[Closed] Towbar mounted bike racks

Depends on wheather you need to carry bikes ADN tow at the same time? I had a Witter rack that allowed me to tow at the same time and I am now looking at MAXXRAXX 4 bike 'Premier' rack which a friend has (replacement for my rack that was damaged in an accident) which impressed me. Thule ones are great, very easy to use, but expensive and I don't think they do one you can tow with whilst it's in use?

Witter ZX89 is £120 fitted whereas MAXXRAXX one above is £159.05 but that includes a light board.

[url= http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/cycle_carriers/buyCycleCarrier.php?partNo=ZX89 ]Witter ZX89[/url]

[url= http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/maxxraxx_4_bike_premier_rack_bolt_on_tow_balls_only_no_mxr4_10ma41_/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4ure%60KaWb ]MAXXRAXX 4 bike 'Premier'[/url]

HTH

Our Buzz Rack is really solid - have a look a roofbox.co.uk. Ours takes 2 bikes and a double trailer quite easily.

Imagine the expense spread across all of the rips that you'll be doing over the next few years, and you'll realise that it's worth every penny - lack of hassle, less risk of damage to bikes or car, no risk of driving under height restriction barriers, less air resistance, more room in the car for other stuff, no muddy bikes in the car.

Just do it.

EDIT: Taking into account, what leftyboy said, the ability to tow and carry bikes should definitely be considered.

there was a PSA recently for a halfords 4 bike rack for £130 ish a couple of days ago on here

Only hassle I've had so far was being rear-ended at a traffic light with 3 bikes on the rack! the other driver's insurance company are making nosies about the expense of the bikes but as it was the other driver's fault and they've admitted liability I'm hoping they'll settle, may take a while though 🙁

Edit: Won't stop be getting another tow bar mounted rack as much simpler to use than roof bars.

I'm about to buy a witter ZX404 flange bracket mounted, rather than tow ball so should be more secure, 4 bike rack. Great tilting mechanism, press a foot plate and lower the bikes. Pricey rrp but can be had for £280ish.

The usual suggestions can be found in [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-tow-bar-bike-rack-for-3-bikes-would-you-recommend ]this[/url] thread. My personal choice is the Atera Strada.

Have a search, there's lots of previous threads plus a PSA on a decent priced Halfords one for last week.

My 2c worth is to buy from [url= http://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bike-carriers-racks-range-towbar-mounting.php ]Roof Box Co[/url], excellent range, excellent advice and an exchange service if you really don't like it. I splashed out on the Atera Strada Evo after reading past threads on here, it's expensive but so far excellent. The main thing that sold it for me is that it has slightly more space between bikes than other 4 bike carriers, which makes loading much less of a jigsaw puzzle.

[i]Imagine the expense spread across all of the rips that you'll be doing over the next few years, and you'll realise that it's worth every penny - lack of hassle, less risk of damage to bikes or car, no risk of driving under height restriction barriers, less air resistance, more room in the car for other stuff, no muddy bikes in the car.[/i]

This.

Mine (a basic Thule) is coming up to 10 years constant use - been through 5 cars so far 🙂

Unless you have a need to tow a caravan I'd avoid all the hanger type ones. I've just flogged my Maxxraxx as it was a pain to load full suspension bikes on. Fine if you're a roadie or one of those types that has beard and rides a HT 😆

I'm now looking for Thule or Atera to replace it - see my wanted ad.

Hth
Marko

Thanks all.

I have stubble and have been known to ride a hardtail. 😀

We'd not look to tow a boat and rack bikes on the car at the same time, as four bikes would probably not fit the gap. Air resistance is a major issue for me as a sailor - all that windage from bikes gives me the heebiejeebies, so keeping all those spokes in the baffles makes absolute sense to me.
The hanger type looks good, but as one of my bikes has a shock slung under the top tube, maybe not for me.

Many thanks all for your tips and advice - off to the roof box co I go. 🙂

I have a MAXXRAXX 4 bike will soon update it to a 5er.

It's pretty industrial and not pretty, but it's a real investment bit of kit - very happy with it. Can require a bit of work to get everything loaded just so, but the truth is the ratchet tie down isn't going to drop anything anyway.

Mixture of proper hardtails (;-) Ti456) kids bikes and a WSD Stumpy full suss - these hang on with spring loaded adaptors which aren't ideal but I've not had an issue. Might not be perfect for 4 carbon sussers that look like a dog squatting rather than a 'bike' shape 😀 - as there can be a bit of pedal / bar / frame rubbing when fully loaded.

All the bikes sit nicely behind the boot of an S Max - can't tell if fuel is any worse off as when it's loaded I'm usually hauling half a ton of other crap down to devon for the week anyway.

Atera Strada.

Atera Strada again. Not found anything to beat it and I've tried a few.

(I do have one of [url= http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/buzz_rack_buzz_quattro_tilting_4_bike_carrier_no_brp204/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4ure5Jvj%60 ]these[/url] gathering dust in the shed if it's of any interest...)

Last year I bought a solid 4 bike rack from roofbox.co UK. At that time if you accessed the site via ukcampsite.com you got a discount.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/UKC/offer.php?utm_source=ukcampsite&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=UK%20Campsite%20Web%20Banner

Mike_D - that would be very interesting, yes!

I think I have your email address tucked away behind one ear or the other, so I shall drop you a line. Many thanks.

And Stickman - thank you for that link, too. Much appreciated.