I’m planning on getting a new bike rack for the car – bikes don’t fit inside and kayaks will be going on roof for summer holidays.

I dont currently have a tow bar but considering getting one fitted mainly for a bike rack. Or alternatively I could just get a strap on and save myself circa £300.

Are tow bar mounted racks that much better than strap on racks?

yes. NEXT.

Yes

+1 for YES.

^^What they said^^

Tow bar.

I wish I had done it years ago. So much better.

have arranged to get a tow bar fitted yet?

Unless your car is very new you could try a part finder type service for a second hand one.

Another yes.

I would say it depends on whether or not you are going to get the usage from a tow bar mounted rack, if having spent that extra £300 or so and your lugging a couple of bikes about every other weekend then it’s probably worth it.
If on the other hand you’re only loading bikes on the back a couple of times during summer, is it really worth the extra spend?

Plus how often do you load up for full family expedition? i.e. kayaks on the roof and bikes on the back? If you already have roof bars could a couple of roof carriers make sense for plain old cycling trips…

Alternatively fit a tow bar and go full Buhna!

I do two of those canoes and four bikes on back (and fifth bike in boot) on a Galaxy….

Which towbar bike rack then?

Ideally one that can carry a fat bike.

We managed to buy a secondhand Thule Euroclassic from a fellow bike club member. £100, with tilt mechanism bust.

It just works. Quick. Simple. Robust.

Again, depends on how much you want to spend. The usual recommendations are Pendle or Thule. I went cheap as purchased at the same time as having tow bar installed so didn’t want to spend £500ish for a 4-bike carrier. I got a Buzzrack Quattro for £250. Not quite as refined design wise as the others, don’t get me wrong, the build quality is very good and will last, but it’s more robustly built and as a result heavier than the others (20kg), and doesn’t have a single action attachment mechanism – you screw a knob and tighten a bolt. The weight might cause a problem with your nose weight. However my Brother bought a Pendle and comparing them there are definite advantages to the design of the Buzzrack and it is definitely alot sturdier, as you would expect.

Check out the Whitter racks – I like the way they fold up if you’ve not got any bikes loaded. This is handy when you park up , remove the bikes you can fold it up out of the way so it’s not overhanging the car park slot.

I have a four bike tow bar rack for sale, search my profile.

I’ve got a buzzrack quattro and have been very pleased with it, I like the way that it folds flat for storage.

Towbar. Wouldn’t have felt secure like this without one.

7 bikes on a 6-seat car?
A bit OTT?

@eskay, I’ll dibs that please

I have a four bike tow bar rack for sale, search my profile

I have a new one of these for sale £75 collected, bought for our camper but not needed

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/towbar-mounted-bike-racks/exodus-4-bike-platform-cycle-carrier?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bike+Racks-_-Towbar+Mounted+Bike+Racks-_-362233&_$ja=tsid:60494%7Ccgn:GoogleShopping%7Ckw:362233&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=xitxxqawp&istBid=tztx&_$ja=tsid:35522|cid:344520484|agid:25437474004|tid:aud-80976661069:pla-223955714164|crid:89798789644|nw:g|rnd:7349299880141218422|dvc:c|adp:1o5&gclid=CjwKEAiA9s_BBRCL3ZKWsfblgS8SJACbST7DSIeGB9V8c_QwUy1eCcyzJMDT8AN0wqbwRq6iL1U-KRoCYVTw_wcB

@pocpoc – I needed two bikes, because, er, well, mumble.

There wasn’t much suspension travel left.

Where are you located Tracey?

South Yorkshire