Hello there, I was wondering whether anyone had a recommendation for a really good towbar mounted bike rack. I’ve got an Atera Strada DL 3, which has loads of good features but the ratchet system that fixes it to the towball is a bit iffy and tends to let the rack rotate when you’re driving (really not a good thing). Also, the arms that reach through to attach your bike frames to the rack are really not adjustable and it is a real pain to try and arrange the arms when fitting two or three bikes to the rack.

What I’m looking for is:

– Towbar mounted rack to take 3 or more bikes.
– 13 pin powered lighting board integral to the rack.
– System to allow you to slide the rack a bit so that you can get into the boot of your car with the rack (and bikes) attached.
– Secure and adjustable system to look the bikes to the rack (something that goes up and over the frames would be best in my opinion but the ratchet loop fixing on the Atera is pretty good, if it wasn’t for the arms).

Any recommendations?

Related question.

Are the towbar racks with the tracks for the wheels better or are hanging just as good? Are there any pros/cons to consider other than price?

I replaced my bike rack recently due to a change of car and tow bar type. I went with a Thule 9403, which is one of their more basic tow bar mount racks. There are three wheel tracks separated by vertical bars to which the bikes are strapped. Its a bit more primitive than the clamp arrangement on more expensive models but seems to do the job well and I much prefer it to the hanging type I had before which was less flexible with different bike shapes and also allowed more contact between the bikes. Its rock solid on the tow bar, even with three bikes on, folds small enough to put in the back of the car while riding, tilts with all three bikes on to allow boot access and for £140 I thought was very good value. Definitely recommended.

Thule Euroclassic – top of the range, holds three bikes and you can get a fourth rail (see below). Had mine a couple of years, solid on the towbar. Brilliant bit of kit.