Tow bar bike carriers

[SteveRuss]

Hi Steve,

I also work a lot with cable ties and am quite familiar with their properties.

I was only suggesting their use in addition to clamps and ratchet straps and not as a primary method of securing a bike.

Sure. I thought as much. They are very useful in general but I thought i'd throw in my experience with them for safety's sake if nothing else.

Cheers. Steve

 

[RobF]

I'm impressed with all the posters who seem able to get these rack contraptions loaded and unloaded in minutes.

The handful of people in the flesh I've spoken to have all said loading and unloading the carrier is a bit of a faff.

Not to mention hoiking the carrier itself onto the tow ball.

 

[Richard T. Jensen]

I bought this for my bikes...works great
Thule Euroway G2 921

 

[peerjay56]

I had the Wilko one before that was about 1/4 of the price. It worked, but it was a lot of messing about to fit, and also a lot more messing about to get the bike/s on it.

Unlike D8veh, I have persevered with my Wilco (not Wilko) one. Link here.
I don't find it that much of a faff to load (often with 2 electric bikes) - well, more accurately, not more of a faff than any other external bike carrier. But then again, I haven't gone down the route of buying a bike carrier that costs more than the bikes it carries

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Unlike D8veh, I have persevered with my Wilco (not Wilko) one. Link here.
I don't find it that much of a faff to load (often with 2 electric bikes) - well, more accurately, not more of a faff than any other external bike carrier. But then again, I haven't gone down the route of buying a bike carrier that costs more than the bikes it carries

You're right of course. £500 is a lot of money to cut the time for fixing the carrier to the car and the bikes to the carrier from 15 minutes to three minutes. I can't argue when it comes to value for money, but some things are just a joy to behold. It's difficult to put a price on that. The moment I saw Battribike demonstrate it at the Cycle Show, I wanted it, like love at first sight.

 

[D C]

like love at first sight.

That cost me a heck of a lot more than £500!
But worth every penny

Dave.

 

[Cyclezee]

That cost me a heck of a lot more than £500!
But worth every penny

Dave.

But a better investment than a bike?

 

[John Stride]

This is my first post and I'm very pleased to have the forum with all your experience and expertise to appeal to!
We have recently bought a Freego Hawk (for me) and a Juicy bike (for my wife) and we really enjoy them. Both have batteries mounted behind the seat pillar, which means a longer than normal wheelbase (120cm) would a Thule 916 or any other towbar fitted carrier be capable of carrying them? Any advice would be gratefully received.

John Stride

 

[jdallan]

This is my first post and I'm very pleased to have the forum with all your experience and expertise to appeal to!
We have recently bought a Freego Hawk (for me) and a Juicy bike (for my wife) and we really enjoy them. Both have batteries mounted behind the seat pillar, which means a longer than normal wheelbase (120cm) would a Thule 916 or any other towbar fitted carrier be capable of carrying them? Any advice would be gratefully received.

John Stride

Hi John,

That's the one I use to carry my KTM and my wife's Freego Eagle. Installing it on the car and loading and unloading the bikes can be done pretty quickly and gets easier with practice. I can recommend it.

Jim

 

[John Stride]

Many thanks Jim - that's just what I hoped to hear.

John..

 

[PhilYerBoots]

+1 for the thule 916.
We've had ours nearly 2 years now for my wife's Juicy Classic and my Giant conversion and both mount and secure very easily and are rock solid on the move. Its such an easy carrier to use, if a bit heavy to carry, but weight = quality in this case. Its expensive but imo good value for money.

 

[Black Dog]

We have the Thule 9403 (I think - from Halfords anyway) 3-bike carrier for our two ebikes. Positives are that it is solid as a rock, no movement even with enthusiastic driving and easy to mount to the car. Capacity is 45 kg, and with the batteries off and in the boot our bikes weigh in at about 42 the pair, so we are close to the limit, but no issues so far. Built-in light bar and number plate are useful. Downsides are that it can be awkward to mount the bikes. The channels that the wheels go in point downwards away from the centre, so the bikes wants to fall off one way or the other so you really need someone to hold the bike in position while you fix the wheel straps. Also, the positions for the bikes are quite close together, so you have to play a bit of jigsaw puzzling with cranks and handlebars to get the bikes to fit together nicely. I add bungies or small ratchet straps to wheels and bars to keep the bikes still if we are going any distance, and a long cable with padlock around the bikes and towbar if we are going to be leaving them for any length of time. I like the way you can check the bikes in the mirror at any time. With a roof-mounted rack I always wonder if they are still there. I'm happy with the Thule, and it seems very well-made.

 

[Wingreen]

Sure all the previously mentioned racks are great if you can afford them, and no doubt necessary if you need to carry two or three heavy bikes.
I only need to carry one so I use the Thule 2 bike hang on tow hitch carrier using just one position.
Carries up to 30kgs, you can lock the rack with a padlock so it can't be taken off, and you can lock your bike to the rack
Takes me around 3 or 4 mins to load bike, secure straps and secure a lighting board.
Best of all ................ just over £50!!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001N3L4D0/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002SATTYS&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0KEF91RW8TMW88GZJ3AE

I'm very interested in this option but I'm not sure how adaptable it is to use with an electric bike (Big Bear) that doesnt have a conventional crossbar. Any thoughts or experience?

 

[jdallan]

You can get a detachable cross bar - see Halfords.com, false cross bar. However I've seen one of these and I'd be wary of using it with a heavy bike.

Jim

 

[Wingreen]

You can get a detachable cross bar - see Halfords.com, false cross bar. However I've seen one of these and I'd be wary of using it with a heavy bike.

Jim

Thanks Jim, my thoughts entirely. They dont look that strong and, from memory, I think the maximum weight of bike they recommend is lower than the weight of my Big Bear.