[Closed] What towbar mounted bike carrier?

Pendle Bike Rack. The simple one with two uprights that simply slot into a bracket. Keep the bracket on the towbar and the arms in the boot of your car. Its solid as hell and ive had mine for almost 20 years. My bro got one last year and he's chuffed with it too.

http://www.pendle-bike.co.uk/shopping/hang-on-tb-rack.php

Do you need it to move out of the way so that you can open the tailgate ?
If so have a look at the Atera Strada, it ain't cheap but is very nice quality and well designed.
It will move down and away from the vehicle with the bikes in place allowing you space to open the tailgate properly.

Thule Euroclassic is one of the best but prices seem to have shot up post Brexit - I paid about half what they go for now a couple of years ago.

first three answers, 3 different recommendations.

STW - always making a complex decision more difficult 😉

My buzz rack is well made. Not quite as slick as Thule but about half the price. Have a look at roofbox.co.uk.

I have a Thule 9503 which tilts so I can get into my boot, would recommend it.

I've got a Thule Euroclassic too. I like it.

I have a Thule 9503 which tilts so I can get into my boot, would recommend it.

I'm about to sell my 9503 and buy an Atera Strada DL

The 9503 is okay for a lower priced one, very solid, but it's a bit of a faff to tilt and mount the bikes, very good for occasional use.

Had a good look at the Atera Strada DL at the weekend and it's very good (but very expensive)

Strada 3+1 here - easy to mount, and the slide rather than tilt is fantastic.

I got a nearly new 9503 from local small ads for about 80 quid. It's good at that price, and the boot tilt is useful.

Pleased with my buzzrack from roofbox.co.uk. Fairly light and folds flat when not in use.

Suggest you sort out your priorities with regards: weight (what is the nose weight for your car), storage, ease of use (one STW takes the pedals off his bikes to get them on his rack), number of bikes, cost etc

I've had two Atera's. First one lasted 10 years even after much abuse including backing it into a wall and my wife's car 😉

New one is great. Really sorted. Brilliantly easy to attach/detach, very secure, quality electrics. Yeah it was £300 (got mine in the sale) but I don't worry about having expensive bikes on it.

The only issue (other than standard getting three bikes on is a bit of a mission if they funny shaped) is the ratchet straps for holding the wheels - while very secure - aren't quite long enough for my chubby tyred bikes. Looking to get some longer straps.

Very happy atera strada user here. You can [s]often [/s] very occasionally pick them up new on ebay.de at bargainous rates (like €200 inc 4th bike carrier)

Atera here. Would happily buy another when the original dies.

Reminded me to speak to RoofBox company who sorted me out. They're such a great company to deal with.

got a thule euroclassic 2 bike rack for sale, never used won in a competition,tilts, and spare light board. £190.00 wirral chester areas

I'd bite project's hand off...

I have a Thule tow-bar mounted 3+1 and I'm less than impressed. What I've found is that

1. The exhaust on my car is too close to the bottom left-hand tyre strap and, over time, has warmed the plastic so that the strap attachment point has bent out of shape. I'm now having to use separate straps on the front 2 bikes.

2. With my tow-bar, the back of the rack is very low and can scrape the floor. I can't reverse off my own drive with 4 bikes mounted.

Strada 3+1 here - easy to mount, and the slide rather than tilt is fantastic.

Strada 3+1 here too. My second one. The one thing I would say is that the clamp mechanism (onto your tow bar) does loosen after a while. You can get a shim from roofbox to correct it but it will loosen after that until the mechanism finally gives up the ghost.

It depends on how often you use it how much this will affect you. Using it maybe one weekend in four and I got about 5 years out of my first one. The second one is lasting a bit better (no need for a shim yet but it is getting there).

Atera Strada DL - as others have said, not cheap around £300 but by far the best IMO

Thanks all, is a 'behind the ball' or 'on the ball' fitting better?

The car will have a folding towbar, if using a behind the ball fitting would it need to be removed before the towbar is folded away?

Atera Strada 3 here.

Really well made and works well but be aware, if your back window doesn't slope at a decent angle you'll struggle to get a bike on the carrier nearest the car as the handlebars will hit the rear window. I struggle with my Amarok unless it's something small or has ridiculously narrow bars.

Saying that you'll no doubt have the same issue with any non sloping rear window/bike carrier combo.

I've had.

Thule scissor action rack. The express 970 I think it is. Brilliant for 1 conventional shaped bike and short journeys. My 29r would have had it's wheels very close to the ground though.

Pendle hang on rack 3&4 bike variants with fixed plate behind towbar. Very versatile, simple design with a no moving parts and much more sturdy than the Thule express.

Pendle 2 bike wheel support rack with fixed plate behind towbar

I've also regularly used roof racks

The Pendle hang on is the best goes in the boot solution.

The Pendle wheel rack is probably the most insanely solid piece of kit for carrying bikes. But it's very heavy and a bit awkward to fit and opening the boot without removing the rack involves going underneath it and undoing bolts to swing the arms out of the way.

If you are on a long journey and want boot access mid journey or going out for a family ride and to chuck your riding gear in the boot NONE of those racks will allow you into the boot (except maybe on a saloon or Mondeo/Octavia shaped/slopey backed hatchback) without removal of at least the bikes and rack removal (arm folding on the wheel rack). Speaking as a long term estate driver this can be a pain in the ass.

I'm just about to go for a towbar and rack again.

I am looking at the Atera but I am a bit concerned after reading fat boy fats post about longevity of the clamp. Has anyone else suffered this issue and if so do Atera not do spares? That's pretty poor on such a spendy rack if that's the case.

Jengledow

If you have a folding towbar it will more likely need to be a ball clamp not behind the ball.

The behind the ball ones are usually one of two things.

The tow ball itself is on a flat plate with a chuffing great bolt either side of it that bolts to the main structural metalwork on the car. There are apparently some removable variants of this (towsure tells me there is one that fits my car) but not sure how they'd work with a behind the ball mounting plate. Edit. On closer inspection removable appears to mean with spanners permanently.

If it's a swan neck (no flat plate) occasionally there is a clamp that bolts round the neck. Pretty rare but used to be common in mainland Europe a loooonnnng time ago. Unlikely you will get this now I would think.

Sorry and one more from me. If your bikes are different shapes and geometries the fitting of them can be challenging on some racks.

By way of example, the Pendle hang on is quite wide so short bikes (children or short torso'd wives) require some creativity (e.g. I used to put an arm through the rear triangle and the down tube on top of the other arm for my wife's bike).

The Pendle wheel support might need some bar turning or careful wheel support placement.

Right I'll stop bombarding the thread now.

I've used a thule standard rack for years, but more recently switched to a thule hang on, similar to the pendle style. Not much in it but I prefer the hang-on - lighter, and the fittings are better and longer lived. Hang-on express with fittings for two bikes is 60quid, can't see a better option if that's all you need.

OTOH 3 adult bikes on the normal hang-on is stowed out, getting four on would be dodgy. So if you need to transport 3+ bikes regularly then standard rack is better IMHO.

Roof box (who sell the Atera rack) seem to know about the loosening thing quite well. They said it is due to people overtightening the clamp but I'm not so sure. The clamp definitely loosens over time but we are talking years here with regular use. They don't do spare clamps. Hence the reason I've had two racks. The newer one seems to be better quality though, so I'm hoping for a good few years of use yet.

Atera Strada 3+1 here too, very good. Keep an eye out for a well priced second hand one!

Mentioned it on the other thread - I've recently bought a Thule 972 (£90-100) after borrowing a mates similar sort of thing.

Fits 2 big full sussers ok, seems sturdy and tilts right down.

My Capra has a bit of an awkward frame, but fits on nice - I'll take a pic next time I use it.
[img] [/img]

I've ended up with three different options over the years:

Thule Hang-on express - light, simple & great for one bike (it can take two but it can be a faff) which gets used when it's just me or the weather's not great in which case the bike goes in the car to the trails but on the rack for the return. Folds down small so you can just chuck it in the car.

Thule 972 (as above) for two bikes &/or longer journeys. It's very stable and tilts well our of the way of your boot lid - folds flat relatively easily for storage etc

Thule Ride-on for three bikes/long journeys. Fairly straight forward & easy to use but I find it 'bounces' a fair bit with three bikes loaded (the rack itself is not light) on my removable tow bar. The light board is easily removed & gets used more with the other two racks.

The 972 is a great compromise IMO but, assuming your local constabulary are as picky as mine, you ought to have the light board too.

everyone in canada seems to run NSR racks -

[img] [/img]

I've no idea why similar isn't available here - they seem a much easier way of mounting multiple bikes to a car

Yeah I'd be keen to get one of those NSR racks after reading a review but haven't seen anything like it available here.

The 972 is a great compromise IMO but, assuming your local constabulary are as picky as mine, you ought to have the light board too.

What's the rules on needing a light board and number plate and what can you generally 'get away with'?

Any obscuring of lights or number plate (even if they shine through) means you need a number plate and light board.

You'll possibly get away with a little bit of obscuring but if you're in a shunt you may be getting a hard time from your insurer and the law and for £30 or so wtf would you risk someone ramming you and your bikes from behind.

While we are on towball racks how is the ground clearance on the Atera 3+1/Thule equivalent on lower slung estates? Is it ok for normal use? IE not 25% driveways etc.

Resurrecting this thread. Clamp on my Atera is going too. It’s a bit small for 29ers with 2.4 tyres.
What is good? Needs to carry 2 bikes, be easy to put on/ take off. Tilt to access boot.
Looking at Whispbar which is expensive. Are they any good. What do others run?

Just brought a Buzzrack Buzzwing 3 bike carrier. No experience of any others but happy with this so far - particularly for the price.

Buzzwing

I've got a Buzzrack Buzzwing 3 as well, tilts nicely, very well made, nice and secure. Can get my 29er FS on it easily with 2.25" tyres and they do long straps for bigger tyres too.

I'll get involved with the resurrection to ask: Any racks working well with modern (loooong) bikes? Thinking L/XL Aeris / Geometron 29ers.

Thanks the Buzzwing seems to be a good design and more sensibly priced than the Whispbar. On the Scorpion you don't even have to pass the clamp through the first bike.

On the Scorpion you don’t even have to pass the clamp through the first bike.

Nor with the Buzzwing 3. Don't know about the 2. Think it is rated to a 119cm wheelbase but you would probably be OK a little bit longer. Good spacing between bikes at 20cm.

I've ordered the Scorpion, will report back. Thanks

I've got a buzzwing 2 which is a well made rack, but with 2 issues for me.

1. My Longshot cotic rocket doesn't fit. I've bodged this by drilling extra holes in the bar so i can mount the feet further out which works better but isn't ideal.

2. Ive got it for a Berlingo and it doesn't quite fit, it's close but the daily to tighten it onto the ball fouls the tailgate.

So a good rack but a bit of a fail from me when buying it. What are other Berlingo owners using?

Any racks working well with modern (loooong) bikes? Thinking L/XL Aeris / Geometron 29ers.

Atera Ebike ML.
Has loads of room for a Longest G16 and G13.
Had an Atera rack before that was brilliant but just not long enough so swapped to this.
2x G16 on it in this pic.
I was just trying it for size and hadn't fitted the support frame and arms.
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1779/44025451772_e69a36349c_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1779/44025451772_e69a36349c_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2a5nWZj ]Atera Ebike ML rack.[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/stu-b/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr

I’ve just pulled the trigger on a Witter ZX503 - New from EBay. I’ve got a bracket fixed one on my T5 where the bikes ‘hang on’ but have just bought a car with a removable tow bar. The Atera ones seem highly recommended - but what swung the Witter for me was that it also tilts & when not in usd can be folded up vertically & driven on the back of the car still with the lighting board folded to show to the rear. I’m hoping it will be as good as an Atera or Thule & it’s Btitish..........

Another Atera Strada DL owner, after lots of research I went for the DL with 4th bike carrier should I ever need it, the reinforced straps were a little short for plus tyres, good news Atera addressed this with longer straps.

The rack is quality easy to use & once locked to the tow bar you know it's secure.

Hope that helps

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/all-products/atera_strada_dl_3_to_4_bike_carrier_uk_lights_no_ar2603/Qx%40w%2C6M4PHS%2CZGenkQvENtdosM?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh4eZ8tmD4AIVCJ3tCh10LgS8EAAYASAAEgKsd_D_BwE

I saw someone with a vertically mounted bike this weekend, like thatrack up there, down here in Surrey.

Anyone noticed those heavy duty Thule ones they all seem to have in the USA? Not sure why we can't get something similar here - maybe the fitting; seem to be those weird box section insert mounts for the towbar

TurnerGuy : I saw someone with a vertically mounted bike this weekend, like thatrack up there, down here in Surrey.

That's probably a Scorpion Rack (the other sort) - made in Surrey.

First trip out with the Buzzwing Scorpion today and its great - I have hated the Atera Strada that I've used for the last 10 years. This is so much easier. Just 2 bikes but more secure on the towball, bikes load very quickly (no deflating tyres or faffing threading clamps through frames or having bikes too close). Fits large 29er with 2.5 tyres, wheelbase 46".

Johnhighfield what frame grabbers are on the witter rack you got??
I’ve an old one but it’s the duck bill style and not to convinced it’s that secure,thinking or ordering the strap style ones the westfalia use and they can be bought for about £14 each and just attach to the bar on the back of my rack

I saw someone with a vertically mounted bike this weekend, like thatrack up there, down here in Surrey.

I think I might get one for my van.

We've got a tailgate one at the moment but it doesn't fit the bikes properly and you can't get in the boot.

I'd like to try one out before I commit but there's not many around.

Thread resurrection ! I am shortly getting a full suss ebike so am looking for a towbar rack. I have roof carriers already so looking for a towbar one for 2 bikes, at least one over 20kg..

I was looking at the Thule xt :

This one

Which I’d buy from roofbox, but wondering if the Atera ones are better for my needs ?

2 heavy bikes + folding rack?
I'd have a look at the Buzzrack Scorpion from Roofbox.
Half the price of the Thule, and a very good bit of kit.

Looks a good option, thanks

I have a Buzzrack Scorpion and it's been excellent so far! I did like how solid the Thule racks looked, but having had my bike on one this week (3 bikes), I'm not convinced.

I don't know which one it is (euro-something), but it looked quality and very sturdy. The bikes sat far too close to each other and were rubbing. I put some cloth between the rub points, but still lost paint on my fork lowers 🙁

The Scorpion is so quick to put on and off and stash in the boot too.

Got the Thule G6 929. Had it for years. It's been brill. Had 4 bikes on it with the extender and it's been reliable as hell 🙂

We recently got a Thule Velospace XT2. I struggled with justifying the price but having driven over 2k miles with it on recently it really is excellent and worth the money.

Fits fat bikes on with loads of space between them (did have to buy longer straps for the wheels) and even on a van 760mm bars have plenty of distance between them and the back window. The tilt function works well (but did need modifying for a van tailgate to clear it).

We hired heavy full suss ebikes a couple of weeks ago and they went on it fine too.

Well seems to be between the Buzzrack Scorpion, the Thule XT2 and Atera Strada M2. Quite a range in price, so hard not to go with the Buzzrack I think ?

Don't know what your requirements are, but mine were decent value and 4 bikes. Got the Halfords own brand 4 bike rack and it's been great, managed to get 4 adult sized bikes on without fuss (didn't even need to pad anything out to stop rubbing) saddles down.

It doesn't fold down for boot access, but I can open the boot a bit, or get in through the front should I need to. Obviously if I was planning on doing this a lot I'd go for a different rack.

You can use BC discount on it too, if you're a BC member.

Just ordered the Thule Velospace XT2, very useful thread, cheers

This one

We bought the XT3 with the fourth bike adapter last autumn after years of good service with our older Thule rack mainly to get the ebikes on. Only used it once but it did take 3 Turbo Levos with ease.
I went in hospital for another operation on my damaged foot and came out to find we had swapped the car for a Tourneo Custom so don't use it. Its sat at the back of the garage for the just in case we need it like a load of other stuff.
The old rack was sold at Peatys bike bonanza to four young lads who were planning their future trips and threw £25 each at it. Glad to see it go to a new home.
Good choice and sturdy enough for your new bike

Had several and this is the best bar none.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/whispbar_3_bike_tow_bar_carrier_no_wbt31/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4urewHNE2

Expensive but worth every penny. Fits in seconds, bikes dead easy to mount quickly and securely and whole thing swings away from the boot with a quick press of a foot switch.

Doubt you’d find one to fit a Geometron. Had several and this is the best bar none. https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/whispbar_3_bike_tow_bar_carrier_no_wbt31/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4urewHNE2

Seconds to fit, easy to fit bikes and swings away from the boot at a press of a foot switch. Big enough for large Nomad V4 and Hightower LT.

Major downside is it’s expensive (but it’s very well made)