Anything better than a Buzz Rack E-Hornet?

I need a tow bar bike rack. I’ve been waiting for weeks and weeks for something to show up on marketplace or similar but I’m sick of putting bikes in the car and I’d love to have something for next weekend.

I’m thinking of splurging on this…http://www.roofbox.co.uk/buzz_rack_e_hornet_2_bike_tilting_e_bike_carrier

It’s more than I wanted to spend originally but I know it’ll be a keeper. It’s the best one I’m willing to buy anyway. After this one the price shoots up. I don’t have an e-bike (yet) but I will always have long, slack, heavy bikes with fat tyres so I’d appreciate the extra capacity.

I don’t know what I’m asking. Basically, tell me it’s amazing and give me permission to buy it. Or, show my something better for less money.

Very similar to the Buzzrack Scorpion I have. Zero regrets, it’s been ace.

A mate has it and it does look quality. He’s really happy with it, tilts, locks onto the towbar and locks the bike. Rated for ebikes as well.

I’m on the market for one as well as my Thule is quite old and not long enough for newer bikes.

I’m probably going to get the e-hornet.

If you go to ukcamping.co.uk you’ll get a discount for roofbox company so will pay £270

ukcampsite.co.uk

I have the eScorpion .

Good points:

The bikes are very secure
Tilting is good
Price was good

Bad points:

Anything metal on it is rusting like mad since I bought it last September
One of the locking bits for the wheel carriers broke on its first use
Not sure if it’s my towbar, but I have to have the rack mounted at a very slight upwards angle otherwise it doesn’t clamp tightly to the towbar

I’ve had the e-scorpion since November 2019, pretty much zero issues. I’d go for the e-scorpion purely for that fact it folds up, doesn’t take up much space when folded. The only niggle really is that extending the central pole can be a bit stiff but tbf I’ve not done anything to it since I’ve owned it.

Oh and that’s a size XL Geometron with a 1350mm wheelbase on it.

Oh God it’s too late now, I bought one last night. It’s amazing how a few beers will loosen your wallet. That’s also how I ended up with my current bike.

Thanks for the UK Campsite link, that saved me a few quid.

If it arrives before Friday I’ll be happy.

I’m on the market for one as well as my Thule is quite old and not long enough for newer bikes.

I’m in the same boat. I want a folding rack that will fit an XL mtb on and I can’t find one that’s not £££s. I’ve bought a couple and had to return them.

The e-scorpion pictured above looks great. Is it worth the extra £90 over the e-hornet?

I went for the Hornet because it lists a longer wheelbase and I don’t need the ability to fold it up for storage. If you really need to stash it in a tight spot it might be worth the extra money.

Escorpion here too, just as long if not slightly longer bike as above can confirm it’s ace. I find the folding really useful for storage and lugging about.

Sometimes eg when away for a week it’s nice to get somewhere and stuff it in the boot out the way.

I spin the bars 180 to shorten wheelbase a bit.

@damascus

The new Thule Epos looks promising but RRP is mega money

@dmorts that looks perfect apart from £880!

Thats more expensive than a bike! It’s crazy. We are all just mugs and pay extra because its bike related.

That’s why I’m looking at the buzzrack.
Thule prices have gone way past what I can afford.

£970 for the 3 bike version!!!

Holy ****balls! 😲

I can’t believe that Thule stay in business. The prices are firmly in the ‘money is no object’ bracket. I’m just surprised there’s enough of those people to keep them afloat.

I’ve had a Buzz Rack before and really liked it. I only sold it because it was a dangler kind and both of my bikes have front triangles too small to fit the arms through.

I’ll post up some pics when the Hornet arrives and we’ll see if it looks any good.

I remember reading an article where Thule said they were struggling to prevent price rises due to the increase in costs of aluminium (incredibly energy intensive to produce). I can’t find the article now or remember why they were more exposed to this than other manufacturers. But there was a reason.
Thule stuff has never been cheap but it does last.

I tried a few, Thule xt, Atera something, and settled on a Yakima Just click 2

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php?45935&gclid=CjwKCAjwo7iiBhAEEiwAsIxQEdaarvblURBuvhISxymDdL2P4HhFZpBIClVmqvHKfYuXgoMPFEWXiBoCWToQAvD_BwE

I find it ideal, long enough for big heavy e-bikes, compact for storage and fitting is very simple and secure.

Any reason why the E-Hornet 3 isn’t also a good idea for those needing the extra slot? Will often be loaded up with an ebike, full-susser and 20″ kids bike (plus another kids bike in the car), so need something more chunky than the trusty old Strada DL3 and also could do with more modern spacing

Cheers

Is each slot on the E Hornet capable of the same load capacity? One of the BuzzRacks I looked could only take one E-Bike, even though it had 2 or 3 slots. Can’t remember which one it was

I have a 4-bike one from buzzrack – very good, extremely simple although it’s quite heavy. The spacing is narrower between slots 2 and 3, so if you’re interested in a 3 slot one I’d just check spacing is even and be confident in the design.

A wider spaced 4 rack would be awesome but is maybe not realistic for tow bar regs – it would put you over the nose weight for a lot of vehicles when carrying four bikes.

The Hornet has landed. Much quicker delivery than I expected. Sadly, it’s landed at work on the day that I can’t get a lift home so it’ll be tomorrow before I can tinker with it.

I’m pretty happy with this.

Typically solid bit of kit. The hardest thing is getting it out of the house without smashing the walls up but that will be easy when I fix the garage door. Plenty of room for big bikes and fat tyres. Absolutely no rocking, wobbling or any danger of bikes touching eachother. So far it’s exactly what I was hoping it would be

I’ve never plugged anything into our towbar before so it’s a relief to see all the lights working without any extra faff or expense.

If you’re wondering why I need a bike rack the van is for sale. Find it on eBay and buy it.

Looks good.
I’ll be ordering the same one at the end of the month.

I ended up get an E-Scorpion delivered today. Realised that the folding could well come in handy for me. Not got it on the car yet but did the other wee assembly tasks tonight (very simple stuff) and so far looks really good too

I’ve realised that my biggest concern with this rack is that it might get nicked. Do people steal bike racks? They bloody grab everything else that’s not nailed down. A mate of mine recently had his rear window smashed by someone who wanted his 5 year old, sweaty, full face helmet. I can well imagine returning to the car in the Peak somewhere and finding the rack gone.

I might get some kind of chain or cable that goes around the rack and through the rear tow hoop on the car. It won’t stand up to a Makita angle grinder but it will deter the snatch & grabbers.

Yes they do

back in the days of loose straps on racks people were always nicking them in car parks when they’d lost one.

Another reason to get a fold up rack you stash in the boot.

I thought the rack locks onto the tow bar?

I thought the rack locks onto the tow bar?

It does. I’ll have to remember to use the key on it every time. The key disengages the knob so you can’t unwind it, it just spins. Maybe that will be enough.

I lock my old Thule onto the tow ball and never had a problem for last 7 years.
But guess it depends where you’re riding and leaving the car.

It does. I’ll have to remember to use the key on it every time. The key disengages the knob so you can’t unwind it, it just spins. Maybe that will be enough.

I think that locking it is part of the clamping procedure – means you* can accidentally loosen it.

I’m not concerned at the rack going missing Can’t imagine they have much scrote-appeal. Just what’s attached to it

*or the children in my case, they’ll defo faff with it

Finally got the buzzrack delivered and really impressed.
A lot more stable than the old Thule it’s replaced.
I can open the boot on the car without tilting the rack as well (no bikes fitted).

I’ve used mine a good few times now, still impressed. Much more stable than the Atera it replaced, even when loaded up with 1 e-bike, 1 heavy hardtail and one 20″ kids bike. Not the biggest fan of the extender, but it does the job and I’ll end up with taking it off and having to use a roof rack in the not to distant future anyway (when child 2 is also on a bigger bike)

Based on this thread (and a call with RoofBox), I’ve replaced my venerable Atera DL3 with a BuzzRack Scorpion E. What I wanted was:

• ability to take two long bikes (baseline being my large Giga)
• Easy to drop onto towbar
• Stable as possible on rubbish roads here and motorways
• Decent light bar.

My old Atera was great, but it failed on three out of the four criteria, long bikes didn’t really fit that well and, as a result, the bounced about. The lights weren’t great, was always removing lenses and cleaning them up.

New Scorpion E (with the new towball fitting) is very, very good because

• the bike(s) do not move Not at all. A combination of the height adjusting bar (so you can get the clamps at 90 degrees), the short arms (as bar is in the middle), the long/wide baskets for the tyres and the genius of the second front wheel strap to stop it pivoting.
• Spacing between bikes means no problem to fit any two bikes (including Es I reckon as per the name). It’s as long as my old 3 bike rack and most of that is in the spacing between rails.
• The new clamp is great, drop it onto the tow bar and cinch it up.
• Electrics seem a bit better sealed but we shall see.

Downsides?

• It’s heavy (heavier than my old 3 rack). It does have wheels but not much use on our pea shingle drive!
• The updated one with the new towbar fitting was £380 so not cheap, build quality looks good tho
• Doesn’t slide but it does tilt. I need the tilt to get the tailgate open and only tried it with one bike on, but seems to work.

Overall though very pleased. I used to spent a lot of time checking mirrors to make sure my bike was still centred on the carrier. Not now tho, fit and forget. Definitely recommended.

Oh and I don’t need to fold it up, but it’s very simple (and clever) if you do.

Good news. Still very happy with our Hornet and we’ve done hundreds of miles with it now. It’s pretty confidence inspiring unlike some other things we’ve used. Roof mounts make me nervous no matter how good they are.

Most of my trips are quite short. Longer ones I try and put the bike in the car but in the winter, that’s just horrible. With this rack I wouldn’t bother. I have been dithering about spending the money, but when you consider a) what is on the rack and b) the consequences of it falling off, it definitely justifies the cost.

But not double it. I asked Roofbox how many of those £900 Thule they’d sold. They wouldn’t say of course, but the answer was ‘not many’ esp compared to the BuzzRacks.

It’s heavy (heavier than my old 3 rack). It does have wheels but not much use on our pea shingle drive!

if you fold up the legs the lack of bulk makes it feel lighter than moving a DL3 (imo). Just remember to drop the middle part too for the full effect

Does anyone know what the gap between wheel trays (i.e. how ‘wide’ each bike can be) for the buzzracks, for a 2 or 3 bike version.

I’ve got a Thule rack which has been great but it’s not wide enough for boost bikes, so we have to use slots 1&3 and leave 2 empty. And my usual riding buddy has just got a new XXL modern geo bike which barely fits due to the wheelbase, even with the bars turned 180°.

I was going to just put up with it given the price of racks but I’d been looking at replacement Thule’s and hadn’t realised quite how far they were above other stuff!

E-Scorpion here, can’t fault it

IMG_20220701_153107~3 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

IMG_20220701_153319~4 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

f you fold up the legs the lack of bulk makes it feel lighter than moving a DL3 (imo). Just remember to drop the middle part too for the full effect

I shall give that a try before I take it off then.

Does anyone know what the gap between wheel trays (i.e. how ‘wide’ each bike can be) for the buzzracks, for a 2 or 3 bike version.

On my 2 bike Scorpion is is 160m from the outside of the first bar to the inside of the second one. So that’s your usable ‘width’. For reference on my old DL3, that measurement was 120mm and no way could we get three (non E) MTBs on there unless the middle one was a skinny hardtail and it was still a massive faff trying to thread the arms through