[Closed] Towbar bikeracks: I know naaaaaahhhtheeeeeng!

Tow bars are easy peasy to fit, whip bumper cover off, ebay the old support bar and fit tow bar in place. Sometimes cut a slot in plastic bumper cover to clear.

The wiring on the other hand you need someone half competant. Always better off with a "dedicated" wiring kit, these plug in/ add pins to connectors and are a bit awkward. Some cars you connect this in the boot. Other cars you have to remove half the interior to lay the loom to the main fuse box. Real PITA.

With dedicated wiring to get extra features like ESP towing programmes / auto disable park sensors usually you should activate with the computer. Usually don't need this for basic operation though, and fine for bike rack.

you can go add in wiring modules, these you cut/piggy back onto rear light wiring, best to solder connections but that's also a massive faff so people use scotchlocks which eventually fail.

Most garages won't be interested, look for a tow bar installer.

I just got a cheap used pendle bike rack off Facebook £40

Look up the price for a tow bar and wiring kit on https://www.towbars-uk.co.uk

Takes me an afternoon to fit one, an installer should have it sorted faster so see what they add for labour.

7pin is old UK style, you need two for a caravan. 13 pin is euro harmonised and all in.

13pin more reliable. Just get 13pin.

7pin not tested at mot

13pin is tested at mot and can fail the car

I got my towbar done by at my local Mitsubishi dealer. Figured they knew what they be were doing, and price was similar to quote from local garage.

Rack I looked on roofbox.co.uk, very good selection from a variety of brands.

Went for a Buzzrack Scorpion in the end. Mine's a 2 bike one, but it's designed for big/long wheelbase bikes, and folds, which is a bonus.
They do 3 and 4 bike models. Cheaper than Thule, but in comparison to friends' racks, the build quality seems as good.

It’s been a couple of years since I bought our carrier, but some thoughts from our, and friend's, experiences since:
- the Thule arms that you can remove and reposition are a god send
- the overall width of the trays is important, do heck that
- greater importance is the width between each bike

We have a a Thule one, i can't remember which, and it is good. 4 bikes possible, though a little bouncy with 4 on. Nervous!

Neighbour assumed Thule carriers would all be similar, and bought one - there is no way to fit three 'boost' width bikes on it. Maybe road bikes would be fine, but no chance for proper bike mtbs

Just had a removable towbar fitted to our XC60 a few weeks ago, as I said I wasnt going to be dragging the wifes EB into the back of the car. Was £450 fitted at my home by a local guy. If you are in Berkshire or surrounding area, let me know. He is really good. We have an old Thule carrier, which works fine but I did update the light bar to a new LED one for brighter more reliable lights.
There is room for 2 bikes and the EMTB will fit nearest the towbar because of weight and mine nearer the back. Never used any carbon adaptors, as ours strap the wheels and I strap the pedal to the bars. Also, I put frame protector in the area the strap does got round the downtube and all has been fine.
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greater importance is the width between each bike

This.

Our Thule Euroway something or other struggles to fit boost bikes. We have a particular way of fitting the bike jigsaw together to avoid dropouts and forks rubbing, by barely a cm. It does mean two bikes have to have bars rotated.

With a kids bike you should be ok, but a few years time...

I don't think I'll have a 4 bike rear rack again - I'll use a three bike carrier for just two bikes and two roof carriers.

Totally agree about

1) get a towbar fitter do the fit if you don't want to do it yourself
2) dedicated wiring kit (especially if you have an auto and/or parking sensors)
3) 13 pin

I've only had one car since I started driving 25 years ago that I've not fitted a tow bar to. I've used for bike racks and boat towing.

Rack wise our wheel support Buzz rack has been excellent.

Can I also be a total bore and say check the tow bar nose weight for your car. To carry 3 bikes + the rack you normally need a 75kg nose weight limit, 90kg for four. The rack and bikes weigh less but there's a leverage effect on the tow ball. It is not about snapping the tow ball but about the effect of lightening the front axle of the car by too much weight on the rear.

When I had a towbar fitted a few years ago the garage that I used advised me to buy a towbar and he'd fit it. He said that he'd be unable to get a towbar for anywhere near the price that I'd be able to if I just bought one online (I didn't go in badgering about price or anything, he's just a good guy). I bought one off amazon for ~100 quid. Go 13 pin IMO.

13 pin. Never pull the plug at all... Just keep rotating past 90 degrees until it falls out. If you pull it can leave the pins misaligned and you won't realise until 5 minutes before leaving when the plug won't go in. Can be fiddling to fix even if you are lucky enough to have the green cap that resets them.

I don't see why you'd need adaptors for carbon frames, the top arms only need to be tight enough that the bike doesn't wobble within the jaws. On racks where you can slide the arms around, I sometimes clamp the seat tube (which has a post inside it).

I'll also put the first bike on with the arm at a steep angle (i.e down to the downtube) as this effectively makes it shorter and leans the bike towards the car, increasing clearance for the next bike.

National towbar place fitted mine to my current car when it was a few weeks old, dealer recommended I went there as they’d do it better and cheaper than Audi workshop. I have a Yakima one click carrier, for 2 bikes. Takes my ebike - a large Spesh Turbo Levo SL, plus sons large Giant HT. Great piece of kit and much better on fuel economy than roof carriers.

PF JONES for mobile fitting.
Fitting isn’t difficult, but many modern cars also need to be coded.

greater importance is the width between each bike

This X 1000

We have the standard STW approved Atera Strada and I have very much a love/hate relationship with it.

I hate the effort lifting the bloody thing out of the house and onto the tow hitch in the morning.

I hate the shit keys that break endlessly.

I hate the fact that the rails are too close together and so the forks/cassettes/ cables etc grind against the other bikes and ruin them.

I hate the fact that the rails are too short to take any remote long bike.

I hate playing bike Tetris and trying to work out what configuration I need to put everything on to try and minimise bike damage etc.
..,

I love the fact that it gives us more room inside the van and gets our bikes to the destination

Yakima JustClick 3 bike tow bar carrier is the bees knees but quite pricey. Have been through a few different makes of rack over the years and got fed up with the faff particularly for Putting it on, positioning and fixing bigger bikes and crap tilting mechanisms. This does everything just very well. Needs a swan neck tow bar tho.

To piggy back into this thread. I’m searching for either a Fiamma style bike rack for 4 (3 at a pinch) bikes or a tow-ball mounted rack to fit up to 4 bikes for my Transit Custom with twin rear (barn) doors.

Fiamma only make a specific rack for the custom with the rear hatch like the tourneo. They do loads of different types for VW, Fiat etc. but the top clamp/bracket that hook over the top edge of the door are all different profiles. So without being able to try all the different top brackets does anyone know of a solution?

Neighbour assumed Thule carriers would all be similar, and bought one – there is no way to fit three ‘boost’ width bikes on it. Maybe road bikes would be fine, but no chance for proper bike mtbs

So anyone with boost bikes needs the Thule Velospace rather than compact? Can anyone confirm?

I've got a velocompact on backorder...

I've got a Thule 9503 going spare if anyone's interested ? (stealth ad alert)

Thule Velospace 2 here. Perfect for fatbikes as the rails are wider spaced and the bikes don't touch or rub at all. . There is a 3 bike version as well so that would do Boost bikes.

Very simple, reliable, lockable and other words with "able" as an ending.

Two weeks in Lithuania and Poland on really crappy bouncy roads and it never moved an inch. This is on a VW removable tow hitch as well. Confidence inspiring. Spendy (buy well, buy once), but at least I was sure that my bikes would get to the same place as me safely.

Can I also be a total bore and say check the tow bar nose weight for your car. To carry 3 bikes + the rack you normally need a 75kg nose weight limit, 90kg for four. The rack and bikes weigh less but there’s a leverage effect on the tow ball. It is not about snapping the tow ball but about the effect of lightening the front axle of the car by too much weight on the rear.

as long as you have passengers, does that really matter? I understand the theory, but lets say you go crazy and put a 150kg rack & bikes on (instead of 75kg). the cog of a rack is probably, what, 1m behind the rear axle (which is your pivot point)? if you have a 75kg passenger approx 1m in front of the rear axle (conviniently, on the front passenger seat), you would completely cancel that out.

I'm not sure what limits nose weights on a given vehicle, but if its the 'worst case' of a boot full of concrete, a bike rack out the back and no passengers upsetting the *balance* of the car, a normal day out with a couple of mates and a fully loaded rack is no issue

I've got a Velospace XT with the 4th bike attachment. Space for 4 bikes without smashing them together including my XL Reign 29 (although I needed the longer wheel straps). Went to the alps and back at speeds that would have me time travelling in a Delorean and it coped without any issues. The tilt to get in the boot is handy as well.

as long as you have passengers, does that really matter?

Yes nose weights really matter. That's why the manuals for cars expressly state you can't use the whole nose weight with a bike rack. The manuals for the racks usually cover this too. Leaving aside the points, fine and insurance implications it royally mucks with the car's balance.

The setting of nose weights is a matter of a whole complex design process. Centre of mass of the car, relative spring weights, length of overhang and goodness knows what other variables.

Bear in mind as well that weight between the axles doesn't have the same effect as weight beyond the axle because the weight is spread between them. That's why you generally load heavy stuff between axles not either side of them and why when you see cars loaded up with a family and a boot load of stuff they're usually squatting.

Even leaving that aside if you have four bikes out back you've got two people sitting rearward of the centre of mass of the car balancing the two sitting forward of it.

I think if you wanted to balance 75kg off the back you almost have to hang 75kg off the front, which is quite different.

Thanks for the replies; this place really can't be beaten for this sort of thing.

Quick follow-up: I've been recommended a swan-neck tow bar, as, apparently, these are less likely to interfere with parking sensors. Anyone know of any compatibility issues for this type with Thule bike carriers, particularly the Velospace XT family?

greater importance is the width between each bike...

Yep, as above , despite a reassuring series of online reviews, this is an issue for the Velocompact. My solution was to shorten the inside clamp and to buy a longer 3rd bike clamp for the 2nd bike and also cut that down a bit.

A bit of a faff having spent £300 on the rack, but I do like the relatively low weight and that it collapses to a smaller size.

But probably wishing I'd bought a Velospace though...

 

I think Swan neck refers only the way the tow bar connects to the car, not the way the bike rack attaches to the tow ball.

the tow ball itself is a standard size european/UK thing AFAIK.

I've had 2 swan neck tow bars in the last 2 cars, both fit my Thule rack nae bother.

I think Swan neck refers only the way the tow bar connects to the car, not the way the bike rack attaches to the tow ball.

the tow ball itself is a standard size european/UK thing AFAIK.

I’ve had 2 swan neck tow bars in the last 2 cars, both fit my Thule rack nae bother.

Magic. Thanks.

'IF' the fitter does a proper installation, then he should set up the reverse sensor delete when the towbar electrics are fitted. They should also let you know the sensitivity of the sensors , should you have a permanent towbar, that it shouldnt affect them.
When I had mine done, I said to the guy about changing the light board for an LED one and would it affect the cars electrics, as thinking canbus controllers etc. He said that the aftermarket solid state kit he was installing wont make a difference , but should we have fitted an OEM Volvo one, it would need to be programmed to accept the change.
Just a few questions to ask before you fit it.

Some cars seem to have parking sensors placed in such a way that they catch the tow ball when in position. My Passat with fixed tow bar - no issues. My previous Mondeo had no issues either. The current car (SMax) the sensors seem to intermittently mix the ball up with a wall (if left on). I was warned about this so went for a removable. It might be there's an option to recalibrate the parking sensors instead but since a removable also saves the odd banged shin I went for that.

Anyone know if there are any rules for nose weight to bike rack weight? When I got my XC60 a few years ago there was nothing about it in the manual but I see that newer models do indeed specify a much lower weight with bike rack.  This wasn't really a problem until we added an eBike to the stable 🙁

@leffeboy

The manual for our car just tells you to not use the whole weight (real helpful!).

The manual for our rack says for a 90kg nose limit rack and bikes shouldn't weigh more than 75kg (four bikes and rack basically in our case). For 75kg I think it quotes 60kg. It also says to load heaviest near the car (obvious).

Pretty sure someone posted an extract from a recent Skoda manual that would get you to roughly the same numbers in another thread on here a month or two back.

@garage_dweller

Thanks for that. It's helpful.  The car says 90kg nose so will aim for 75kg given that I have no other info at the moment. The rack itself says 60kg so everything is sort of in the right area. No way we are getting 4 bikes on it though

Something to consider is how you will attach the main frame clamp. Thule and Yakima and most others use open rubberised jaws that clamp to top tube or seat tube, with modern geometry tubing often causing some challenges.

I bought a couple of Fiamma clamps, which have a rubber jaw and a plastic ratchet strap which goes right round the frame tube so is really secure with no need to make particularly tight. On my Yakima Just Click I use that on top tube as well as the supplied open jaw one on the seat tube.

They seem to fit onto most racks and it only adds a minute or so to the process of securing the bike, while doubling up and more on its stability/minimise risk of it popping out the clamp (which happens...)