Does anyone have any experience/suggestions of a tow bar mounted bike rack suitable for carrying up to 4 XC/AM bikes?
It would probably be 3 most of the time but there would be times when 4 would be required which is why am interested in 3 bike racks with the option of adding 1 when required.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers
How big a car do you have?
A four bike rack for most cars will exceed your nose weight on the tow ball- that said so does 3 on mine and it drives fine
Pendle and plenty of others do them
Ease of fighting is a good thing to look at as they are bulky as is one that tilts so you can get in the boot
I would alos just geta four rackand just use three when you only needed three rather than try and fit another one on
I had a 2 plus one type one and the one bit needed some fettling to work properly.
Mine is old so I cannot really recomend a current model
Thanks for the advice JY. Its an oldish passat saloon so a bit of a tank... I'll have a look into the nose weight spec.
Cheers
We havw a Thule one, carries 4 bikes most of the time, including trips to the Alps
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IME THE WEIGHT IS QUITE LOW [ oops on caps]
Mine is 50 kg with a 15 kg rack that means that three big bikes are about 60 kg - it drives fine though and its only a 206 but woirth thinking about if you are going massively over - hence why I dont have a 4 bike one as I figure oiverloaded rack and fully loaded car is probably a bad idea though I have not tried
Whether you would ever be stopped I dont know
I bought a Mottez 4 bike carrier and it attaches quickly but I use the 'U' bolt to go round the tow-bar neck aswell (Just in case?)
Very happy with it as its very secure.
It will take a load of 80kgs (20kg a bike) and weighs 25kg , but the nose weight of my car (VW Touran) is marked as 75kg...
So... I made sure all 4 bikes weigh less than 50kgs together.
Tracey what model Thule rack is that?
(Can't seem to find a 4 bike towball mounted rack on their site)
I have this baby:
[url= http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-accessories/atera_strada_dl_3_to_4_bike_carrier_uk_lights_no_ar2603/njNA_v1HqTo9~w7HCO3kxz3uBtkB,~4RYoJEYzTmI ]Altera STRADA DL 3 to 4 Bike Carrier[/url]
Don't have anything to compare it with, but it's been pretty much perfect in the year or so that we've had it (including a few weeks of travelling all over the country). Light enough for getting in and out of the shed and mounting on my own. Can be fitted (including the bikes) in a few minutes. Bikes are held securely with no rubbing. Can be slid out of the way to get access to the rear door (Subaru Forrester) very easily. What more can you ask really?
Can't comment on the 4th bike attachment though as it's still in its box.
Its the same as this one
[url] http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/thule-pro-903-euroclassic-4-bike-carrier-200-ono-1 [/url]
we have the same one as roverpig.
2 hardtails (12+14Kg), 2 kids bikes (c.10Kg) and a kids trailer (11Kg)
so 47Kg.
We lose the trailer this year, but the kids bikes go up a size as well. And my bike is quite light. 4x AM bikes is a fair heft.
the +1 fitting we use for the trailer ATM. Next year it will be for the smallest bike to keep the moment down.
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Thanks for the replies everyone. That Thule one looks the business Tracey. Doesn't seem like Thule still make a similar model with 3 bikes plus 1.
I might try and pickup one of those 2nd hand.
Aistoncyclesracks.co.uk like the pendle design but much better in everyway and cheaper. I've had pendle, thule and aiston before going to vans and would now only use the aiston.
Theres one for sale in the adds
I recently bought the Halfords 4 bike carrier for £180. It weighs 15kg so can carry 4 * 15kg bikes to remain within my car's 75kg limit.
My only criticism of it is that it requires 3 straps to secure each bike and threading each of these through it's buckle takes a bit of time. I might try to get some alternative straps which are quicker to secure.
Overall though, good value for money.
I have the Thule Euroclassic G6 (929) and it is rock solid In use Rasy to fit and mount the bike on I purchased the 4th bike kit but have never used or even opened this box so can't comment on how good it is but if it's anything like the rest of Thule products its going tot be well thought out and will work well too.
The tow bar rating changes between cars and usually the smaller the less the rating.
Friend has the Pendle, but tbh on a Defender towbar you could probably get away with 8 bikes.