Roof mount carrier, for kids bikes too?

Baron Greenback

Hi all,

My car is a Toyota Prius. Unfortunately not approved for towing in the U.K., so a towbar mounting is not possible. There are a couple of aftermarket options available, however they would void the Toyota warranty, and I don't own the car (Company car).

A rear mount is difficult, as the rear end if the car is all plastic, with a flimsy spoiler.

I have a wife, 2 kids and a dog that fill the cockpit up well, so I can't fold the seats down.

So, I'm kind of forced down the roof mount option. I have reservations about it, but I feel I need to sort a carrier out, otherwise we are limited with our riding options far too much. My 6y/o is loving riding ATM, and I really want to keep the momentum going.

For my bike, I'll probably go for a Thule provide 598, as it seems to be highly regarded.

So, what options are available that suit a 20" wheeled kids bike? It's a cube kid 200, link below: it doesn't fit in the boot without the seats down.

http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/kids/kid ... nred-2016/

Any advice of experiences you could share would be well received! Thank you.

Greenback

Underscore

When I was faced with the same dilemma, I got a pair of these:

You do need to transport the front wheels inside the car but they've worked well for me and I still use them happily even though they are now on 24" and 26" bikes...

HTH,

_

bigmat

Just back from a fortnight in Cornwall with the family. I took my bike and my son's bike on the roof, used a nice Thule carrier for my bike but used an old Halfords one somebody gave me for my son's:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-ra ... rrier-2015

Once I had worked out how to fit it, it was surprisingly stable and probably more suitable for a small bike (I think it has 20" wheels - Islabike Beinn).

Baron Greenback

Cheers for the replies both.

I don't think the fork mount is an option, as my sons bike isn't quick release. It might be a good option for my bike though, thanks.

Thanks bigmat. Do you know which Thule one you've got? That halfords one looks ok, however I've since noticed the Thule pro-ride 591's are available in a pack of 2 for £120 on Amazon. Seems like good value.

bigmat

Baron Greenback wrote:

Cheers for the replies both.

I don't think the fork mount is an option, as my sons bike isn't quick release. It might be a good option for my bike though, thanks.

Thanks bigmat. Do you know which Thule one you've got? That halfords one looks ok, however I've since noticed the Thule pro-ride 591's are available in a pack of 2 for £120 on Amazon. Seems like good value.

I think its the 591. I don't think it would be suitable for a child's bike though, which is why I mentioned the Halfords one which although a bit less solid feeling, is more versatile for different frame sizes. The Thule 532 looks similar to the Halfords one and might therefore work for you - seems to get great reviews and confirmed as working with kids' bikes.