Towbar mounted 4 bike carrier

[benb]

I decided on the more expensive Atera Strada DL model from roofbox.co.uk.

Looked worth the extra.

 

[hatler]

I decided on the more expensive Atera Strada DL model from roofbox.co.uk.

Looked worth the extra.

Any chance of a brief review of the Atera DL ?

I'm thinking on similar lines.

Many thanks.

 

[benb]

Any chance of a brief review of the Atera DL ?

I'm thinking on similar lines.

Many thanks.

Brief review: it's good.

Slightly longer review:
I really like it. It folds as compact as could reasonably be expected for storage off the car.
It's solid, but not outrageously heavy - it's easy enough for you to carry it, and a couple of practice goes will show you the best way to carry it and drop it straight onto the towbar without having to put it down first.

The towbar mount is easy to use and secure.

The bikes fit well onto it. Depending on the relative sizes of the bikes, you might have to quickly loosen the stem and turn the handlebars, but try different ways of putting them on and you'll soon find the best way. Make sure you put the two longer arms through the frame of the first bike before you put the next bike on, else you won't be able to secure the second and third bike. It can also be a bit fiddly making sure the pedals don't clash with each other.

The locks are good quality, and although the straps that hold the bikes on are plastic, they are very strong, and it would take a good deal of time to cut through them. For extra security you could loop a cable and/or D-lock round the bikes.

My only criticisms are:
The mechanism for sliding the bikes away from the boot so you can open it works well, but doesn't always relock properly when you slide it back up, meaning you need to back it off and try again.
The straps holding the wheels in place can be a bit fiddly to do up.

 

[hatler]

Brief review: it's good.

Slightly longer review:
I really like it. It folds as compact as could reasonably be expected for storage off the car.
It's solid, but not outrageously heavy - it's easy enough for you to carry it, and a couple of practice goes will show you the best way to carry it and drop it straight onto the towbar without having to put it down first.

The towbar mount is easy to use and secure.

The bikes fit well onto it. Depending on the relative sizes of the bikes, you might have to quickly loosen the stem and turn the handlebars, but try different ways of putting them on and you'll soon find the best way. Make sure you put the two longer arms through the frame of the first bike before you put the next bike on, else you won't be able to secure the second and third bike. It can also be a bit fiddly making sure the pedals don't clash with each other.

The locks are good quality, and although the straps that hold the bikes on are plastic, they are very strong, and it would take a good deal of time to cut through them. For extra security you could loop a cable and/or D-lock round the bikes.

My only criticisms are:
The mechanism for sliding the bikes away from the boot so you can open it works well, but doesn't always relock properly when you slide it back up, meaning you need to back it off and try again.
The straps holding the wheels in place can be a bit fiddly to do up.

Brilliant, many thanks for that. Do you have the extra bar so that a fourth bike can be carried ?
This is looking increasingly like the one to get.

 

[benb]

Brilliant, many thanks for that. Do you have the extra bar so that a fourth bike can be carried ?
This is looking increasingly like the one to get.

Yes.
The only downside to it is that the rack doesn't balance upright on the floor of the garage any more - you have to lean it against something.
Oh, and it comes with a thing a bit like a set of handcuffs to attach the 4th bike to the 3rd one; there's no 4th bar going right the way through to the frame of the carrier. That means the locks don't match so you need a different key for that.

 

[hatler]

Very cool. Hardly insurmountable problems.

Again, thank you.

 

[hatler]

Atera rack received and assembled. A neat piece of kit, and I have the same observations as benb about the latch catching.

 

[Bellabill]

Hi

I just got a (detachable) towbar fitted to my Skoda Bravia, and am now pondering which rack to get.

The Witter ZX412 (£290) looks good, as does the Buzz Rack Quattro 4 (£244).

Any other recommendations? The Thule looks good but is £100 more expensive.

We have the buzz rack quatro and it brilliant! Took us a bit of time to work out how to fit four bikes on without scratching any of them but once we sorted that it's great