Anywhere in the UK sell these types of bike racks?

Hey guys, I am trying to find a solution to transport a lot of bikes without having to use a trailer. I (will) have a 9 seater Renault traffic style van and would like to find a way of transporting up to 8 bikes with it if possible (considering we will probably be 1 driver and 8 bikers). I am thinking a good start would be one of these style racks (see pic below) that you see the Canadians and Americans using all the time with their big trucks. It doesn’t need to be the specific one in the photo below but this style that fits on the tow bar and have the bikes positioned vertically, looks like you can get them to carry 6 bikes.

Can’t seem to find any companies that do them in the UK or Europe, does anyone know of any?

I don’t think that type of attachment or rack design are approved in Europe…if you are moving that many people and bikes then I’d suggest a trailer is the best solution for the bikes – standard coupling to vehicle and easy enough o tow the required bikes. Only issue would be storage of trailer.

If that rack can only fit four bikes how big a rack do you think you would need to fit eight? I think it would be quite big 🙂

North Shore Racks is the company that makes them. I’ve only ever seen a 6 bike version though. You could probably order one yourself from them. I don’t think customs and tax is really that bad.

I met a bloke who was doing some sort of MTB tour thing who tried to import a Canadian made trailer into Australia. Was going to cost an arm and a leg. He ended up going to a local coachworks with some photos and it came in much cheaper (albeit a ripped-off design).

There was a thread recently about NorthShore racks and I think they’re illegal in Europe.  The use a 2″ hitch instead of a tow ball and no way of easily mounting number plate / light board.  I have one (but I live in Calgary) and it’s quite a game of tetris to get all 6 bikes on without any interfence.

So the reason for not wanting a trailer is that I live in Norway and (could be the same in the UK?) you need to MOT your trailer and register it here = moneys.

I know I won’t get a 8 bike one but I don’t think you read it all Gary, I would like to find a 6 bike one and find another way to carry the other 2, probably in the boot or on the roof. It would be a shame if it isn’t possible to mount them on vehicles over here but then the reason I asked was because I saw these guys using one on their van in Norway so it must be possible.? I’ll send them a message also but thought someone on here might know, especially since it would be cheaper to buy one in the UK than here!

Sweaman do you think it is more of a paint in the arse to use one of these than just having a trailer what with the faff to make them fit without scratching each other?

That photo is a NSR-6 rack

http://www.northshoreracks.com/

It looks like they’ve got several identical bikes which makes it much easier to load.  Honestly I think it depends how big your trailer is.  Decades ago the Uni club I was in had a Pendle trailer and it was just as hard to load.

When I say it’s a pain it’s not too bad.  If you’re always loading / unloading the same bikes (like I am in the photo above) then after the first time it’s much easier as you’ll know the order.  If the bikes are different everytime there might be some juggling.

Basque MTB was active on the other thread.  He investigated NSR and didn’t / couldn’t get them to Spain.  Might be worth contacting him and finding out what his solution is.

Can’t you just put them on a roof rack?
Regarding trailers, at the end of Exmouth Exodus there was a bus/ bike trailer service which ended up being quite involved and the loading of the bikes took a pretty long time.

Their 2 bike folding rack is interesting.

Looks very similar to https://www.scorpionracks.com/

We run a NSR 6. No idea on the EU/UK legality but you’d also need to fabricate a 2″ tow hitch reciever but self fabricated would likely come with huge liability risk.
The NSR is great but road bikes don’t work well. Regular bikes do. However, bikes with odd flared headtubes get stuck. 6 bikes load in about 30 seconds. folds out the way for luggage loading on airport days and isnt really even a thought as its only about 20″ additional unladed length to the van.
There are no 8 bike solutions that I’ve come across, but there are 3 or so vertical hitch companies in the USA/Can.
If we were doing 8 bkes regularly, we’d add a 2 bike rack out front. Again, UK/EU law on this might be tricky
If you will regularly carry 8 bikes, what about a flat roof rack with a pop up center bar and tie them down. We used this system with West Coast Freeride back in their day but Look at Endless Bikings vans to see.
You could possibly fabricate something reasonable that only adds a few inches to your roof line when stowed.
Otherwise look at Epic Rides whistler shuttles for interesting and functional trailer ideas

Seen 2″ bars on Landrover sites.

Of course if there is a reason to have legal worries you must remember that standards are not retrospective. A very old set up is perfectly legal. Painted up to look brand new is fine and works perfectly if you get my meaning.

The US hitch is a better way to carry loads that mounting on a towball.

If you want to carry more than 4 then it is better to fix on a flange towbar.

There are 5 bike racks out there but they are hanger types.  The bikes are likely to knock into each other and top tubes can be rubbed. see Maxxraxx

I guess that 4 on the roof and 4 at the back is probably your best bet.

Roof loads and nose loads can be a problem. You should check for this vehicle and model.

Can I recommend a safety cable through the frames of both just in case.

Hi guys, yes I investigated it about 5 years ago and was told it wasn’t legal for the EU. There was a small problem because as others have said it’s a different hitch but that is easy enough to fix, the actual rack wasn’t legal apparently. Not homologated, not sure if that’s a Spanish or English word.

what did we do? We bought trailers! Eventually we got box trailers specially made for maximum protection and this year we will get open trailers too for local uplifting with minimum loading time.

So the reason for not wanting a trailer is that I live in Norway and (could be the same in the UK?) you need to MOT your trailer and register it here = moneys.

Not a requirement in the UK and I’ve never understood why when other countries do have the requirement.

Solution to 8 bikes on a traffic:

– Thule 4x bike towbar rack
– Thule 4x roof rack mounts.