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I'm looking at a tow bar mouinted cycle carrier - the type with the wheel troughs rather than the type you hang the bike off. It will only be used occasionally as for local duty i use my roof bars and thule 591's, but for longer journey's I want to be able to remove my roof bars and use the tow bar rack. Normally Thule is my go-to for this type of thing, usually I don't mind paying the premium as my experience of Thule products is great, however looking at their 4 bike tow bar rack i'm looking at the thick end of £500, which is a bit steep, so looking at Pendle. They look a bit flimsy compared to the Thule ones, so looking for peoples experiences of them.
Thanks.
I got the Halfords (non-tilting) one for about £150. It's ace and has done a few 500m++ each way trips. I leave it fitted to my removeable towbar.
Aistoncycleracks.co.uk I've had aiston, pendle and thuel versions and now only use Aiston. Cheaper than the rest and much more solid in use.
I've had a 2 bike pendle tow bar/wheel trough for 8 years or so and have found it great to use - highly recommended.
The tow ball mount is very sturdy. Just grease the two poles a bit and it will slide in snugly with no play.
The wheel troughs are adjusted with allen key bolts on the underside which can rust so they make adjustments a bit of a pain if not impossible but its only an issue if you're transporting different bikes with different wheelbases all the time so its not a real world problem.
I think the rack is well engineered and sturdy but I've not used anything else so can't compare
that said, a 4 bike rack may be different kettle of fish
Aistoncycleracks.co.uk I've had aiston, pendle and thuel versions and now only use Aiston. Cheaper than the rest and much more solid in use.
I like the look of those, got any pictures of yours? The web site seems to be lacking in information.
I've just got an Atera Strada DL3 for £375 from Roofbox.co.uk, which will take a fourth bike with an adapter. Really nice bit of kit.
I don't I'm afraid Matt. The website is a bit basic but give the guy a call and he's really helpful.
The uprights come with clamps, so drop bike in, slide clamp down, 1 bolt and you're good to go. Much better than strapping.
I have a MaxxRaxx, one you hang the bikes off - it really is simple to setup and use, and easy to adapt to multiple bike types. Quite a lot cheaper as well if I remember right.
There are no issues with bikes banging into each other whilst driving if thats what worries you, you have to be a little more careful loading though. I get 2 adult bikes (Ti456 and Stumpy WSD FSR) and 2 childrens bike (Speccy Hot rocks 24" and 20" wheeled) without drama. You can get a 5 bike version, and adapt your existing one with spares. Worth a look.
I don't I'm afraid Matt. The website is a bit basic but give the guy a call and he's really helpful.
The uprights come with clamps, so drop bike in, slide clamp down, 1 bolt and you're good to go. Much better than strapping.
No worries. Do their cycle racks mount to the actual ball of the towbar or behind the plate using the two bolts?
I had a Pendle one a few years back. It was rock solid but a bit of a chore as you couldn't open the boot with bikes on. Now I have an Atera Strada which is a great rack and slides away from the boot for easy access.
The newer pendles allow you to angle the rack while you open the boot
I've got the pendle 5 bike rack- absolute monster- but I only carry 4 bikes - I have it set up so the 4 bikes are more spaced out- a good 25 cm between each bike i reckon.
with less than 4 bikes I can open the volvo estate boot with bikes on- 4 or five- then the innermost bike has to come off
Wow, there seems to be more choice than I thought. Seems like the Pendle or the Altera would be good options, but there is a Buzz Quattro for under £300 which seems to get good reviews which seem like it might be worth a look. I'll make a decision tomorrow! Cheers all.
I had a pendle one for a few years and absolutely hated the bloody thing.
All quite thick gauge steel box and tube so really heavy and cumbersome. To collapse it down any smaller you had to faff about with bloody allen screws on the bottom, even to drop the upright.
Right pain the arse.
Now I've got an old Thule 9302 and even though it needs a big spanner thing to tighten onto the towball, where the later ones have a convenient handle, it's still 10 times better than that poxy pendle. Upright folds down tool free, then pluck it off the towball and straight in the boot no messing (only a clio too)
matt - my one is a plate that clamps behind the tow ball with the two bolts. I've used it on a swan neck towbar with a converter too.
19mm spanner for everything on the aiston - bike clamps, uprights, wheel slots, clamping rack to the bracket etc.
OP, Biscuit powered. is correct. Had one sold it. I also had a Maxxraxx and I've just sold that. See my ad in the For sale forum for details.
Hth
Marko
I had a 2 bike tilting one and was quite disappointed with it. Whilst they are plenty sturdy enough, it felt like it had been designed by someone who had never bothered to look at what their competitors were offering.
Awkward to drop into the mount and then if you want to tilt the rack you have to reach in between 2 muddy bikes to release the 2 not very well thought out tilt release knobs.
To me it felt like it was designed by someone who only had access to steel box section, a hacksaw and a mig welder
I should say that the slot in mount on the pendle was pretty good and felt very secure, if a bit awkward to slot in sometimes.
I strongly disagree with the suggestion of greasing the ends of the bars though.
What's worse than a big, heavy bike rack that's awkward to handle? A big heavy bike rack with mucky greasy ends.
My best friend used to have a Pendle on the back of his Nissan 200SX for DH bikes. He used to drive like an utter nutter and the bikes and rack were totally rock-solid. I'd say that was a good reference point!
Cheers, Rich
Slight hijack- got a pendle 5 bike rack for sale if intersted