Trnsporting two Aggautu's using a car rack

[ferdie]

Transporting two Aggatu’s (C3 and C8) both step-through on a car rack. I don’t have a tow-bar and would like to avoid that expense until I change my car early next year. I think they are two heavy to be lifting onto a roof-rack and am left with the option of a car rack.

I have been looking at the SARIS range and just recently the Hollywood heavy duty 4 bike carrier.

I like the look of the SARIS Bones RS 3 bike carrier (3 x bikes 35LBS) which is about the same as my two (without batteries) approx. 100 LBS.

The Hollywood heady duty rack advertises 75KG for 4 bikes and would seem to comfortably carry the two Ebikes.

I would like to know if anybody has had any experience with either – I noticed some hits with the Bones rack but I think for a single bike. My car is a small MPV hatch-back and does take the two bikes inside albeit on top of one another and with room for very little else, hoping for a more straight-forward experience with the rack.

They are both step-through – would that mean the cross-bar extender?

Any help appreciated?

 

[indalo]

Hi Ferdie.

Sadly, I think you really ought to pay the money for a towbar and suitable carrier or trailer. Otherwise, you're stuck with your existing, somewhat unsatisfactory, arrangement or you take the risk of attaching the bikes to an after-market rack not designed for such heavy bikes.

Some may suggest one rack or another can cope with your bikes but I considered it and borrowed my son's Saris to try it out. I concluded there was a risk involved greater than I was prepared to take so continued to transport my bikes in the same way as you. My concern was not for the bikes should they come off but for other road users and pedestrians. A couple of ebikes can be replaced......!

Indalo

 

[funkylyn]

I have to say ferdie that I jibbed at the idea of the normal car rack for my ONE bike ....they just never seem really safe to me.....and am now still in the same quandary as you......and until I 'bite the bullet' I only transport my bike on the back of my motorhome.
So at the moment I am still wondering whether to go to the expense of a towbar and Thule bike carrier on the car for the few times I would need it, or whether to buy a folder just for local journeys with the car ( any excuse to buy another bike LOL ).

A towbar mounted rack is really the only safe option in my opinion for two electric bikes.
If I was you I would continue putting them in the back of your vehicle until you get your new car next year.......hopefully already complete WITH towbar

Lynda

 

[bode]

I originally bought a folder just so that I could transport it easily in the boot, and thus extend the range of my starting-off points for rides.

Since getting my Sprint, I have racked (no pun intended) my brains to try and find a solution to carrying it about, but reached no satisfactory conclusion. The bike is just too big and heavy to fit in the back of my Mondeo, I don't want to pay out about £300 for a tow bar and associated rack, and none of the strap-mounted racks look up to the job, especially as my bike too is a step-through model.

So it looks as if I shall stick to the folder for its original purpose. I have, though, adapted it to be able to use my big Ping battery so distance will not be the limitation it used to be.

 

[Cakey]

I have a saris bones 3 , and a tow bar mounted altea strada.
Saris is good for mountain bikes , never mounted my e bike on it. Takes 3 mountain bikes no problem.
Not sure where you live , but you are welcome to try mine. It's just sat in the garage.

 

[Biged]

I have virtually the same bikes, Agattu with crossbar and a Raleigh Dover step through.
I use a pair of roofbars and cycle mounts, the Mont Blanc bars i purchased are no longer available but if you visit this site Roof Rack Shop UK - Car & Van Roof Racks, Roof Bars, Roof Boxes, Bike Racks, Mont Blanc, Automaxi, Thule, Rhino where i purchased mine from there are alternatives.

I went to France with this set up last year no problems at all. I did add extra lashing across bikes and racks to prevent any side rock, it worked well.

The only problem i had was that the cycle mount bars (also Mont Blanc) were not quite long enough for the wheels to drop in the mounts, i resolved this by turning the mounts round, the wheels then dropped in perfectly.

Its a two person job to lift the bikes on, but being as there are always two of us its no problem.
In an ideal world we would all like to just go out and buy towbars and Thule mounts but some of us have budget constraints. This was my solution

 

[FJJ]

Thought I'd post this as I recently came across a neat solution for roof mounting a bike. I previously used to heave my old Urban Mover UM33X (20kg w/o battery) and my newer Carrera Subway Hybrid with Bafang kit (probably about 17kg w/o battery) up onto a Thule roof mounted carrier but after having some back problems looked into alternatives - I didn't fancy spending a fortune on a towbar and rack so ended up getting a roof mounted carrier that uses a gas strut to lift the bike onto the roof.

I drive a Mini Clubman but it seems Mini, BMW, Volvo and Honda all have pretty much the same OEM 'Bike Lift' carrier available. I ended up going for a Honda one and it fit my Thule Aero bars perfectly, I believe the Volvo one uses similar mounts or is available with a Thule square profile mount. I managed to get mine for £95 new on eBay.

Basically you mount an inverted T shaped bar to the bike (imagine one end of the horizontal bar being strapped to the saddle, the other has a hook that grabs the handlebars near the stem, securing with a 'tommy nut', there is then a bar which swivels up to attach to the roof mounted carrier), mate it to the unit attached to the roof bars then push the bike up easily with one hand - the strut bearing most of the weight. Once it's up there it locks into place and you use a few straps to secure the bottom of the wheels to the carrier.

It really saves a lot of effort and as someone who uses it twice a day most days I am so far really liking it. I've had it for around a month now.

Cheers,
FJJ

 

[bode]

There is this carrier which claims to be specifically designed for e-bikes:
BikE-lift - TwinnyLoad Bike Cariers

 

[ferdie]

successful solution

There is this carrier which claims to be specifically designed for e-bikes:
BikE-lift - TwinnyLoad Bike Cariers

I started this thread and in the end had a tow-bar fitted and used the thule ebike carrier which has just transported two aggautu's 550 miles to ireland without a problem - a really good piece of kit well worth the money

 

[timidtom]

I started this thread and in the end had a tow-bar fitted and used the thule ebike carrier which has just transported two aggautu's 550 miles to ireland without a problem - a really good piece of kit well worth the money

Ditto: the Thule is an excellent bit of kit - easy to use and rock steady on the road. Keeps it value well, too. Bite the bullet!
Tom