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At my childrens request i am posting this request for information lol. We own a 1999 swift classic corvette and tow with a 2005 1.6 vauxhall zaffira. My kids want to take their bikes on holiday and i am asking opinions on the various cycle carriers available. My problems are; when towing my van i have to be careful on weight as i would run at 105% (i dont travel fully loaded) if fully laden so would it make a difference to the carrying and nose weight ratio if i put them on the back of the car.

If i put roof bars on my car does not fit under my garage door so would have to put on/ take off whenever we go out with the caravan. Is there anything else available and how do other people find the best way to carry bikes. Any views appreciated....

Err.....

looking at it I'd say the only option is roof bars,and take them off each time you want to put the car in the garage.

If you use a towbar carrier, that will affect the nose weights (although you don't mention what the relevant noseweights are, but I should think the Zafira is 75k?) in that you would have to include the weights of the bikes and carrier when measuring those weights. I would be more inclined to try to get some weight (however little) towards the front of the car, hence roof bars.

Just my humble opinion, and I'm sure others with more experience in these matters may advise different!!

Regards

I have opted for roof bars. This is because I think that it distributes the weight better on the vehicle and also does not impede any access to the car boot area or hitch. When I'm not towing but taking the bikes out I don't have to use a tail board (possible legal requirement?). I find that the Mont Blanc Barracuda type cycle carriers are very good as they lock to the roof bars and also the bikes lock to the carrier, therefore offering quite good security. I'm not sure how much you want to spend. www.skidrive.co.uk

These carriers accept the bike standing up and are very easy to adapt to different sized bikes.

I fitted spring assistors to one of my past vehicles (Vauxhall Belmont) These are effectively large rubber blocks that sit in the coil springs. http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/redirect.asp?redir=http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?t=6462 

This cured the problem of the suspension 'bottoming out' and helped the back end from dropping down too much when towing. You might like to consider this option to stiffen your ride and it may prove a little cheaper?

Sunter 18 also said that he has quite a high vehicle and would have to keep taking the roof bars off to fit in his garage which would be a pain. Also because it is a tall vehicle it is quite difficult to lift bikes on to the Zafira unless you are not too vertically challenged. At the monent he has small children and small bikes. But trust me the kids and the bikes get bigger and heavier.  good Luck