Which bike carrier

[Lien Sdrawde]

Ive searched a bit on the forum but cant find much in the way of 'which bike carrier'. On the occasions I cant fit my road bike in the car which do people recommend?

I have an SUV with towbar but frequently have the caravan attached to the towbar (but suppose I can put the bike in the caravan when travelling away).

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

<slight polite cough>

 

[Norm]

Oops! Sorry, missed this one.

Greetings, welcome Lien.

I went with a Thule 9503 tow-bar mounted carrier from these people[/url. That model carries three bikes and they mount fairly quickly and easily but very securely. By going that route, you also get the repeaters for the rear lights, so you don't get bothered by bored coppers. The 9503 carries three bikes, or the 9502 carries two bikes, both are around £100.

I think that Thule and Fiamma do bike carriers which mount to the caravan's A-frame, but I've never even seen one, let alone tried one.

BTW, I chose that shop as I was working very close to there, but I'd certainly recommend them having used them. Fantastic people.

 

[TRXnMe]

Hi, noob here as well.

I just bought a carrier from Halfords, carries 3 bikes, so our 2 go on it pretty easily.

It mounts on the car, not the tow bar, and straps on using 6 straps, 3 each side, nice and easy to fit once you decide where it is going to go.

One word about the towbar mounted types, this should be counted as nose weight on the van, so unless your car has excesss nose weight (your SUV probably has) then you might have to rearrange the contents of the 'van to lighten the nose on that.

 

[davefb]

Hi, noob here as well.

I just bought a carrier from Halfords, carries 3 bikes, so our 2 go on it pretty easily.

It mounts on the car, not the tow bar, and straps on using 6 straps, 3 each side, nice and easy to fit once you decide where it is going to go.

One word about the towbar mounted types, this should be counted as nose weight on the van, so unless your car has excesss nose weight (your SUV probably has) then you might have to rearrange the contents of the 'van to lighten the nose on that.

oooh ,
is that the 'nice and cheap one, i might be able to get past the funding police/gf' ? ? ( not like I can hide it in the car like a few other choice items !)
how easy is it to fit, and is it easily 'nickable' if i left it on the car whilst I was at work ..

 

[trickletreat]

I use a Pendle for 4x4. The one I bought is higher than most, so that it lifts the bike 's above the handle for the jockey wheel. You can still tow, as long as you have a towball with the bolts on either side of the flange.

 

[TRXnMe]

oooh ,
is that the 'nice and cheap one, i might be able to get past the funding police/gf' ? ? ( not like I can hide it in the car like a few other choice items !)
how easy is it to fit, and is it easily 'nickable' if i left it on the car whilst I was at work ..

Cheap enough for us, cost about 40 quid, according to the wife (I just pay for the house, groceries, car etc, she pays for 'luxury' items...)

It would be pretty easy to nick off the back of the car, 6 fabric straps are all that hold it on.

I only have it on the car while the bikes are on it and haven't left the car unattended with it on yet.

 

[davefb]

Cheap enough for us, cost about 40 quid, according to the wife (I just pay for the house, groceries, car etc, she pays for 'luxury' items...)

It would be pretty easy to nick off the back of the car, 6 fabric straps are all that hold it on.

I only have it on the car while the bikes are on it and haven't left the car unattended with it on yet.

tnx ..

 

[trickster61]

I bought a Sealey Rear Cycle carrier recently but one of the plastic clips snapped when I tried to tighten one of the straps.
http://www.toolmix.com/browse/product.asp?gid=1153&pid=79306

I also found out that it does not fit on a car with a spoiler, well not correctly anyhow.

What do folk think about Roof Mounted carriers? Will I be blowing in the wind...?

 

[Cubist]

Depends on the SUV of course, but the towbar mounted "ride-on" Thules are excellent, very good value for money and very secure. They hinge down so you can open the boot/hatch if you need to.