3 bike tow ball rack- why should I spend £100 more on this?

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This topic has 12 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by cp.

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3 bike tow ball rack- why should I spend £100 more on this?
TomB
Full Member

So, roofbox.co.uk have 2 wheel support racks under £200, a buzz rack buzz runner here or the £100 cheaper Tradekar 2 (+1) bike rack here. Any user comments? It'll be for various road, hardtail and full sus combinations. I'm not willing to go to the £300 plus thule and atera ones, but the tilt function is important. Any other thoughts before I buy?

Thanks all!

Posted 13 years ago

tonyg2003
Full Member

Thule 9503. Under £100 – thread earlier this week

Posted 13 years ago

ebygomm
Free Member

You don't need to spend 300quid to get a thule. You can get a rideon (9403?) for around 120

Posted 13 years ago

wwaswas
Full Member

I've got a 9503 and it's fine.

the tilt function doesn't give enough clearance to open the boot on my Scenic though – the hatch comes 'out' too far before it starts going 'up'.

Posted 13 years ago

TomB
Full Member

Cheers, but sounds like tilt might not be enough for my Citroen C4 MPV from wwaswas's experience. Anyone used either of those options I mentioned (especially with an MPV)?

Posted 13 years ago

Xan
Free Member

I boughtthis2 years ago. Carry 3 bike on a regular basis and have had no issues with it what so ever. Doesn;t look the most secure of carriers but its solid. I even had someone crash into it with no damage what so ever (was all checked ot by an engineer mate) You can probably get it cheeper than in Halfrauds (I only paid £99 in the xmas sale)

Posted 13 years ago

wwaswas
Full Member

TomB – I don;t think the tilt thing is a problem only with my Thule – the problem is most of them pivot away fromt he towball a bit and thus the bike nearest the car moves up and out rather than down and away. If you look at how far out from the car the hatch comes when opening I think you'll need to be sure that theres nothing on what you do buy that will interfere with that 'arc'.

Posted 13 years ago

ebygomm
Free Member

With mine you have to open the boot slightly so it clears the pedal of the nearest bike then tilt before opening the boot fully. I don't think a different rack would be any better, more dependent on the car

Posted 13 years ago

Junkyard
Free Member

got the tradekar i have the quick release versiom which is dearer, I used a cheapo Halfords roof rack mount for the third mount which works ok and only cost £20 extra. Works without problem what exactly do you want to know? The official extra bit is about £40. Tilt worked fine on mt xantia no idea for other cars or compared it to a Thule
EDIT: In respect to poster below I have used it with three bikes without issue though I agree I probably would not try it with 3 heavy downhill bikes.

Posted 13 years ago

cxi
Free Member

I've got the Silverbike "quick-fit" tiling model of that carrier – it looks like the same bike supports.

I've had 3 full size bikes on my carrier once and wouldn't do it again. The "channels" for the 3rd bike might be okay for a kid's bike but I wasn't happy with an MTB on it. Great with two MTBs though (HT or FS)

Posted 13 years ago

igm
Full Member

If you do have a scenic / picasso type thing then the atera one slides on an arc away from the boot rather than pivoting which might be a bonus (at £300 you'll need a bonus though).

Posted 13 years ago

thisisnotaspoon
Free Member

halfrauds own brand 3 bike carrier, bolts onto a plate you mount behind the tow ball. Remove 2 pins and it will even pivot down for you.

Was £50 (ar full RRP) when we got it.

My bike(s) have never come off it, so never seen the point in spending so much dosh on bike carriers!

Posted 13 years ago

cp
Full Member

mate has the buzz rack you link to – it's SUPERB. really really well made, is as simple as the descriptions on the website to use and the bikes are rock solid on the rack (even on Lake District roads with tight bends potholes and some enthusiastic driving…)

Posted 13 years ago