Tow ball mounted bike rack - recommendations ??

[seadragon]

Hi All,

I have a bad back and am looking for the most user friendly tow-ball mounted rack to use:

Requirements:

Not a rack type where the bikes hang, the one where you rest the wheels
Will have a lighting board
Easy to assemble, easy to use and therefore less strain on my back
Light/strong.
Something that will accommodate wide and narrow tyre sizes (I have a road bike with narrow tyres and 2 cruisers with fat tyres).
Something that has gentle clips attachments that wont damage my bike frame (if possible).

I have seen a Mont Blanc that might suit and I have also been looking at Thule 949 but I was wanting some tips from people who actually use this kind of carrier, so can recommend or discount.

Thanks in advance

[RRS_Staffs]

I have a Thule 909 and cant rate it highly enough

Its rock solid with 3 MTB's on it and with an adapter I can get our 4 family bikes - one MTB, one skinny road bike and 2 kids bikes

Ive hammered across France with it several times and will do so again this summer without stress

Only prob is its heavy and needs space for storage, although it kind of folds flat
It also be wary of recommending it if you have a bad back, although with care I can lift mine onto the tow hook with my back straight

cheers

COI: Dont have bad back per se but conscious I could easily injure it being tall

[chip*]

Thule 9502 for 2 bikes is what I use. Easy to fit and remove, sturdy and simple to adjust for different bike size.

Thule 9503 is available for 3 bikes.

[CoolC]

This topic crops up all the time on STW, and default answer seems to be the Atera Strada.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php...

Not the cheapest, but does seem to be highly recomended (although I can't comment my self, I only have roof mounted racks)

[seadragon]

Thanks a lot, good to get some other views, so many to choose from.

The Thule 9502 looks good and that Atera Strada looks great and from the fitting vid seems a doddle to set up, also light too.

Much appreciated so far, thank you :-)

[djone101]

I use a Mottez 4 bike rack - cheap and solid but boy is it heavy. Not a worry on the back of a 4x4 but you could easily rupture something getting in on there - in your situation I would say avoid this one. HTH

[JaseB]

chip* said:

Thule 9502 for 2 bikes is what I use. Easy to fit and remove, sturdy and simple to adjust for different bike size.

Used one for the first time this weekend, brilliant bit of kit.

[Watchman]

The Thule is a fearsomly heavy item. I have one. It's bloody strong but strains my tennis-elbow injury if I forget and try to pick it up left handed.

[seadragon]

:-) good one. I want something strong but dont want to do my back in just to put it on. I like the Atera but not sure I can justify the £300 + cost for one just because it is light.

[Watchman]

To be fair, mine might not be the same as the one recommended above. It's the tiltable one, replaced with the Thule EuroClassic G6 LED 928 which is is just under 20Kg according to the website:

http://www.thule.com/en/GB/Products/Bike-Carriers/...

That 20Kg feels more, probably because of the awkward size/shape.

I'd still recommend it though, health issues notwithstanding. It's bloody strong, and survived a fairly high speed run to France and back last summer.

[ED209]

I have a witter zx300 3 bike carrier for my evoque and to be honest its spot on. A good bit cheaper than the thule ones too.

[seadragon]

Thanks all for the help. I have weighed up my options/needs and have bitten the bullet and gone for the Atera Strada DL 2

I appreciate all the tips, much appreciated