[Closed] Roof or tow bar bike rack. help me decide?

I have both, if its just bikes then tow ball mounted everytime.
easy to get to, very quick to mount, not height barrier issues, hardy notice the difference on the fuel (M6 cumbria cross wind- 3 bikes were like having a sail on the roof.)
if i'm towing then they have to go on the roof.

I've got roof bars as I don't want a tow-bar. I only use the bars every now and then for the bike so I take them off when not needed. Mine cost me £30 off ebay and I made the bike carrier myself.
Much cheaper than a tow bar and the bike carrier which do seem a lot of money (although good..a mate has one and it is good)

I moved from roof to tow bar mounted when I changed car
Notice a real difference in fuel consumption
Far less faf getting the bikes on and off
More secure
No height issues

Yes you have to shell out initially for tow bar etc but worth it in the long run, would never go back to roof mounting

I was thinking of a detachable tow bar.

Tow bar all the time for me.

Had roof bar carrier and hit some tree branches in a car park. Luckily no damage never had a problem with the tow bar carrier.

Also much easier to load and unload.

Towball mounted for me.
Much more stable and doesn't make as much difference to mpg as a roofrack does.
I roughly estimate two roof mounted bikes to reduce the motorway efficiency by about 10mpg when pootling at UK speeds. Feels absolutely terrible with bikes on the top at autobahn speeds.

I think I am going to go for one of these?
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/allroad-3-bike-carrier-id_8207705.html

Anyone use it?

Had two different roof bar set ups and now i'm on to a tow bar, never going back

Tow bar mounted bikes are less obvious to the local thieving scum who might spot your bikes on your car roof and follow you home (though not everyone lives in Bristol I understand...).

Have tried both, and definitely prefer the tow bar mount, but there's pros and cons to each.

Roof bars:
+ Bigger gaps between the bikes = easier to arrange bikes so they don't hit each other.
+ Easy to get lots of bikes on
- Worse MPG.
- More hassle to fit/remove the bars to the car.
- Expensive if you encounter a height restriction and forget that they're there...
- Harder to load bikes, particularly the middle ones if you've got more than two.
- Can have problems with arm not reaching downtube on FS bikes with a high BB.

Tow bar:
- Obstruct rear view.
- Make reversing harder (difficult to see the end and disable sensors).
- Can be fiddly to fit bikes so close together.
+ Good ones fit and remove very quickly.
+ Better MPG.
- Need a long parking space, particularly if it slides/tilts backwards to get at the boot.
- Can feel a bit vulnerable leaving it in a car park with no bikes on.

The right answer is to put the bikes in the car, but that luxury disappeared with the arrival of pdw jr.

For Soma Rich

Yes I have a Decathlon Allroad 3bike carrier and it is very good apart from

The wheel straps don't like large volume tyres as they are too short - I changed mine
The way of securing bikes is poor I modded mine( see previous threads in my history)

Other than that I was going to sell it but now keeping

I have an Atera Strada 4 bike tow ball mounted rack. Had roof bar mounted carrier in the past, but love the tow ball system for many of the reasons others have given; ease of access for loading, petrol consumption ...

One thing to add. Check the allowable nose weight for your car. It has to be at least the weight of the rack plus bikes. Otherwise the handling of your car will be affected.

[i]I was thinking of a detachable tow bar. [/i]

Why, so when you either back into something or someone runs into you, you can wish you'd left it on?

My wife's Landy has a detachable tow-bar. I put it on the first day she brought it home, and 7 years later its still on...

I own both.

Tow bar racks I have a pendle 2 bike wheel support. Virtually never used as a faff to fit and no boot access but is bomb proof.

Also got a thule express that mounts on the ball. This is ace for short trips. Pops on in 10 seconds.

Roof rack gets used if boot access required mid journey - family trips etc. Can be easier to load with different shaped bikes that interfere on the back.

I wouldnt describe any as especially secure although locking to the pendle block works ok.

My car came with a towbar fitted and I own roofbars for it. I'm going for a towbar rack - though that's at least partly as the roof is normally partly taken up by a kayak, and I'm considering a roof box to fit on the other side to maximise the amount of junk I can take on holiday. Still debating between one with a wheel tray and one which hangs bikes from top tubes though - the former seems to be better from most perspectives, but the latter would take the tandem wheels off (my Mondeo is [b]very[/b] wide), otherwise that would still need to go on the roof.

For normal use I still fit bikes inside, but at some point I'll need to travel with all seats taken and lots of luggage.

I went through a similar dilemma, when I changed my car.
Took the advice from here, got a detachable tow bar fitted and bought a Thule 2 bike rack for the tow bar.
So much better than the hassle of fitting the roof bars etc..
It takes 2 mins to fit the tow bar, 2 minutes to fit the rack, 30 seconds to get the bike on and you're away.
Wouldn't go back to roof mounted now.

My only comment is if you want to carry 2 bikes then its a bit of hassle getting them loaded, you might want to consider a 3 bike rack, which spreads them out a bit.

Tow bar for me after having to give up the van moving to Oz.

Not sure what these detachable tow racks are as it too a bit of effort to fit mine. We have the 50mm Box section with the tow ball in if thats what you mean. Currently using one a mate knocked up that fits into the 50mm box. 0 impact on fuel and easy to get on, off and secure. No issues with car parks and the like either.

Got a brand new never used thule euroclassic 905 ,2 bike tow batr carrier for salee , never used , won in a competition and dont own a towbar.

£200.00 Based on the wirral