When I was in Canada I was blown away by these racks.
So simple and quick.

But they only fit US 2″ Hitches
Does anyone make anything similar for standard Euro towballs?

Getting a bit fed up of faffing with threading Thule/Atera rods through increasingly cluttered FS frames.

I guess there’s also the problem of light/numberplate board.

I’m sure you could strap a light board to the rear wheels of the bikes. Not very slick though. Is there any UK law about overhang at the back of the vehicle ?

Also, a rack like that with six big bikes on it will put a huge bending moment on the tow hitch. That’s very different to the nose weight of a trailer. US hitches are designed for much higher loads, e.g. a quick Google tells me the current F150 is rated to tow up to 12,100 lbs (5½ tonnes). The attachment to the chassis will be far studier than on the average UK family car.

Overhang – I don’t see why it’s any worse than 4-bike Thule.
6-bike may be too much weight, but again, I don’t see why a 4-bike one would be any heavier than a 4-bike Thule and therefore the same forces.

I’ve no idea why nobody bothers about lightboards in the US/Canada.
I guess the obvious thing would be a bar coming out the bottom, but that adds a lot of bulk to what is quite a simple thing.

They don’t fit onto the US 2″ ball but onto a 2″ receiver tube which I would have thought you could get made up for your car and I would prefer that over a ball fitment.

They do 2 and 4 bike versions and one side on version but they do say it won’t fit road bikes due to the way it hooks onto the fork which may be a problem for you.

As long as you stick to 4 bikes max I don’t see the weight being a problem, the moment arm might actually be less than a 4 bike set up as they stick a hole bike right out back.

If you have a bolt on tow ball something like this might work: http://www.4x4overlander.com/product/drop-plate-and-2-receiver-hitch/

You can get a 50mm ball to fit into the 2″ hitch but not sure of the legalities but if just for the bike rack then does that count as towing?

More bits here: http://www.abp-accessories.co.uk/product.php?cat=78

As for the lightboard – easy enough to attach to the bike wheels but would be nicer to have something on an arm that connects to the rack for less faffage but it removable for compact storage.

oh and it might be possible to find a receiver plate that fits behind the existing tow ball, or a combined tow ball 2″ receiver underneath so you can still use the tow ball for towing but have the receiver for bike racks.

Thanks Andyl
I only have a tow ball for the racks, so I don’t really mind losing the towball.
So those drop plate hitches just fit onto the plate behind my towball?

I’m sure there’ll be some workaround for a road bike, or maybe my cross bike will just fit anyway.

They would require you to remove the tow ball completely due to the bracing. They are designed to be hight adjustable for 4x4s hence the multiple holes so they will be bulky and heavy. I guess they could be trimmed down with an angle grinder and re-painted. Might be worth having a google for something smaller.

Does seem like a lot of messing around though. Are they really that much better than a normal ride on type?

Id be tempted to get a custom 2″ receiver tube adapter made with a smaller reciever underneath that you can fit a light board fitting too.

It all made sense when I got to Oz with these

50mm Box and you can put the tow ball into it if needed.

In terms of speed of loading/unloading bikes, they were amazing. Probably 1/3rd of the time.
In terms of ease of stowing, wind resistance, weight, etc they are probably worse.

Video here:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioCYeCWzGrk[/video]

They are phenomenal racks, and the only practical 6 bike rack weve found. I’ve seen road bikes carried in them by reversing the bike and dropping the bar/stem into the cradle designed for the crown/head tube.
North shore racks are fiercely protective of their design and have in the past persued legal action against a home builder who copied their design.
Anyway,if you’re serious about getting one shipped, asuming you have a car thats available in north america, just add another $150 and buy a hitch reciever to ship with it.

asuming you have a car thats available in north america

Probably not – a Citroen Berlingo.

But it looks like there are 2-inch hitch receiver adapters for standard towball plates.