Got a new car and as the kids have bigger bikes now it’s time to go all the way and move from my thule strap on to a full on job.

It’s for an A6 Avant and i’ll need a tow bar fitting if that matters.

cheers

http://legacy2.pendle-bike.co.uk/ seem pretty good to me but not cheap…

thanks, yes they seem good, you can’t get to the boot though can you?

no, not without removing the bikes… would have thought that going to be the same for all tow-ball racks though?

Make sure you get one that keeps all the bikes apart unless you are not fussed about scratches to the frames etc – I’ve got a Witter one that is great for one or two bikes, but any more & the bikes just rub against each other.

Aiston racks again think you cant get to the boot …given the weight of 4 bikes I will be surprised if you find one that tips and if you do it will certainly cost assume it may even need to slide as you wont get much clerance just tilting it to the ground as it so long

http://www.aistoncycleracks.co.uk/double_cycle_racks.htm
Have seen them on non 4×4 but needs a BIG family car

Junkyard is right. I’ve had Thules, Pendles and Aistons and they are the best by far. Also the cheapest. The price doesn’t include a light board and the website is pretty poor but the guy (Brian) is really helpful on the phone.

You can’t get in the boot but having seen how twangy some of the racks can be I’d reckon that as a minor problem. You soon get used to packing the boot to get things from the seats.

thanks guys,

the aistons look good, i’ll ring him to see if they’ll fit my car.

I’ve got a Thule 903 with an extra attachment for a 4th bike. It was expensive but is very good.

Apparently it is now discontinued but I imagine there is somthing similar.

http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk/bike/thule-903-euroclassic-pro-towbar-bike-carrier.htm

It can tilt so you can get to the boot however I’ve only done this with one bike on the rack. I imagine the weight of 4 bikes is too much to control the tilt action.

It folds up so for easy storage.

I’ve got an Atera 4 bike rack which I used on my A6 Avant. It was the old molel which you could tilt to open the boot, though it was a two man job! The new one slides, looks very good. I bought mine from http://www.roofbox.co.uk Excelent customer service. I broke mine on holiday, and they sent a new one out to Snowdonia the next day, no questions asked. Much better than the service I got from Towequipe who sold me a “fits any roofrack” bike rack which didn’t fit then refused to take it back as I had taken it out of the box.

I have the Thule 903 + 4th bike adaptor, it works.
Downsides are:
heavy (are any light?)
not massive space between bikes, so often have to pad out forks so they dont get marked
bit of creative locating when feeding the clamps through
Tilt is useless in my opinion.

Upside:
stable at 95mph on the continent
folds up to 1/3 size – still takes quite a bit of room
would be a faff to adjust to different tow balls

I got mine from roofbox, had some issues, dealt with very quickly.