I’m looking for a new car at the moment and struggling to decide between a roof bar and carrier set up or a tow bar and carrier.

Theyre going to be fitted to an estate car so any suggestions of which is the best set up?

To my mind – on the roof means up out of some of the road filth, but bad for fuel economy and can be more awkward to load/unload. On the rear is in the spray from the back of the car, and makes your car longer for parking, but much easier to load/unload (comparatively). Can also make boot access more difficult.

I’ve had both, and now have roof bars on my estate car…

fadda has it covered..

Also…
Tow bar and electrics can be an expensive retro fit. Roof bars are also useful for chucking all sorts of stuff on.

I have both and use both set-ups depending on; how much access I need to the boot / whether I’ve also got a roof box or boards on / if I want to secure the bikes (via a chain round the tow bar a frame) / how many bikes I’m carrying / distance travelling / parking in public car parks, etc.

Tow bar and electrics can be an expensive retro fit

£75 to buy one for my car [ the foot pack is £80 new for the roofbars!!] and about 2 hours to fit the bolting it up is simple anyone can do it as they generally just have points on the chassis to bolt to – its really not complicated

Electrics depends on whether you can use a voltmeter to work out what wire is which but about an hour for an auto electrician if you dont want to do it yourself.

I prefer towbar as its just less faff and you can remove the rack when not in use.

As for road spray I am not that sure how it gets on to the bike from the back wheels given its about a foot above the underside of the car and three feet from the wheels so I dont think much , if any, is going to hit my bike and if so its will mainly be the wheels. This has never entered my thoughts on which to use tbh but mudguards for the car would sort this issue.

Tow bar for me, easy of getting the bikes on and off is a winner. Never had issues with road sprays. Leaves roof free for a roof box as well if needed.

I had a towbar rack on my old car and much prefer it to my roof carriers on current car (fitted as towbar not possible on current motor). Easier to mount bikes and if you get a removable bar the car looks no different whereas a roof carrier (to be any use) is always fixed to the car. Plus having a couple of MTBs on the roof ruins fuel consumption.

The faff of fitting a towbar yourself depends on the car I think. My E90 was a bumper off remove big bit of metal the width of the car then fit towbar and refit bumper.

100% towbar carrier for me. Better economy, easier to make sure everything is secure. Atera Strada slides out the way of the boot and is a great bit of kit.

I did a thread on this a while back. I’ll find it and pop the link in.

I had the option of upgrading a well used old two bike roofrack set up or getting a towball mounted one.

I have owned both systems in the past and most of the key bits have been mentioned above but I will add.

Depending on car design a rear rack usually obscures a fair bit of rearward vision through the back window/internal mirror. That doesn’t bother me but if you’re not a regular external wing mirror user/not driven a van a few times it will be very noticeable the first few trips!

On the roof dirty bikes drip the muck and grit on the roof on the drive home. More a concern with soft paintwork or newer / lease cars. It’s also muckier getting them up there ime.

If you don’t do lots of big miles without the bikes then leaving a roof system on is viable and easy for a quick load up and go. They’re imo a bigger pain to pop on and off. A safe lift on as a complete rack and bike holders ideally needs two people.

Cheap roof systems are bendy and you can get some disconcerting knocking and rattling as you drive along. It’s more noticeable in town and I’m sure ours comes from flexing of the square roof bars combined with small amounts of play in the pivots on the bike holders themselves. A Thule or Atera system with fat aero bars will likely not be as rattly.

We have gone for a towbar mount for the long term (partly also as I may buy a trailer for camping and utility stuff) but at the moment I haven’t picked the four bike rear rack to go with so if we’re carrying four it’s two on the roof and two on the back (I already had a Thule 2 bike scissor action thing from a previous car).

For towbar done with a manufacturer specific 7pin wiring kit it cost about £350 – for that we could have almost had a high quality roof mount system complete. If we get an Atera 4bike rear carrier, which I think we will it will be the same again.

So if cost is a key factor that’s worth taking into account.

Tow bar for me…I just know I’d forget they were on the roof and drive into a car park!

Can’t they go inside if its an estate car?

my old thread

Can’t they go inside if its an estate car?

It does make a right mess inside the car though and even in my Passat I can’t get a large 29r in that easily without removing at least one wheel or the load cover.

Getting three or four in there with people can be a real challenge. With modern cars the wider wheels, multi link suspension, special pockets for first aid kits and whatever, sloping rear windows and all the other stuff means there is surprisingly little boot space left in an estate. Many are a retrograde step from their predecessors in that regard.

For week in week out usage the speed and convenience of a roof carrier can’t be beaten. The idea of installing and removing a tow bar mounted carrier three or four times a week breaks me out in a sweat. But then that all depends if you don’t mind having your roof bars and cycle carriers on the roof all the time – which I didn’t.

But the tow bar mounted racks are better for longer journey’s or if you want to carry more than 2 bikes – putting 4 bikes on the roof is a PITA.

we could leave our tow bar racks permanently on as well you know

Mine pick up rack
take to car
Slot in place

Hardly onerous but I only use it a couple of times per month as I ride to the trails generally

I have both. Bikes only go on the roof if I already have two on the back so I vote tow bar.

Points against roof bars are hassle of lifting dirty bike on and off, fear of hitting a barrier, constant fretting that they are still secured to the roof OK and dead insects stuck on the front of my bike. Fuel economy also suffers

But like junkyard I mostly ride from my door so carriers only get attached a few times a month

After many happy years of roof mounting bikes, now having many happier years with an Atera Strada 3+1 tow bar rack.

Much easier with four bikes, puny 14 year old and disabled wife can both mount bikes on it (admittedly we turn the handlebars), no issues with road spray or fuel cost, rack slides out the way for boot access, rack lifts on and off tow bar in seconds, roof free for roof box, no panicking about car park height barriers.

Can’t they go inside if its an estate car?

If it’s just my bike than that wouldn’t be a problem, it’s only when there’s two or three bikes that I’d struggle to fit them in the back along with our kit.
I quite like the idea of the towbar mounted rack but don’t much like the prices for towbars from what I’ve seen so far!

In the car now heading for Calais with two bikes on the back with a Thule hanging ratcheting steel wire rack. PITA with the lighting board mounting, stopping the bikes swinging into each other etc. Also the front tyre of my Trek Fuel us about 50mm off the deck which isn’t ideal with speed humps and driving on and off the chunnel train.

Had a roof mounted carrier in the past and after smashing myself up at PORC I was struggling to lift it onto the roof, dropped it and the end of the handlebar put a nice dent into the car so not too keen on them.

Going to order a new company car in the few weeks and as a metallic colour is about the same price as a factory fit tow bar and electrics in going to ask if I can have the base colour and a towbar instead. Might well get told to do one but would keep the cost down as I would also like a Thule or Atera 3+1 sliding rack which as mentioned aren’t cheap.

Then I’ll just need roof bars and a slim roof box and a couple of roof carriers for kids bikes and I’ll be sorted! And bankrupt.

You are unsure how spray gets on the bikes? Where do you think therapy that gets on the rear window comes from? That’s right…the underside of the car…it gets sucked up by the airflow…so it’ll end up on your bikes.

anyone can do it as they generally just have points on the chassis to bolt to – its really not complicated

And cutting the hole in the bumper?

Edit: on roof carriers here but I usually ride from the door, if I’m going somewhere put the seats down and put my bike in the back, so the roof carriers only get used when we’re going somewhere as a family

That depends whether you get a “lifestyle” estate with the above features, or a proper one – plenty of boot space in my Mondeo, more than my previous 406 if anything. As for making a mess, that’s why I have a tarp in the back of my car.

Could get 4 bikes and 4 people inside, but when carrying more stuff I use a rear bike rack. Some of the reasons for that preference given above, but I also often have other stuff on the rook (like a kayak).

And cutting the hole in the bumper?

I used a hacksaw which easily cut the plastic.

Tow bar will be future proof for when we are all riding around on e bikes.