Bike rack hatch mounted or tow bar?

[Chrismawa]

I have a Skoda Octavia estate that I want to use to carry bikes. The car does have a towbar but I am missing the detachable neck. I can buy a replacement neck that isn't an issue but that would probably cost me around £80. Then there is the cost of a tow bar mounted carrier which I can see you can buy for around £70.

My other option is to buy a hatch mounted carrier from Halfords for £80.

Just wondering what people opinions would be and which set up would be better?

Thanks.

Edited by Chrismawa on Monday 11th April 09:55

[thepawbroon]

Hi,

One thing to look out for is how the hatch-mounted carrier is secured at the top of the tailgate - many cars have a plastic spoiler along the top which isn't strong enough to hold the bike carrier.

Also, look out for the visibility of your rear lights and reg plate when a bike or two are on. The towbar mounted carrier should already come with lights and the connection, you just need to buy a reg plate. The hatch carrier probably won't come with one.

I have both types (and indeed a roof carrier!) and I find I use the towbar mounted one the most often. It's easy to mount on the car, and it keeps the dirty / scratchy bikes clear of the car. It's easy to lock the carrier to the car with a cable lock, and lock the bikes to the carrier. It's fairly convenient to slacken the towbar clamp and lower the carrier, in order to access the boot, without taking the bikes off.

Good luck!

[Dog Star]

I wouldn’t even consider one of this hatch carriers or anything whatsoever that straps to the car - not if there’s a perfectly good towbar available.

Just get it done properly.

[Fastdruid]

Tow bar mount.

Disclaimer first. I've never tried a hatch mounted one but I was put off by the fact that it has (by design) to sit on the hatch and hence runs the risk of breaking glass, scratching the hatch etc. Have seen a few where the bikes end up resting against the car as well which has the prospect for dents, scratches etc. Will totally depend on the particular design of mount *and* car as to how well it works.

Bought a tow bar mount (as the car has a detachable tow bar) and haven't looked back. When the kids were younger and their little bikes would fit in the boot had a dual rack (which I would chuck in the boot when we were "on" the bikes rather than leave on the car) and now have a 4-bike rack that we leave on.

[joropug]

Chrismawa said:

I have a Skoda Octavia estate that I was to use to carry bikes. The car does have a towbar but I am missing the detachable neck. I canbuy a replacement neck that isn't an issue but that would probably cost me around £80. Then there is the cost of a tow bar mounted carrier which I can see you can buy for around £70.

My other option is to buy a hatch mounted carrier from Halfords for £80.

Just wondering what people opinions would be and which set up would be better?

Thanks.

I would like a tow bar mounted carrier but don't have a tow bar or inclination to fit one for such little use, as such I have gone for roof bars.

Thule Aero or OEM bars are great (My OEM Merc bars are actually made by Thule) - Lots of accessories that you can fit to them and when you change the car you can keep the accessories and swap the bar. Trigger's Broom.

One thing I found with my old 5 series Thule was because the bars overhung the feet to the full width of the car I could probably fit 3 bikes on it. With my Mercedes bars the bars mould into the feet which looks miles better but even 2 bikes touch handlebars if faced the same way.

[Captain Answer]

I've got a tow bar mounted one can take three bikes, great bit of kit and you know its all secured etc and the plate & lights are built in

Never fancied the look of the hatch mount ones and you'd need to put a light board on anyway to make it "proper"

[Scrump]

Towbar mount first choice.
Roof rack mount second choice.
Hatch mount if you really have no other option.

[joropug]

Scrump said:

Towbar mount first choice.
Roof rack mount second choice.
Hatch mount if you really have no other option.

Agree

My hatch mount I bought first for the 5 series didn’t end well, I dragged the front wheel of my bike along the floor for about a mile ! Strap slipped out of position.

[Krikkit]

I've used the hatch-type carriers in the past and they're fine with a bit of practice, not ideal though. With a towbar already fitted (although needing a neck) I'd get one for that no question.

[vikingaero]

Last summer, one of my friends borrowed my roof mounted bike racks and wrote off his Audi after a car park barrier interface error.

[Chrismawa]

Thanks all, tow bar rack it is! Will get a new neck ordered first.

[Baldchap]

vikingaero said:

Last summer, one of my friends borrowed my roof mounted bike racks and wrote off his Audi after a car park barrier interface error.

That's probably not the rack at fault...

[ballans]

Chrismawa said:

Thanks all, tow bar rack it is! Will get a new neck ordered first.

Good choice! I’ve used all the mentioned options but tow bar is by far the best option.
You might need to get the electric adapter but they are only about £10. Can get one from Screwfix if you need one in a hurry.
Also worth getting some electric contact cleaner (WD40 make some and readily available). The plug gets dirty causing the lights not to work. Much easier to give it a squirt before checking the bulbs.

[Hol]

I have had the same roof bar ones, for years but our new hybrid MTBs are on the cusp of being too heavy to guarantee a straight lift and secure in one go. My old full suspension bike was no problem.

I do have an old hatchback carrier from the 90’s in the car loft, but it would probably strain with the new bikes.

A tow bar carrier is probably the best option for me, but I don’t think they make (official bars) for either of our current cars.

Edited by Hol on Monday 11th April 11:15

[0ddball]

Towbar with a quality rack, no question. We went through every other option over the years before giving in and doing what we should have from the start.

Now I can literally have rack fitted and 3 bikes strapped on ready to go in a couple of minutes.

[Chrismawa]

Looking at the replacement necks, I have 2 options... a swan neck or a flanged type. Which would be best? The swan neck would probably interfere with my parking sensors the least. Seems bike carriers available for both types of neck too...

Edited by Chrismawa on Monday 11th April 11:59

[vikingaero]

The other advantage of a towbar one is that you don't have to stop before car park barriers, unload the bikes and then park the car.

[Byker28i]

vikingaero said:

The other advantage of a towbar one is that you don't have to stop before car park barriers, unload the bikes and then park the car.

Height on ferries - all sorts of advantages

[vikingaero]

Chrismawa said:

Looking at the replacement necks, I have 2 options... a swan neck or a flanged type. Which would be best? The swan neck would probably interfere with my parking sensors the least. Seems bike carriers available for both types of neck too...

Edited by Chrismawa on Monday 11th April 11:59

Does your bike rack mount on the tow hitch (the area where the tow bar neck mounts) or the tow ball? If it is towball them a swan neck is better, for as you say, less interference with parking sensors.

Tow hitch mounts generally suspend the bike in mid air from the frame. Tow ball ones tend to have the bike wheels in a channel and then a clamp on top for the frame.

[SkodaIan]

The vast majority of racks available these days clamp on the ball so either will work. The racks which have a mount bolted in between the flange and the towball can be useful if you want to tow a trailer at the same time. However, unless it's a light trailer with a long drawbar, that's not usually practical - towing a caravan at the same time as using a bike rack is pretty much impossible to do without exceeding the max nose weight on the towbar (unless it's just one or two very light carbon road bikes on the bike rack)