Was in the cycle shop when a man brought a wheel in for repair as it was damaged whilst being carried on a rear carrier on the car and had got caught between the car and caravan when he was reversing. I would think this would also be a 'problem' if carrried on the A frame. Also what about nose wieght?
I've thought about nose weight and damage when cornering but several people have storage boxes on the A frame, including the B&Q version, and two kids bikes would take up less room than that.
If you do not have a storage box on the front then what I said earlier may not apply as you will have a lot of extra space. We carried our bikes ratchet strapped to the top of the trailer on our last holiday and found they were very secure.
Had the MaxxRaxx towball type carrier and constantly worried about cornering when towing(damaging bikes and/or caravan). Was also worried about noseweight. So, although still use it solo (great carrier) we now carry the bikes on the roof when towing.
If you could get your carriers fitted far enough back on the A-frame it may well be feasible. Why not load up and fit the bikes temporarily and check the noseweight.
If it's smallish kid's bikes then size and weight are in your favour for both cornering and noseweight. Fixing may well be problematic if the chassis maker does not allow drilling (like Alko eg), so you may have to devise a clamping method.
I wouldn't worry about crosswinds as the force will be very much less than the force exerted if they were on the roof! On the A-frame the bikes present a low surface area to crosswinds.
Hope you solve it, as the kids need their bikes on holiday.
We have custom built bike rack (designed and built by my husband) on the A frame of our trailer tent and have taken 2 adult sized moutain bikes with us all over the country. We have had no problems with cornering or reversing and can even leave them on the rack when pitched so they are secure when we go out in the car. The trailer tent cover doubles as a cover for the bikes after pitching.
as the bikes offer little surface area on the roof the wind just goes straight through, however, taking a corner, as the centre of gravity is higher the car will tend to feel "strange" so advise slower speeds, but it all depends on how heavy the bikes are as your car handbook will tell you the carrying capacity on the roof.
I said I'd let you know how I went on with the bike carriers on the A frame plan.
Well I bought two Halfords roof top carriers and a set of Thule roof bars, total cost £65.
I then cut and welded the roofbars to form a rectangle 800 x 400mm. I clamped this to the A frame and mounted the carriers on top.
All worked a treat. I can reverse so that the TT is at right angles to the car without the bikes contacting. We've just come back from holiday and did about 500 miles with no problems. I would recommend the idea to all TT owners wanting to carry bikes.
There are a couple of photos on my profile pages if you want to take a look.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Advise needed on cycle carriers
) we now carry the bikes on the roof when towing.
), so you may have to devise a clamping method.
