Atera bike racks for cars

secretsam

Anyone had any experience of these? Am looking for a solution to the 4 bike, 1 car conundrum

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/bike-carriers/atera_linea_base_unit_no_ar4500/Qx%40w%2C6M4q~wZjP%7BU%7BKT0iHzZP%60cZ_it%60Mb2a%7BWI7KpRMfhih.rh%7DUYfGv~w%60Qbw

junglist_matty

Nope, but I had the Atera roof racks and they were totally rubbish, really poor quality, will never buy any Atera stuff ever again, it was one of these:



On driving home from one trip, the guy behind me started to flash like mad so I pulled over as something was clearly wrong..... To my amazment, the bit that is supposed to lock as you screw it shut so it locks tight against the frame had worked it's way loose and my bike was at a 45degree angle hanging off the side of the car roof, luckily the wheel straps were strong enough to stop it totally falling off.

mudcow007

i have halfrauds racks very similar to the Atera

the twisty thing you would tighten to grip the frame was constantly working loose, so i put a cable tie on the end of the thread of the twisty thing. it didnt come loose again..

gabriel959

Got some Atera roof bars, they are great, decent price, easy to mount. I have not tried their bike racks but some of them like the Strada get brilliant reviews.

mudcow007

worse type of bike rack i have had was a hang over the boot thing

it was going great up until my Kona Stinky (downhill bike) decided it didnt like the rack much any more an departed....across a mega busy duel carriage way :shock: :shock: :shock:

snapped a lever, destroyed grips/ pedals an ripped bike line out = pricey day out

secretsam

Hardly ringing endorsements on here!

So what do you suggest, as I need to carry 4 bikes on an MPV, so the roof's out. No tow bar but could have one fitted.

wgwarburton

SecretSam wrote:

Hardly ringing endorsements on here!

So what do you suggest, as I need to carry 4 bikes on an MPV, so the roof's out. No tow bar but could have one fitted.

Tow bar and Maxxraxx does the job but it's an expensive solution!
The Maxxraxx can be moved from car to car but the towbar will be sunk cost, might even devalue the car,depending on what it is... We needed it for boats, anyway.
It's pretty solid and keeps the bikes away from the paintwork. You can get into the back hatch without taking them off, provided you can lift the bikes back up again afterwards!
Works best for frames with generous main triangles. .. If you have kids bikes with small frames
Mixtes, fancy MTBs with suspension brackets etc. They may not fit on as well...

There's even a five bike version, but you'll probably be limited by the maximum nose weight that you car will handle, this is rarely over 75kg but the five bike carrier is rated at 80....

Cheers,
W.

daniel_b

I would go for a towbar and a thule system. Either a double on the towbar, and 2 on the roof, or a 3 + 1 rear rack.
I picked up a new and used Thule for £155 off ebay, also picked up a double for £30 and have subsequently inherited a pair of Thule roof mounted carriers.

mudcow007

Tow bar mounted one

easy peasy to use an can be had for about £60 on fleabay

t5nel

SecretSam wrote:

Anyone had any experience of these? Am looking for a solution to the 4 bike, 1 car conundrum

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/bike-carriers/atera_linea_base_unit_no_ar4500/Qx%40w%2C6M4q~wZjP%7BU%7BKT0iHzZP%60cZ_it%60Mb2a%7BWI7KpRMfhih.rh%7DUYfGv~w%60Qbw

We have this exact rack in 4 bike config on an Alhambra. It is actually quite well made and you can buy spares from the site. I believe Atera is owned by roofbox.co.uk so...

It does the job BUT I have made a decision to only carry 3 bikes on it as otherwise it gets cramped for space and you need to spend a while making sure that there are not contact points between the bikes (you can do 4 bikes but if they are wide and have sus forks it is that much more difficult). We have taken it to France for 5 years and probably driven ~7k miles with it. You can rearrange the spacing of each of the 4 bike racks due to the nature of how/where they fix to the frame (hard to explain but not actually complex to do). I recommend taking a picture of a good configuration of the bikes you carry loaded up as this really helps when you need to load them quickly. I have taken to removing pedals sometimes. The bikes seem solidly held and I have never had ANY drama with it - if used properly I cannot see how you would have a problem TBH.

Benefits are that you don't need any electrics/towbar/trailerbar. With bikes mounted youcannot then open the tailgate (same is tue with many towbar racks) but with that sort of car you can get access if necessary via folding/removing rear seats (had to deal with a car puncture that way once). Once folded up you can drive around happily with it on the car and open the tailgate and it does not seem to be crippling on fuel usage.

Functionally I would say it is probably equivalent to a decent towbar rack BUT obviously they can be moved from car to different car. However you can also still pull a trailer, trailer tent or caravan with one of these. If you are planning on keeping the same car for a bit then they are a decent purchase - otherwise I would go for a towbar mount one.

If you have any more specific Q's then feel free to ask.

Tim