangs on the back of a Pathfinder - It's very solid (i.e. heavy) and relatively easy to fit, takes 4 bikes but you need to be clever wth where you put the pedals to avoid them clashing. I found it easiest to take the pedals off the innermost 2 bikes. Oh and you may need to turn the bars too. Not sure if you have the same issues with the Thule.
Ours hangs on the back of a Pathfinder - It's very solid (i.e. heavy) and relatively easy to fit, takes 4 bikes but you need to be clever wth where you put the pedals to avoid them clashing. I found it easiest to take the pedals off the innermost 2 bikes. Oh and you may need to turn the bars too. Not sure if you have the same issues with the Thule.
http://www.thule.com/en/GB/Products/Bike-Carriers/...
Bought for around £150 from Demon Theives, you need to get a light board to keep legal, don't bother with the Thule board as it is a bit cheap & doesn't mount up as I'd expected, you just strap it on the back, it cost £50 whereas a cheap lightboard can be had for £20
Bought for around £150 from Demon Theives, you need to get a light board to keep legal, don't bother with the Thule board as it is a bit cheap & doesn't mount up as I'd expected, you just strap it on the back, it cost £50 whereas a cheap lightboard can be had for £20
Edited by scrwright on Tuesday 6th December 08:38
scrwright said:
http://www.thule.com/en/GB/Products/Bike-Carriers/...
Bought for around £150 from Demon Theives, you need to get a light board to keep legal, don't bother with the Thule board as it is a bit cheap & doesn't mount up as I'd expected, you just strap it on the back, it cost £50 whereas a cheap lightboard can be had for £20
That's the one I have, I just use a cheap lightboard and bungee in to the last bike.Bought for around £150 from Demon Theives, you need to get a light board to keep legal, don't bother with the Thule board as it is a bit cheap & doesn't mount up as I'd expected, you just strap it on the back, it cost £50 whereas a cheap lightboard can be had for £20
Edited by scrwright on Tuesday 6th December 08:38
Put your bikes on the roof please.... or make sure your car is wider than your bikes are long and you use a full repeater board for your lights and number plate.
(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
scubadude said:
Put your bikes on the roof please.... or make sure your car is wider than your bikes are long and you use a full repeater board for your lights and number plate.
(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
You can't ban them on the basis that some drivers are idiots though. They're a perfectly safe, useful and sensible carrier if used properly. Our bikes don't extend past the sides of our car and we're painfully conscious of the "swing" when turning. Not only that, but we don't drive that close to cyclists to cause any level of concern. Odd that anyone with a bike carrier would act any differently really.(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
scubadude said:
Put your bikes on the roof please.... or make sure your car is wider than your bikes are long and you use a full repeater board for your lights and number plate.
(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
What about short people with tall cars? In fact, i doubt anyone could reach the centre line of a LR Discovery to take a bike own. Also I can't think of many bikes that are wider than a Discovery. I certainly don't have an issue with the Treg with the wheels sticking out. (IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
I used a Gulliver 3 bike platform rack http://www.barsandboxes.co.uk/product_02.asp?produ... which was good but built to a budget and feels cheap, and just bought the Thule 3 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THULE-9503-3-Bike-Cycle-... which includes light bar at £134 delivered.
scubadude said:
Put your bikes on the roof please.... or make sure your car is wider than your bikes are long and you use a full repeater board for your lights and number plate.
What if I want to put my roof in the boot?And for what it's worth, my car is wider than my bikes and I always give cyclists plenty of room whether carrying bikes or not. Not to mention that carrying them on the back of the car is more fuel efficient.
Oh - full light board here too!
It's a Thule 9403 - carries 3 bikes and includes the lightboard which is bolted onto the carrier. Absolutely superb piece of kit. I needed something that the bikes supported their own weight on their wheels as one of my bikes has a carbon frame and I can't hang it on a '2-prong' type carrier. Been up to some decent speeds with it on the car too - never a problem.
Took it to La Rochelle a couple of months ago and even the 'vette managed an average of nearly 26mpg with a massive load of luggage plus the extra drag of these on the back. (Would have normally expected just over 27 on a trip like this without the bikes on the car)
£139.99 in Halfords. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Edited by Soop Dogg on Wednesday 7th December 17:43
Edited by Soop Dogg on Wednesday 7th December 23:05
scubadude said:
Put your bikes on the roof please.... or make sure your car is wider than your bikes are long and you use a full repeater board for your lights and number plate.
(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
Even the largest framed bike isn't going to be much wider than even the narrowist of cars. If someone drives that close to you, they'd be too close even without the rack. My 20" framed Trance is no wider than my Impreza.(IMVHO Tow ball bike carriers should be banned, I've been hit twice (while on my bike) by drivers coming to close with one and being hit by the wheel- neither time could I see the number as they sped off to write it down and when driving they are appalling at night to follow as the lights are terrible covered)
If the lights are covered, then it's illegal, and is already banned. There's nothing wrong with tow bar racks, for me they're the best option by far for most people.
I've been looking into this, the Halfords 4 bike rack seems really good value, rear lights built in so all ready to go, cheap at £150
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Why spend nearly £400 for the Thule? (thats a genuine question by the way)
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Why spend nearly £400 for the Thule? (thats a genuine question by the way)
Three things I've noticed about the cheaper ones:
1. They do seem to oscillate a bit
2. They don't have the tilt mechanism which is massively useful for leaving the bikes attached while you open the boot/tailgate
3. Slightly lower carrying capacity - shouldn't be a problem in reality because bikes are MUCH lighter these days anyway.
There is great sense of security with the Thule one I've got. It's not rated for my weight (FB KG) but whilst loading the roof box I got a bit angry with my poor access and stood on it - only later noticing what I was standing on and how secure it felt. But the thing weighs a ton when you take it off the car, and is quite large when you need to find storage for it.
1. They do seem to oscillate a bit
2. They don't have the tilt mechanism which is massively useful for leaving the bikes attached while you open the boot/tailgate
3. Slightly lower carrying capacity - shouldn't be a problem in reality because bikes are MUCH lighter these days anyway.
There is great sense of security with the Thule one I've got. It's not rated for my weight (FB KG) but whilst loading the roof box I got a bit angry with my poor access and stood on it - only later noticing what I was standing on and how secure it felt. But the thing weighs a ton when you take it off the car, and is quite large when you need to find storage for it.
My 3-bike rack (on the 'vette above) as I've said is £139.99 in Halfords. When I bought it it was £119.95 as it was on offer. (Being only £3 more than the 2-bike rack of the same make, I'd have been silly not to buy it!) It's not been rebranded as a Halfords rack - it is a Thule rack and is branded as such. Also it does have the mechanism on it to tilt it away from the car which is handy as we also use it on the back of a Jag X-Type estate for which the tilt mechanism is a must.
Like I say, it's been up to silly speeds on the 'vette, over all sorts of roads with fairly stiff suspension on the car and I've never had a problem.
The more expensive Thule racks are probably much more sturdy - yes this one will flex a little but not excessively so, but I don't really see that as a problem. I'd definitely buy another one, although if I was feeling particularly flush I'd probably go with one of the expensive one - if only because they look so much more substantial and might last longer in the long run.
Like I say, it's been up to silly speeds on the 'vette, over all sorts of roads with fairly stiff suspension on the car and I've never had a problem.
The more expensive Thule racks are probably much more sturdy - yes this one will flex a little but not excessively so, but I don't really see that as a problem. I'd definitely buy another one, although if I was feeling particularly flush I'd probably go with one of the expensive one - if only because they look so much more substantial and might last longer in the long run.
This is the Thule mentioned at the top of the post
A three bike carrier with an extension to add another, it was excellent in the summer, but even empty it's heavy. It is of very good quality though and very sturdy.
This is only borrowed, but we bought the extension piece and it's still in our garage, as my Bro-in-law is in now hurry to have it back.
A three bike carrier with an extension to add another, it was excellent in the summer, but even empty it's heavy. It is of very good quality though and very sturdy.
This is only borrowed, but we bought the extension piece and it's still in our garage, as my Bro-in-law is in now hurry to have it back.
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