Are there any good sturdy ones about to fit an 04 shape Fiesta? Got a trip to Wales planned soon and so far the only option we have is taking 2 cars with bikes in the back of each. I've seen the Hollywood F3 and F4 on CRC but the F3 has a limit of 45kg (all our bikes together come to about 47-50kg) and the F4 seems to be for minivans. One of the bikes (a Bullit) has pretty chunky tubing with a kink in the top tube so it would need to fit that. Oh and needs to be boot mounted as neither car has a towbar.
Also what have peoples experiences been on Travelodges letting mountain bikes in? I have a bag I can use for mine which would probably be allowed if they get arsey, not sure on unbagged ones though?
for that ammount of hassle I'd just hire a van, cheaper for the weekend, you can lock the bikes inside and let the rental monkeys clean it when you give it back.
We were looking into a van but its at least £180 for a week + diesel on top of that. 2 cars would work out cheaper on petrol, without the hire price on top.
Boot mounted is probably going to rely on the rear window in some way to support/take some of the load. That will be a factor in the weight limit of the carrier.
What about taking wheels off the bikes, assuming the frame mounts on the rack. Will that give you what you need and will the wheels fit in boot etc with all the gear?
I have taken my bike into travelodges and similar on numerous occasions and not had an issue. It was in a bag though so that would be my advice. If you do not have a bag for the others could you knock something up with a small sheet of tarpaulin? Better yet call them up and see what they say, you may get a room more suitable for getting a bike into, not having to get it in the lift etc.
What about taking wheels off the bikes, assuming the frame mounts on the rack. Will that give you what you need and will the wheels fit in boot etc with all the gear?
Good idea, should be able to fit 3 sets of wheels in the car I think.
I would be nervous of having 50kg+rack hanging off the back of a Fiesta. It might make the handling at roundabouts a bit more "interesting" as you don't have enough weight near the front wheels. Somewhere in the manual will be a mention of nose weight - worth seeing what that is.
Alright cheers we'll bear that in mind, didn't think of that either! With wheels in the car and the heaviest 2 people in the front maybe that'll balance things out a bit.
Just remember to check the tyre pressures on the car and that they are correct for a full laden fiesta. As Sweaman say just be careful on the corners. You do not want you cherished bikes deposited round some bend.
Plod will insist on a lightboard too