Considering buying one of these from Halfords in their sale.

Anyone have any views on them?

Cheers in advance.

had a 9402 for a year – twas ace

I Use one.

Very sturdy, I can carry 3 big full sussers on it,
I can also strap on he kiddies bikes when the need arises.

For longer journeys I put extra straps on the wheels (not that it needs it, just a belt and braces approach for the higher car speeds)

Cool. Any interference with the exhaust(s)?

Not unless you have high exhausts !
I use mine on an Estate and now a Hatchback and it’s fine.

I have a pic somewhere (on ‘t other computer) gimmie a minute.

Mine are quite high (I think):

Its a Subaru Outback. Exhaust either side.

I have one, they are great, but i have no towbar on my new(to me) car, so i dont use it any more (might sell if you want it( it nees a new light board though) and collecting).

I kept backing in to walls with it though (not hard but just damaged the lights), because i left it one my car and forgot about it.

unless you need to carry 3 bike it might be worth looking at the 2 bike one because they dont stick out as much.

Have a look at these too…

http://www.aistoncycleracks.co.uk

I’ve had pendle, these and thule (tho not the one you mention) and this is by far the best. The wheel support type rack is the one.

Shocking low light mobile pic.

Also has the release knobs to allow the whole thing to pivot back so you can still get into the boot (depending on the shape of your boot lid)

Caledonia

It likes like that rack on the back of my car (see picture above) would put the bike tyres right in front of the car exhausts. What do you think?

Hmmmm, Remember it arcs up from the height of the towbar.
Plus its far enough away from the bodywork not to foul the ‘zorst
I’d say you’d be fine, but it may be worthwhile part building it (as I did) to make double sure.

I’d imagine it’d be fine tho !

hi m8 , i looked at one of these for my discovery , i found them a bit cheaper on ebay, ( not sure if you had looked on there soz if you have ).

Had mine on all sorts of cars 4×4’s, hatch, estate, saloon, sports and never had a problem with exhausts or anything else for that matter. Drove all over the UK and Europe with it. Holds both road and mountain bikes very well.

Got one. Works for me. Really quick and easy to load/unload.

I’ve got one of those, it’s pretty good
Does quite a scary bounce/flap when you hit a compression on the motorway if fully loaded (3 adult size bikes plus a kids one made of solid lead pipe) but I’d guess any rack would do similar (??)

no real idea about your exhausts, soz

Got one last month, which I use on my Micra. It’s great, no complaints.

Cheers all. I think I’ll get one and see how it goes.

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Fit-your-own-towbars-Towequipe__W0QQ_nkwZcycleQ20carrierQQ_armrsZ1QQ_dmdZ2QQ_fromZQQ_sasiZ1QQ_sopZ1

here it is

Had one for about 15 months
Use it 2 to 3 times a week and plenty of long trips-faultless

Had one about 6months and cant fault it. Its easy to get on and off and is great as u can still use the boot 🙂 I bought mine as returned stock for 80quid

NNnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Get a Atera Strada 2 or 3 bike rack. I looked at the Thule one, but thought the Atera was a much better option though an extra £100.

The one you are looking at requires an allen key bolt to be screwed in to fix it to the towbar.
There is not a lock so you have to buy an additional lock. The drop mechanism is REALLY fiddly when you have bikes on.
The THule’s can ‘swing’ whilst attaching them to the car, and can damage the paint work.

The Strada (I have one) is a much better option. The Rack locks to the Towbar automatically and requires a key to remove it – always.
It is a place on the towbar and push till click of a lever to fit.

The bikes are held by independant arms so no additonal bungies are required.

It backs down and fits in the boot of the car!! I have a Mazda 3 (not the biggest boot in the world) and it goes in easy.

You also get a free euro plug adapter for the lighting board.

I looked on ebay for a secondhand one of them and there were a few of them about. People were selling them cos they were ‘upgrading’ to something else.

If you want pics – pm me.

Had one for a couple of years, gets used most weeks with four bikes on, Trips to Alps no problem, very sturdy and easy to put on.

Tracey

I’ve had a 9403 for two years (almost to the day). I use it at least once a week. It lives in the boot and gets used for short trips & long trips with one, two or three bikes. It’s easy to fit, secure once it’s on and easy to take off.

If I had to find fault there are two, nothing serious though.
i) putting a bike on alone is a bit of an art. You kind of need three hands – one to hold the bike and two to do the strap. It doesn’t take long to get theknack though.
ii) the tilt mechanism to get in the boot when it’s loaded has never really worked for me – either the catches doen’t undo properly or it’s difficult to tilt with three big bikes on.

All in all, if I lost mine tomorrow I’d buy another one without bothering to look at alternatives.

Grunty

That Atera rack looks very good indeed. I think I may be swayed towards that one instead.

Thanks for the tip off.

beamers, the Atera is almost a one handed operation. Also, the action for dropping the carrier is brilliant. The bikes slide out and away from the car and then down in an Arc, rather than just the drop down that the Thules do.

Although it is more expensive than the one you are looking for, IMO I think that the Atera is a far, far superior piece of kit and worth every penny.

Cheers Grunty

I’m just waiting for confirmation from the Roofbox Company that this rack will indeed fit on the back of my motor. If it does then I’m gonna get one for sure.

I have the Thule and shopped around for others in the same price bracket at the time (a year ago?) and was convinced this was best for me. I only use it once a month or so – if it was more often then it might justify paying double (or more) for the next “category up” of carrier.

The one you are looking at requires an allen key bolt to be screwed in to fix it to the towbar.

not unless they have changed it. It is a large bolt, which is supplied with a relatively cheap spanner. I use a deep socket on a torque wrench though and it is literally < 1 minute to fit to the car.

There is not a lock so you have to buy an additional lock.

or use the lock you probably already own! If you have a suitable spanner to remove the rack you can probably remove the entire tow bar. I lock the bikes to mine, and to he chassis if leaving overnight etc but its not tricky.

The drop mechanism is REALLY fiddly when you have bikes on.

I would agree that the weak point (from a user perspective rather than an engineering one) of the Thule is the catches which you undo to tilt it. The thread on the screws catches on the drilled holes and stops them undoing. I keep meaning to investigate fitting some sort of “liner” to the holes on mine.

The THule’s can ‘swing’ whilst attaching them to the car, and can damage the paint work.

Never experienced this. If you manage to bash the car with the rack I would say you are just as likely to bash the car with your bikes when you put them on either rack.

The bikes are held by independant arms so no additonal bungies are required.

Don’t need and additional bungies with the thule either. Put bike in place Attach strap round the downtube (a third hand would be helpful – but is not essential) then attach straps round the wheels. I almost always do this with 2 or 3 bikes on my own in 2-3 minutes.

However for just over £100 at the moment I think its hard to beat. If I was using it say more than once a week then it would justify spending more. The Altera probably is a better rack – but the Thule is definitely better than any back door mounted rack, better than all the slightly cheaper tow bar racks that support the bikes by the cross bar rather than the wheels and IMHO better than the cheapest roofbar options – all assuming you have a tow bar of course.

The THule’s can ‘swing’ whilst attaching them to the car, and can damage the paint work.

Never experienced this. If you manage to bash the car with the rack I would say you are just as likely to bash the car with your bikes when you put them on either rack.

the thule rack I have CAN swing around (It’s only fastened to the towBALL & so can swing around it). Isn’t a problem if you tighten it properly onto the towball (unless you’re doing handbrake turns or summit ?)

which brings us to:

The Strada (I have one) is a much better option. The Rack locks to the Towbar automatically and requires a key to remove it – always.
It is a place on the towbar and push till click of a lever to fit.

My thule one has exactly that – must’ve changed design recently

the thule rack I have CAN swing around (It’s only fastened to the towBALL & so can swing around it). Isn’t a problem if you tighten it properly onto the towball

thats a bit like saying the wheels will fall off if you don’t put them on properly though

thats a bit like saying the wheels will fall off if you don’t put them on properly though

not really – more a statement of fact in normal usage (it CAN swing, eg if you take a corner too fast). Without snapping bolts/brackets it’s impossible to tighten so much that it couldn’t rotate around the towball
It’s a “useful” thing occasionally as it allows you to swing the bikes a bit to get the boot lid past pedals or whatever but it is only really a vertical locking system and daft to suggest that it can’t rotate

(I’d be interested to know how other racks avoid this)

At the end of the day this is a Thule “budget” wheel supported towbar rack it does not have the most finished construction or the most trick features but where it excels is in 2 areas, one keeping the bike very securely on the rack and two keeping the rack securely attached to the car. I sold these for years and never had a failed one i even bought one for my parents which is still in use. If you want to spend more and have some easier fittings or better materials there is a slew of other racks available from thule as well.

… a statement of fact in normal usage it CAN swing, eg if you take a corner too fast. Without snapping bolts/brackets it’s impossible to tighten so much that it couldn’t rotate around the towball

Rot.

If you don’t do it up properly it can (and probably will) swing.

I have never snapped the bolt or bracket. I have never had it swing. It is very possible to tighten it so it doesn’t swing without snapping anything. I do it every time.

Brother Will said… At the end of the day this is a Thule “budget” towbar rack. It excels is in 2 areas, one keeping the bike very securely on the rack and two keeping the rack securely attached to the car.

Amen Brother.

if it swings cornering its not tight enough – buy a torque wrench – the recommended setting is in the instructions – nowhere near bolt shearing – but certainly not going to swing.

Ive got one had it for years bought it in a Halfords sale for £99, only addition was a lock to secure it to towbar which cost me £5 from that there t’interweb thing, use it all the time all over the uk to events and that, and never had an issue with it, so works for me

higgo & poly – pop round mine & let me drive your cars, then we’ll see how immovable your racks are 😉

They CAN swing. I do rotate mine by hand when I need to.

I’ve never had a problem with it but it’s daft to suggest it can’t rotate – it’s clamped to a sphere, what’s to stop it? What have you done, cut grooves into your towballs?

what sort of towballs are people using these with? i’ve got a tradtional “flange” type on mrs petrieboys Zafira and a borrowed Thule (an older one) bounced up and down rather more than i’d have liked (all be it with 3 bikes on it and admittedly it didnt drop off!)
owner of said rack said it was rock solid on a swan-neck but not so great on a flange.
i’m looking to buy my own now, but dont want to change the towbar yet want something nice and secure. possible??

petrieboy have used with 3 different flanged tow bars (cheapest on market type!) and no probs.

scaredypants – a groove woudn’t help as the bolt actuates a concave plate rather than contacting the ball directly. I know what you are saying in theory – what I am saying in practice is with the screw correctly tightened it doesn’t move for me even with spirited driving on country roads. It is certainly impossible to move it by hand/foot when tight.

I had the Thule for 4 years and it was

a) Super secure, really solid both in build and when holding bikes
b) Pretty easy to use, but unscrewing the bolt to get off the towbar got old when it was cold and wet after a night ride
c) Heavy.
d) Electrically spot on. No problems at all.

I sold it and now have the Altera one which is BRILLIANT. Light, superbly thought out, easy to use and the slide out thing is genius.

… I would agree with a few of the posts here. They are really good, although a bit industrial in their construction and they fold up for storage.

The only problem I have (maybe it is just me) is that the posts that hold onto the frame could be a bit better and maybe the ‘U’ shaped bit that they mount to could be a but taller. For modern full-suss bikes that are odd shapes it can be tricky to get 3 bikes loaded, and needs a few goes if you are loading your mates bikes that you have not had on before.

Still about the best on the market, even though not the cheapest.

Keith