What confuses me is that, AFAIK and I've not read into it deeply, rear mounted racks already have to conform to a few construcion rules and regs in order to be sold in the EU so it would seem odd to ban them now.

Where does one go to sniff out new rules, your MEP?

That said, I wouldn't use one again and I can see why someone might want them banned.

Why?

Well, present company excepted, how many insecure ones do you see? I Had to warn a guy on the M6 because his was falling off. It's just too easy to get the fitment wrong. Most people cover their lights and numberplate with them as well, and don't bother with a trailer board. That's why I can see them being phased out
Personally, I wouldn't use one again because they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much faff, and I have a towball mounted rack and an estate car!

Ball mounted racks are lovely to use. However they do require addition of an approved towbar (£100+ fitting+ electronics, knocking on £200) AND then the carrier, theyre a serious cost.

Ball mounted racks are lovely to use. However they do require addition of an approved towbar (£100+ fitting+ electronics, knocking on £200) AND then the carrier, theyre a serious cost

Yep, true, and we have all that. It's worth it for the convenience alone. We use it all the time because it's so easy to fit and load up 🙂

Got to say that we aren't aware of any legislation to ban Strap On carriers. There was an attempt to create an ISO standard for testing all rear mounted carriers. This was mainly aimed at strap on carriers, because they have the highest risk of problems compared to the towbar mounted ones. I studied the proposed standard for my MSc thesis.

The standard never made it past the draft stage, there were too many conflicting opinions on what the test requirements should be. I would assume that somewhere in Europe someone is working on further legislation or standardised testing, which we would welcome.

In my research I concluded that the main problem is getting people to fit the racks properly and have a high enough level of concern about safety. You would be surprised at many peoples attitudes to such a potentially dangerous situation.

Whilst we are happy with the safety of our rack we are constantly looking at ways of making them safer to fit. I would definitely recommend a tow bar or roof rack if you are in a position to choose one because of the solid mounting point to the car.

Well, present company excepted, how many insecure ones do you see? I Had to warn a guy on the M6 because his was falling off. It's just too easy to get the fitment wrong. Most people cover their lights and numberplate with them as well, and don't bother with a trailer board. That's why I can see them being phased out
Personally, I wouldn't use one again because they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much faff, and I have a towball mounted rack and an estate car!

Takes about 20 seconds all-in to fit, doesn't cover my number plate or lights and has never fallen off.

Oh and it only cost me £30.

Happy days.

I would definitely recommend a tow bar or roof rack if you are in a position to choose one because of the solid mounting point to the car.

Bring the price of towbars down and I'd happily buy another, but an approved towbar is vastly over-priced for what goes into it (I could, if it were legal as it used to be, knock up one that was within spec with a welder and some steel in about an afternoon for about £20 quid materials) – there's no reason why they need to be extortionately priced. The annoying thing is that if I bought an older car I could happily fit an unapproved lump of steel badly attached and still be legal.

My old towbar on my 205 was a serious work of over-engineering, I just went to town with some 5mm steel plate and 40x40mm box section, back of the car had never been so rigid!

blingbling – how do you get a rack to not cover the lights when rear-mounted? Images so I can have a go?

I've seen the rear-window mounted ones but I dont like having the bikes that high up balanced on my glass.

something like this usually has a period well before legistlation whereby govt consult with the industry. maybe that's where whiff of it came from. you can keep your knickers on.

So it's just a "whiff" now ? Earlier you suggested that it would be introduced in 2011 ……. in 16 months or so,
in other words.

And since you want to get all shirty about it, in answer to your question : "hmmm. now which button do I press?"
I would suggest the "bullshit button" 😉

That is the biggest drawback to towbars and roof bars – they are an extra purchase on top of the rack. A lot of people do get put off by the cost.

Riding mate of mine must only be about 5'3" and she tried to lift my bike onto my roof carriers. There was no way in hell that she could manage it.
I'm only 5'6" so have to get the technique right or it is a bit of a pain although I have plenty of upper body strength to hoik (is that a word) it into position.

Her indoors is a bit taller than me & fairly strong for a girl, but she doesn't feel confident putting her own bike on the roof of my car (admittedly it's a Fireblade – only joking!) soI end up doing it.

I'm curious, the law says any towbar must be type approved. OK. But what if I just weld myself up a bracket that fits in the same location, does not have a towball on it and is only there to support a bike rack? It's no longer a towbar as it's not designed for towing/mechanical coupling of a trailer to the vehicle. The law doesn't prohibit me from adding brackets to my own vehicle.

And since you want to get all shirty about it

i don't give a shit to be honest, I'm 6'1"

you seem to be displaying signs of short man syndrome ernie…..

However, I'll pass on your views next time I speak to the person who earns a living in the roof rack business – they will no doubt welcome your extensive experience and incisive comment, should you ever develop any

you seem to be displaying signs of short man syndrome ernie…..

I'm half an inch taller than you mate 😀

…..and btw, I haven't expressed any "views" on the subject matter, however, in common with some other people, I was interested in the source of this information.

maybe you're just short in your mind then… they're the dangerous ones…. 😉

i passed on a comment made by someone in the industry, which i thought was of relevance to short people.

I didn't expect the spanish inquisition

Spanish inquisition is needed, otherwise the internet becomes even more awash with rumour and BS!

*perv mode engage* This thread had the potential to be so much more. racks, women up top and strap ons, sounds like an ideal night in to me!*perv mode off*