Pendle 4 bike carrier - question about weight

[MartinDB]

I have a question about the Pendle four bike carrier, the one which sits on a car's tow bar. I have put in a call to Pendle about this but am not confident I will get a prompt reply.

The fitting information says naturally that you should not overload the carrier and it 'recommends' no single bike being over 15kg in weight. I want to use the carrier to transport four bikes, one 16kg, one 13kg, the others children's bikes weighing 10-11kg each. Do people think this will be ok? My hunch is that it will. First, the excess weight of the one bike is modest. Second, the total weight is well within the implied recommended limit of 60kg.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[Piemaster]

I've got Thule 4 bike carrier (so maybe not too much help). I load car starting heaviest to lightest and not had a problem, apart from it being 4 adult bikes so total bike weight plus carrier is actually on the limit of the cars nose weight, a modest 60kg for my Alfa). Sounds like you will be well within that, the 16kg bike is only a bag of sugar over the 'recommended'

I always use a tow board too - as lights are obscured by the bikes.

 

[andyt]

FWIW, when I first started to use my Pendle carrier I wasn't too happy how it would cope on British roads, so I triangulated the rack by fitting a couple of straps from the number plate to the tailgate top. Halfords straps with a captive plastic tube one end that goes through the rear tailgate and holds inside the roof/tailgate join; tied at the other end.
That lasted for a couple of trips and now I don't bother (and haven't had any problems whatsoever).

I think as long as you load it sensibly (ie. heaviest closest to tow hitch) and don't charge over speed bumps, then the advertised weights are possibly conservative.

On a long journey I'd probably still triangulate just for peace of mind.

The biggest drawback for me are the uprights to hold the bike; if they could be easily folded to store the rack in the car I'd be much happier (and I drive a Volvo estate). Loosening them and then re-tightening seems to be an unnecessary pain and can start to dig into the tubes.

Andy

 

[MartinDB]

Thanks for the replies, they are helpful. I am more confident now that it will be ok.

 

[crisscross]

I had the version of the pendle that fitted directly onto the towball and was never 100% convinced by it.

It may have been my uselessness but there didn't seem to be a way of of lining it up properly - apart from "by eye" and I dreaded hearing a scraping noise along the motorway.

I sold mine on ebay and bought the version with the mount that fits permenantly behind the ball.

It has been brilliant and carries 4 heavy adult bikes with ease.

IMO worth looking for second hand as they are so robust not much can go wrong with them.

 

[sbird]

I have the Pendle 4 bike carrier and thoroughly recommend it.

Would agree with the caution needed over speed bumps as the rack is designed to flex.

Also agree with the comment about loaded the heaviest bikes first, nearest to the car.

If you get one, my tips for loading the bikes would be :-

Turn handlebars round for bikes 1 and 3 (1 being the bike nearest the car).

Remove pedals from some of the bikes as they can prevent you from adjusting the upright against the bike.

Sounds like a faf but I far prefer this style of rack compared to boot or roof mounted3.