Which bike rack?? Tow bar attachment

mfin

Looking for a bike rack that will take up to 3 adult MTBs which attaches to towbar.

Which are the best ones??

Also... the towbar clamping style of attachment, does that always rely solely on clamping friction onto the ball or are there some which are more secure / better than that??

Not looking for the cheapest... want one that's

1. Secure on the car as possible
2. Quick to take on and off
3. Quick to take the bikes themselves on and off

...so any info on infuriating mechanisms and straps etc would be appreciated.

jairaj

Don't have one my self but, in past threads the Thule ones always get good recommendations.

nicklouse

Any thule.

Not friction but it is part of it.

Most of hem work best with swan next tow bars. I use mine with a bolt on tow bar and it rests on it putting it at a slight angle.

WindyG

Have a look at http://www.roofbox.co.uk.
I have a Buzzrack which is so easy the wife can do it :-) all three clamps have locks and the towbar clamp also has a lock so it can't be removed. No straps needed and the towbar clamp is just one simple pull handle. I can mount the rack and 3 bikes in under 10mins. It was a little cheaper than the Thule ones but I would not rule out a Thule one as they are as very well made too and just as easy.

jeannot18

Sorry to jump in this post. I am thinking to buy a Thule 9403, I was wondering if anybody has got one and could tell me how long it takes to fit onto the car. I have currently a Thule 970 and it takes me literally seconds to fit on. I need a 3 or 4 bikes rack now, but I would prefer something that can be fitted really quickly onto the car. Thanks in advance.
JC

fritzz11

I've got an atera strada, awesome bit of kit, everything locks with one key really quick, simply to set up and quick on and off.

ElliesDad

jeannot18 wrote:

Sorry to jump in this post. I am thinking to buy a Thule 9403, I was wondering if anybody has got one and could tell me how long it takes to fit onto the car. I have currently a Thule 970 and it takes me literally seconds to fit on. I need a 3 or 4 bikes rack now, but I would prefer something that can be fitted really quickly onto the car. Thanks in advance.
JC

I've got the Thule 9403, great carrier. To fit it to the car you have to tighten a bolt to clamp it to the tow bar, never timed it but I would say less than a minute.

You can get a Thule one that attaches in seconds by way of a lever you push down, costs about twice as much though!

jeannot18

ElliesDad wrote:

I've got the Thule 9403, great carrier. To fit it to the car you have to tighten a bolt to clamp it to the tow bar, never timed it but I would say less than a minute.

You can get a Thule one that attaches in seconds by way of a lever you push down, costs about twice as much though!

Thanks for the info, sounds good enough to me. My current is great, but struggling to put 2 bike on without the frames being in contact, plus may sometimes have 3 of us going away so that would be perfect. Thanks again
JC

The Rookie

Halfords own brands are made by Thule, out of date models but work just as well and are a lot cheaper!

Shackster

WindyG wrote:

Have a look at http://www.roofbox.co.uk.
I have a Buzzrack which is so easy the wife can do it :-) all three clamps have locks and the towbar clamp also has a lock so it can't be removed. No straps needed and the towbar clamp is just one simple pull handle. I can mount the rack and 3 bikes in under 10mins. It was a little cheaper than the Thule ones but I would not rule out a Thule one as they are as very well made too and just as easy.

+1 for buzzrack, very solid. The four bike one will comfortably take three bikes, four is possible but takes a major amount of faff. On another thread I see WindyG has a platform type rack, I've got the Moose hang-on one, as have two mates and all very happy with it. Would have preferred the platform one but it's very heavy and would have put me on my max. nose weight with four bikes on it.

WindyG

Yeah nose weight can be an issue for a lot of cars and I think people don't check their limits, i'm lucky as mine is 120kgs
The buzzrack weighs about 20kgs