Towbar mounted carrier - struggling

gerroffandmilkit

Bought an Atera Strada 2 towbar mounted cycle carrier for days out with the Mrs. Also got a new towbar fitted to the motor today.
Perfectly set up with good quality gear.................. or so I thought. I'm struggling to get the carrier to lock onto the towball.
Watching the video online and reading the instructions supplied with the carrier it's simply a case of pulling down the back lever until it clicks. The lever on mine pulls down a wee bit but fails to click. I don't want to force the lever down and damage it but it just doesn't seem right. Anyone else had the same problem or do you think I've bought a dodgy carrier? Surely the Thule towball is a standard size????

The Rookie

In the UK, we use a standard 50mm towball.

I don't know the carrier in question, but would expect the lever load to be quite high, it needs to be a secure clamp!

nicklouse

Sounds like you need to use more force.

Horton

I have a Thule towbar rack but it has a a big bolt (rather than a lever) that tightens it on to my towball. The spanner is about a foot long and that gets a hefty % of my body weight standing on the end of it before I'm comfortable putting a few grands worth of bikes on it and driving the less than smooth roads around here!

alphacharlie

We have the Strada 3/4 and have never had a problem fitting from new on a new tow-bar, I deliberately set it slightly off center to ensure as the lever comes down it centers itself and locks onto the ball. Pretty sure it comes down so its nearly horizontal.

gerroffandmilkit

Tried the carrier on the towbar again, still no joy.
Decided to remove the paint from the ball and got a little more on the lever. Inspected the clamping mechanism and the towball. Some pretty deep scratches on the ball. On the carrier clamping mechanism I noticed a part of it was not quite right, this part matched up with the scratches on the tow ball. A little gentle tickle with the file did the trick. Now getting 2 clicks on the lever and can now remove the key from the lock on the lever. Carrier mounted solid as a rock.

Happy chappy!

alphacharlie

gerroffandmilkit wrote:

Tried the carrier on the towbar again, still no joy.
Decided to remove the paint from the ball and got a little more on the lever. Inspected the clamping mechanism and the towball. Some pretty deep scratches on the ball. On the carrier clamping mechanism I noticed a part of it was not quite right, this part matched up with the scratches on the tow ball. A little gentle tickle with the file did the trick. Now getting 2 clicks on the lever and can now remove the key from the lock on the lever. Carrier mounted solid as a rock.

Happy chappy!

Nice one