Hi all,

Our little car now has 2 child seats fitted and it is getting difficult to squeeze my bike into the car with all the baby 'stuff'. Have decided that it is time to get a towbar fitted and use a quality bike rack.

Would appreciate some pointers on what bike rack I should go for, needs to be good for 2 all mountain rigs.

Also, does anyone know how much (roughly) I should expect to pay to have a towbar fitted?

Thanks
J

Towbar fitted, £200-£150.

Wheel support towbar rack, £100.

Towbar price varies between cars etc, my citreon xsara bar was £90 which i then fitted myself … changed car to a nissan primera and that was £180 fitted
Look at either thule , or altera racks … both superb
dont know where abouts you live but these have always been great

http://www.towequipe.co.uk/

Another vote for a wheel support rack, rather than one that suspends the bikes at all angles off two arms. Don't forget to budget for the towing electrics and lighting board.

pendle towbar mounted wheel support rack. simple, effective, slightly cheaper than the hingey type racks.

What is your car, and how old?

Pendle here too and the lighting board is integral. You don't need a complicated towbar either, just a single power point.

I have a three bike thule tow bar mounted rack just brilliant a bit of an arse to build up but has been faultless mate evet with three bikes on and doing 90 eh 70 not a wobble!

Had the three bike Thule rack for 5 years. Excellent, durable, heavy 😉 Width between bikes was sometimes a bit tight for bigger bikes. Electrics superb. Swapped to an Altera three bike rack and that's about half the weight, maybe a bit more fiddly to get the bikes on, but just as stable, and again excellent electrics. Think it was about £230.

Tilting off the towbar is brilliant. Well worth having.

Towbar. Whitter every time. Garage did mine as the bumper needed cutting. About £180 including towbar I think.

We've also got the – fiddly – fourth bike extention which means me, wife, two kids plus dog in the back can all go riding 🙂

tow bar racks are brill, done thousands of miles with my Thule – stable to well in excess of 100mph

From experience of having to ditch a decent tyre and tube (thankfully didnt do for the rim) make sure that your exhaust (even a diesel exhaust) is not blowing onto the rack/wheels!!!!!!

Get an aiston rack rather than a pendle. I've had both and the aiston version is better in everyway and cheaper. The website is very basic but call the guy if you have any questions he's really helpful. You have to get your own lightboard for these but they're 15 tops.

http://www.aistoncycleracks.co.uk

Second what SteveH said get the aiston. Fantastic rack and a great little company to deal with. I picked my rack up from the owners house/workshop and had it fitted/tested for free.

Thule Euroclassic.

Best you can get IMO.

Brilliant. Thanks for all your help.

Am sold – will look into getting a tow bar fitted asap.
Then I can take my bike on the family hols 😀

i have a couple of 3 bike racks for sale.a thule 9403 i think it is. boxed only used half a dozen times £90 delivered .
or an all singing avenir peruzzo pisa .only used once .need to make room in garage so £140 posted.e mail silverandgold@blueyonder.co.uk if you want some piccies and details

Thlue 3 bike ride on , fits on the towball , even fits a discovery 2 , even tho the bloke at halfords said it wouldnt.fits due to spare wheel being offset.pics to follow if i can find them.

just be aware that if you have a little car as you say above – sticking 3 bikes on the back on a heavy rack might not be the wisest idea …anyone thats picked up an aiston will know what i mean ….

if its just your bike a nice light weight pair of hanging bars will be fine – if your taking more id suggest not taking the baby ….

having nearly taken my tow bar clean off the car getting over speed bumps when i have 3 light xc bikes on the back of my hyundai lantra ……i tend to use my trailer now when its more than my bike !

mate , are you saying a discovery 2 is a little car?????????????

are you smoking crack ?

im speaking to driftingjames who said "little car"

have a 2004 fiesta tdci , and never had a problem!

I'm driving a corsa and use a Bones rack…really simple to fit, look pretty good and can carry 2 or 3 bikes no problem at all 🙂