We used to cycle a lot, but where we live in the middle of a big city is not particularly safe for cycling. However, there are lots of safe places to go cycling within 20 miles, so we were thinking of a cycle carrier. In the dim and distant past we had one that sat against the rear window of the car and attached with straps which we were never happy with as the bikes just didn’t seem stable, so we have been looking at towball mounted carriers. We don’t want to spend a fortune so have seen the Buzz Rack e-hornet and wonder if anyone has any experience with this particular carrier or with other similarly priced (under £300) towball mounted carriers. Are they substantially better than the rear window type? Do they hold the bikes securely, even on bumpy roads? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I remember a few years ago members of this forum could get a discount somewhere that sold bike carriers but I can’t remember where it was? Does this still exist?
We had a Buzz Rack towball mounted bike rack a few years ago and used it regularly over a couple of years, mainly transporting our bikes from Cumbria over to France to our caravan in storage over there. We found it stable (even in windy conditions), easy to get the bikes on and off (once we knew what we were doing!) and a sturdy, well-made piece of equipment. We never used the other type of carrier, so can’t compare. Ours also tilted so you could open the back of the car with the carrier still fitted. We sold it because we started taking our dog away with us, so didn’t take the bikes any more.
We got ours, with a 5 or 10% discount through this forum from The Roof Box Company. Fast delivery, well packaged, all good!
We use a Thule tow ball rack, very secure and handy having the ability to tip the bikes out if the way for boot access. Much more secure and less likely to damage car than a boot mounted rack. Tow ball racks are often for sale 2nd hand.
Take great care with weights...
There's a weight limit for the carrier (Weight of bike(s) plus accesories/locks etc.
There's a weight limit for the tow-ball... varies per vehicle... As above, PLUS the carrier itself.
The tilting ones are excellent. My current and previous carriers tilt, and give access to car boots, but importantly to tailgates of the larger MPVs... I can vouch they work for Kia Sedona, VW Sharan (And therefore the identical Seat Alhambra), and also the Ford Galaxy. I'm pretty certain any sloping tailgate will be ok (But check first!).
However...
Since upgrading my carrier last year, to take the extra weight of our two e-bikes, I've swapped from MPV to VW Transporter (with tailgate). I can confirm MOST carriers (including my not cheap new upgrade!) do not clear these tailgates.
I believe there are only a couple of options for clearing these larger, vertical van tailgates. I decided not to go to the cost of yet another upgrade for a virtually new carrier, so all our camping gear now goes in and out of the two electrically sliding side doors, and the tailgate remains closed for the duration!
Oh... can only speak for the three Thule models I've had, but all excellent regarding fitting/taking off, stability of carrier to tow ball, and stability of bikes on the carrier. The Thule locking knobs are also a good option, as is the Thule One Key system.
Quote: Originally posted by Pixie_Hez on 10/8/2024
Also, I remember a few years ago members of this forum could get a discount somewhere that sold bike carriers but I can’t remember where it was? Does this still exist?
5% Discount Voucher for the Roof Box Company
The Roof Box Company is the UK's leading mail order supplier of car roof boxes, roof bars, Thule roof racks, bike racks and more.
Their prices are already massively discounted but, for UKCampsite.co.uk visitors, they are offering a further 5% off EVERYTHING on their website, excluding Package Deals, Multi Buys, Bargain items and Carriage costs.
We have the Thule Euro Classic Pro 2 towball mounted bike carrier, designed for two bikes, but we also have the third bike extension kit for it, got that 20 years ago, and it still works perfect.
If was to replace it, I would go for the westfalia version, much lighter in weight.
Son (39) has the saris tailgate mounted bike rack, and got stopped by the police and fined £70 because the copper decided it was obscuring the number plate and lights, which it wasn't, this was during the day, and the Son had been using the bike rack for 5 years without issue, he has not used it since, and now uses my Thule.
One thing to take into consideration is that especialy with larger bikes your turning circle can be reduced as the wheels can catch the front end of the van
Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Our towbar takes up to 100kg so we will be fine there as we only want a 2 bike carrier. I have been looking on Gumtree and there seem to be a few in our area so I will definitely look at second hand ones to save on cost.
I've had the Thule carrier which the bike wheels sit on, the Thule carrier which the bike hangs off, a Pendle bike carrier and the Buzz rack e-scorpion (all tow bar mounted).
I highly rate the Buzz e-scorpion- I would say the quality is better than Thule and the way it folds up so that you can store it safely in the car whilst you are cycling is a real bonus. Its pretty robust so is a bit heavy but comes with casters so you can wheel it around. If its not outside your budget - I would take a look at the scorpion (ordered mine from Roofbox with UKCampsite discount code).
We've had the Thule Xpress 970 tow ball bike carrier for the last three years ... incredibly easy to mount and dismount ... and cheap. And folds away to a very small item.
RE cycling in cities, I can heartily recommend https://cycle.travel/ - routing is weighted to absence of traffic rather than popularity with cyclists. It's a little bit clunky but it's really good at keeping you away from nasty roads, especially if your bikes will handle gravel / towpaths. There's also a free cycle.travel smartphone app which does turn by turn navigation.
We have a Thule 3 bike rack that we used on the car, we tried it on our Ducato based PVC van but it was difficult to open tear doors to turn gas on.
So we purchased a Atera DL3 3 bike tilting bike rack from Roof Box (with 5% discount) and it does the job well, We're able to access the rear through both doors. We have had it 6 years and is used most months. We now have bikes and with the batteries removed it's within the weight allowance.
Still use the Thule rack on the car.
I would recommend fitting a reversing camera (through experience)
One thing to take into account is how far behind the car the carrier projects and whether it folds when not in use.
We get a lot of cyclists holidaying where I live and they are forever parking with the carrier sticking a couple of feet out into the roadway or into the bay behind them, they seem to forget that the carrier is there.
I've had a few carriers over the years and found pros and cons with them all.
Roof mounted carriers were generally the quickest to mount the bikes on (assuming you can light them up there - my wife couldn't) by virtue of them not requiring additionally strapping to secure the bikes in place, however we moved on from them when we needed a roof box to go up there.
I used to do product tests for Evans Cycles and was given a Saris Bones 3 boot-mounted carrier to conduct a long-term review with. It looked space-age but felt Victorian in use, and I never felt particularly comfortable with the security of the whole thing. It is no worse than any other boot-mounted carrier and so this concern is more aimed at the type in general.
The best carrier (for us) has actually been the cheapest - a Maypole BC2040 towbar-mounted carrier at only £40. It holds up to 3 bikes (40kg) and simply slots onto a plate located between the towball and towbar (can also be used without a towball in place) and when not in use is easily folded away in-situ or thrown into the boot so there's nothing sticking out when parked as others have touched on. Smaller to store than any other we've had too. Unfortunately though, it no longer seems to be made!
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Topic: Towball mounted bike carriers
via mobile 11/8/2024 at 10:11am
