Tow bar racks - bike gap question

20cm is tight yes and you'll want a big of pipe lagging between on the fork legs of each bike.

23-25 is fine and they won't touch at all.

Mine is the Atera Strada E ML which is a 2 bike with 3rd bike extension.

It's pointless calling it an extension though as once it's on it's a sod to take off, so it stays on.

You are probably over thinking.  The space between bikes just means you need to make sure the pedals don't align (unless you are using very wide drop bars on a road bike) The thing to check is, depending on the design of the car you have, whether there is enough standoff between the first bike and the car to accommodate the handlebars.  Also having dropper posts or quick release seat post clamps helps avoid conflicts between bars and saddles

As above. stacking the bikes is all about pedal placement, handlebar heights and saddle heights. The distance apart rarely, if ever, becomes an issue. Boost/Fat hub widths do start to cause issues though so no harm in looking for a bit extra width.

(FWIW I used to transport bikes for a living, so I've stacked thousands. We always used Thule racks)

I put two bikes on a strada 3 bike rack. That’s easy. Three on there is pretty complex, but doable.

Good point re standoff form the car to accommodate bars. I'll be sure to measure that. Although, the car has a fairly raked rear screen so should be good.

hmmm... super boost as well on one bike. Extra gap might be useful!

@scotroutes I recently got some Yakima roof racks. They are of Thule quality if not better.

i have the 2 bike Yakima JustClick one and it's great, bikes seem well spaced. I have the 3rd bike extension but haven't ever used it !

It is much better quality than the Thule xt velospace I had previously. Innermost bike usually a large 29er FS ebike and there is loads of space between it and car rear (Audi Q5)

Having used a Thule 3 bike rack to transport one adult and two kids bikes, having the additional space between the bikes will be useful. I would still say have pipe lagging to pad between contact points and do a practice pack to learn bike order/pedal/handlebar position. I normally rotated the handlebars 90 degrees which made things easier.

Got an Atera rack fore-bikes - it is a 2 bike+1 carrier. The 2 main racks have a wider gap and are great for boost bikes as the spacing means the bikes don't touch. The extra carrier doesn't have such a big gap and the mech/forks do touch, so definitely needs padding, but it still fits fine.

If anyone wants an Atera Strada DL3 I've got one going cheap.

It's just 3D Tetris positioning pedals and usually rotating bars as well.

On my Halfords Advance 2 bike rack I top and tail the bikes and put the droppers down. Three bikes of similar size all on the same level would probably cause issues with the handlebars on bikes 1 and 3 clashing.

Agree that a little more space is useful. Have a 3 bike Thuke Euroway and i rotate handlebars and take off pedals, drop saddles for longer trips if running 3 bikes. Boost hubs make it more challenging, and works better w 2 bikes and the middle slot empty to provide clearance.

Bike spacing is certainly an issue with modern boost bikes and a Thule Velocompact. The 'compact' bit is supposed to refer to the sliding parts on the rack and it's general size, not specifically the gap width....

I've had to buy a grabber arm that is supposed to be for the 3rd bike adaptor, then cut it down for use on a bike in the standard 2nd bike position. That spaces the bikes a little better and seems to be safe. I did my research, maybe I just have bad bike combos?

It small and relatively light though, which is bonus.

If in doubt will take pedals off..wrecked a frame with a pedal grinding a deep gash in a chain stay...moving seats up down as needed...cut down foam sleeping mat or as suggested pipe lagging...now the not so young ones don't holiday with the old folk usually 2 bikes on a 3 bike Thule much easier

4 bikes with standard hubs or a couple of boost, fine.

All 4 bikes with boost or superboost and it is pretty much impossible.

We do turn bars, lower or raise saddles, be fussy with pedals etc regularly. I also have some foam strips to pop over frames or cables where they connect.

My Atera is 19cm spacing, and it's a PITA. I don't own any boost bikes, but I still need to take care to avoid axles hitting forks/chainstays/derailleurs. Don't underestimate how much stuff moves in a 70mph wind, or how much damage a little bit of contact can do in a short space of time.

Buzzrack Eazzy 3. 28cm between bikes, cheaper than Thule and just as good build quality. We have the 4 and it is excellent.

Have the Yakima x3. With a bit of experimentation you shouldn’t need to use any protection between boost bikes; you’ll work this out pretty quickly but do stick to it, don’t just chuck the bikes on anyhow when you are tired after a ride. Probably best to give yourself some time to experiment.
With boost bikes there is risk of rub between the forks lowers and rear axles if they have the DT Swiss type handle on the axle but you can get around this by getting the bikes the right way around and careful positioning or change to Allen key tightened axles. I also carry two 29er eMTBs in two adjacent carriers nearest the car which are boost with Fox 38s and both rear axles use allen keys and no problems with rub at all. I’ve not had to use protection between the bikes. The clamps also have some adjustment forward and back to move the bikes apart. Make sure the pedals are in the right positions as well so they don’t rub the adjacent frame - but this is the same for any rack.
You need to be careful if you have Invisiframed the bikes as in my experience the clamps will mark the Insiframe. I use the Thule Carbon Frame Protectors which are stupidly expensive for what they are but work much better than bits of foam etc.
Just checked and my rack is 6 years old (was branded Whispbar then) and still solid and in great condition. Getting it on and off is lightning fast and the wheel sleds slide in to be able drop the rack in to the car boot or to make it smaller for storage. Have had several other racks but this one is the best I’ve had. Just works. Highly recommended.

Spacing is only half the problem for me. My Atera now looks dated as the spacing is poor and bikes are getting too long to adjust the mounts enough to avoid clashes (so I end up using slots 1 + 3 like the others). What really grinds my gears is trying to thread the arms over/under/through frames to get everything held properly, some newer racks (Buzzrack and, I think, some Thules) where the upright is between two of the slots makes this far easier

I am looking to replace my Atera Evo as I am fed up of the lights failing and while a replacement carrier is an eye watering price I am aware all my car lights are mostly obscured when carrying 3 mtbs and a canoe.

Did you get the Yakima Just Click ? Did you get the 2 or 3 bike version ? Any views ?

I have a similar dilemma, and have been eyeing up the Thule Velospace and Yakima racks but thinking of going for the 2 +1 to get the wider spacing for 2 of the bikes.

I am leaning towards the Thule, just because of their reputation and my positive experiences with their bars / bike carriers. Any reason why you didn't consider them ?

Use to have a Thule 3 bike tow bar rack with about a 20cm gap. It was fine and very secure. Just used pipe lagging and made sure the pedals were tied down too. Only ever put 2 bikes on at a time and use the 2 slots nearest the car. A few 6 hour journeys and no issues at all.

There is a lot of misinformation posted on this thread, I guessing mainly by people transporting 4 bikes for a growing, but still small family.

Once you get to full size adult bikes with modern handlebars and hubs, spacing becomes absolutely critical.

We have the Atera Strada 4 bike one and can only fit 3 bikes on due to handlebar and hub issues.

Binman, if you're worried about space, I'd go for the 3 bike (not 2+1) thule. More secure.
We can run 2x 29 boost using slots 1 and 3 without too much prob, just need to adjust saddle height. For three it's more challenging as mentioned often above. I think the +1 extender doesn't give you as much spacing

@thegeneralist. Yes, I have spotted that, but as currently using a 3 bike Atera Evo, I understand the limitations. It's a good rack in that you can offset the bikes to get optimum space, just lost faith in the lights. I am looking at alternative lighting option, just don't want to revert to a separate lighting board

I carry 1 or 2 bikes for 90% of the time and 3 bikes about 4 times a year. The carrier lives on the back of the car most of the time too, so a 2 bike carrier plus extension for occasional trips is tempting as it is shorter. It should be a  better option when I get an EBike in the medium term.

I have a boost XL FS / non-boost S FS / boost S FS and can just get them to fit if they are offset. Padding is required between bikes 2 & 3 on the fork leg / rear QR  and bike 3 requires the bars to be twisted, so all in all, not too bad.  All bikes have dropper posts (seats must be dropped) and I have gone to Fidlo<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">ck bottles to enable arm threading. </span>

Just looking for the 'goldilocks' replacement.

I use an agricultural, simple Pendle rack. It can take 4 bikes, but I only ever fit 3 sets of 'clamps'. Loads n loads of clearance. Avoids the usual threading fiddle of the A frame at the front with 3 horizontal clamps to get through low full sus frames with shocks in the triangle.

Bikes

Thread resurrection...

I'm looking for the same as OP. I bought a 4 bike rack on the recommendation of a friend, without thinking about the fact he's a roadie. There's only 18cm between bikes and I just cannot make 4 mountain bikes work.

I'm looking for a rack with better spacing, but no one seems to publish the actual distance between bikes. Unfortunately, I don't have Thule money, but the Atera or Buzz rack could maybe be accommodated.

Also of concern is the distance from the back of the car - anyone have a view on which racks hold the first bike further away from the window? Not the biggest issue, but would be nice not to have to turn the bars every time...

TIA

Atera have all of the gaps on Roofbox

Atera have all of the gaps on Roofbox

Thanks weeksy - bit embarrassing that I didn't find that before!

Distance from the car should not be an issue, even on my van with a vertical rear door mine does not clash.

However, spacing between bikes is important, just measured my 3 bike rack and it's 190mm between bikes. It's quite a pain with modern bikes and you can't stagger bikes very easily due to pedals/bars/saddles wanting to clash.

I bought the Yakima just click 3 in the end. There's plenty of space away from the car (although I guess that might also depend on the tow bar position). There's a quoted 20cm between bikes, which is t the higher end of racks. I've only used it with 2 bikes so far and there's obvs a huge space in the middle where there's no bike. It's a really easy rack to use though. So far, no complaints.