Tow bar mounted carrier advice

milese

Hi,

I've got a Passat estate and want to fit a tow bar and a rack.

Won't have space on the roof when we go abroad as take a roof box.

My children are young but wont be forever, so it makes sense to get a rack to take 4 bikes.

I was thinking about this:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-ra ... le-carrier

Any pro's, con's or alternatives to this particular model? I think I've got a Halford 10% off code.

Thanks.

Man Of Lard

Personally I'd always go for Thule. Built like tanks, spares available forever... Mine was a secondhand one off eBay which cost me £30 (instead of £230) had one bung missing (cosmetic) which I rectified form the princely sum of £1.53

apreading

Looks a bit like the Buzz carrier here: http://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/ ... unting.php

Seems to get good reviews.

rokt

I looked at both Thule & Atera and in the end went for the Atera. It was just a bit cheaper, lighter and easier to mount on the tow ball. Have a word with the people at roofbox.co.uk I received good advice from them and they also have videos online showing the models they stock.

apreading

One thing which I thought was key to look for when choosing mine - will it fit in the boot of your car when detached. You say its for holidays abroad. If you get there and want to take it off the tobar for security and convenience while you are there, then you either need to take it inside the property where you are staying or put it in the boot. and you will likely still want to be able to drive around so be able to use all the seats as normal. I have an A4 so boot a little bit smaller than the Passat I think but not all of them would fit.

milese

Thanks for replies.

They are both about the same price all things considered (the Halfords one and the roof box one).

So which is best?!

stueys

I've a buzz carrier quattro from roof box. Very solid, easy to fit, fits in the car boot, so far pleased with it. It's rock solid when on the car.

You can pay more to save a bit of weight which is helpful when lugging the thing around but I thought the premium to go from 20kg to 18kg wasn't really worth it, it still wasn't putting it in the ball park of my wife being able to easily manhandle it.

briantrumpet

Milese wrote:

Thanks for replies.

They are both about the same price all things considered (the Halfords one and the roof box one).

So which is best?!

I've got the cheaper version of the Halfords - it's done 1000s of miles down to the Alps with four bikes on the back, and all very secure, and built like the proverbial tank - folds down flat and goes in the back of my Renault Clio.

coops1967

apreading wrote:

One thing which I thought was key to look for when choosing mine - will it fit in the boot of your car when detached. You say its for holidays abroad. If you get there and want to take it off the tobar for security and convenience while you are there, then you either need to take it inside the property where you are staying or put it in the boot. and you will likely still want to be able to drive around so be able to use all the seats as normal. I have an A4 so boot a little bit smaller than the Passat I think but not all of them would fit.

The Thule's all lock onto your ball hitch - the same key also locks the bike clamping arms so they can't be wound open and stolen.... and the Thule can be simply flipped forward/down (with bikes attached or not) to get access to the boot etc.

(If you're worried about someone picking the locks or drilling them out... well, they'd only have to break your car window to steal it anyway...)

apreading

coops1967 wrote:

apreading wrote:

One thing which I thought was key to look for when choosing mine - will it fit in the boot of your car when detached. You say its for holidays abroad. If you get there and want to take it off the tobar for security and convenience while you are there, then you either need to take it inside the property where you are staying or put it in the boot. and you will likely still want to be able to drive around so be able to use all the seats as normal. I have an A4 so boot a little bit smaller than the Passat I think but not all of them would fit.

The Thule's all lock onto your ball hitch - the same key also locks the bike clamping arms so they can't be wound open and stolen.... and the Thule can be simply flipped forward/down (with bikes attached or not) to get access to the boot etc.

(If you're worried about someone picking the locks or drilling them out... well, they'd only have to break your car window to steal it anyway...)

But do you really want to drive around all week (while on holiday) with a rack on the back? Is the parking space you have big enough for you to sensibly park there with the rack on? And in the boot where it cant be seen is more secure in my book, plus it doesnt tell them you have bikes inside where you are staying.

milese

Thanks again for all the advice - Ive still not taken the plunge.

The Halfords one is 5kg heavier, but tilts. The Buzz gets great reviews, but the Halford's one is new out and has none, although its predessor also had good reviews. Tilting seems like a very useful feature, as I can imagine someone leaving something in the boot and needing it at the wrong time / place, or even simple things like stopping at a supermarket whilst laden.

Having said that, lots of the reviews of the tilting ones say that they dont tilt enough to be able to open your boot anyway....

The Buzz locks to tow ball, the Halfords one doesnt say.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehs ... .php?26909
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-ra ... le-carrier

pmannion9

Milese wrote:

Thanks again for all the advice - Ive still not taken the plunge.

The Halfords one is 5kg heavier, but tilts. The Buzz gets great reviews, but the Halford's one is new out and has none, although its predessor also had good reviews. Tilting seems like a very useful feature, as I can imagine someone leaving something in the boot and needing it at the wrong time / place, or even simple things like stopping at a supermarket whilst laden.

Having said that, lots of the reviews of the tilting ones say that they dont tilt enough to be able to open your boot anyway....

The Buzz locks to tow ball, the Halfords one doesnt say.

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehs ... .php?26909
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-ra ... le-carrier

Thule all day long for me...
Yes it is expensive but if you intend using the rack a lot then it well worth...
Tilt function is a must if you are travelling/holidays with boot full of luggage etc...
As previous person mentioned - ability to lock it towbar very useful .If your doing a ride/race can just leave it on car.

bigmitch41

Thule.

DeVlaeminck

I wouldn't bother with the tilt - as you say they don't always tilt enough but even if they do with a bit of planning it's easier to reach into the back of the car from the back seats than it is to tilt a rack with bikes on it.

briantrumpet

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I wouldn't bother with the tilt - as you say they don't always tilt enough but even if they do with a bit of planning it's easier to reach into the back of the car from the back seats than it is to tilt a rack with bikes on it.

And the tilt mechanism adds an unnecessary layer of engineering: on the simple Halfords racks, the engineering is delightfully simple and foolproof.

BTW, yes, the Halfords rack linked earlier is a towbar-mounted one. On my cheapo version, I was amazed how solid the attachment is.

47p2

Altera Strada tilt mechanism allows more than enough space to get into the back of the vehicle

milese

47p2 wrote:

Altera Strada tilt mechanism allows more than enough space to get into the back of the vehicle

That like you could have opened it without any tilt!

Ie is more about your towbar than the rack?

apreading

The Atera is maybe misleading you here - it slides backwards and tilts less to achieve the distance.

I was put off by the Atera because I read lots of reports of the green button click thingy breaking or not clicking locked properly so that it slid/tilted when moving off... I know its a small percentage but there were plenty of options without that issue.

navrig2

I've got the Thule. It's heavy and doesn't tilt enough for a SAAB-95 estate.

It's solid. My test before putting bikes on was to stand on the back of the rack and bounce. It only the car suspension moved I knew it was fitted properly.

However I lost one of the locking bolts for the upright on one journey and eventually the subsequent plat split the connecting plate. To get home I have to buy a couple of ratchet straps and attach the upright to the roof rails.

I've still got the rack and wonder if I could sell it as repair/spares.

The new car doesn't have a tow bar.

dabber

apreading wrote:

The Atera is maybe misleading you here - it slides backwards and tilts less to achieve the distance.

I was put off by the Atera because I read lots of reports of the green button click thingy breaking or not clicking locked properly so that it slid/tilted when moving off... I know its a small percentage but there were plenty of options without that issue.

Mine has been perfect... an excellent bit of kit, gets regularly used on drives down to southwest France. The tilt works just great.

Edit... to OP, mine is on a Skoda Octavia Estate.

Man Of Lard

Navrig2 wrote:

I've got the Thule. It's heavy and doesn't tilt enough for a SAAB-95 estate.
....

However I lost one of the locking bolts for the upright on one journey and eventually the subsequent plat split the connecting plate. To get home I have to buy a couple of ratchet straps and attach the upright to the roof rails.

I've still got the rack and wonder if I could sell it as repair/spares.

You might find you can get the missing part for peanuts and sell it as complete...

47p2

Milese wrote:

[
That like you could have opened it without any tilt!

Ie is more about your towbar than the rack?

I can assure you the boot doesn't open without tilting

singleton

I had a Buzz Rack BRS EasyTilt 3 bike carrier and it was great. Since the light slid in and out, it will probably also fit into the back of your passat when off the car.

Some people say "Thule" is the best for everything, but it isn't. TBH the Kamei boxes are better than Thule and from what I've seen, both Buzz racks and Altera make better bike racks than Thule.

ham76

I have a Witter's 4 bike carrier. It's a little heavy one but works perfect.....

http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/cycle_c ... egoryId=35

apreading

ham76 wrote:

I have a Witter's 4 bike carrier. It's a little heavy one but works perfect.....

http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/cycle_c ... egoryId=35

The ZX504 is really neat - I like the mounting system, very similar to my Whispbar/Cykell and the really neat thing is the ability to fold and lock it in the upright position so that you can drive with it on the ball without it sticking out. I couldnt find one to see in the flesh though and it is heavy and normally the most I would want is 3 bikes with one on the roof but I like the option to add a 4th to mine with the extender. Not being able to see in the flesh was a deal breaker because I couldnt find the dimensions anywhere and so wasnt sure if it would fit in my boot - it looks wider than some of the others that slide to make them narrower.

ham76

apreading wrote:

ham76 wrote:

I have a Witter's 4 bike carrier. It's a little heavy one but works perfect.....

http://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/cycle_c ... egoryId=35

The ZX504 is really neat - I like the mounting system, very similar to my Whispbar/Cykell and the really neat thing is the ability to fold and lock it in the upright position so that you can drive with it on the ball without it sticking out. I couldnt find one to see in the flesh though and it is heavy and normally the most I would want is 3 bikes with one on the roof but I like the option to add a 4th to mine with the extender. Not being able to see in the flesh was a deal breaker because I couldnt find the dimensions anywhere and so wasnt sure if it would fit in my boot - it looks wider than some of the others that slide to make them narrower.

I have ZX408 which is now called ZX204. I must admit it’s bulky and heavy. It will never fit in the boot once assembled unless you have a big pick up track.
But, that’s okay I only use them 2-3 times a year. It is a robust and sure-mounted(?). Never need to look back during 700 miles drive to France. It’s that secure with 4 bikes on (2 adults + 2 kids). One thing I really don’t like is, it sometimes scrapes the bottom of tow bar when driving over a speed bump in the UK.

navrig2

Man Of Lard wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

I've got the Thule. It's heavy and doesn't tilt enough for a SAAB-95 estate.
....

However I lost one of the locking bolts for the upright on one journey and eventually the subsequent plat split the connecting plate. To get home I have to buy a couple of ratchet straps and attach the upright to the roof rails.

I've still got the rack and wonder if I could sell it as repair/spares.

You might find you can get the missing part for peanuts and sell it as complete...

Unfortunately there is actually a split or tear in the metal (steel I think) so I'd have to get it cut out and welded. I did wonder about using a pipe clamp to fix it but all I can find are heavy duty jubilee style clips. I don't think they would take the stress.

I'll have a look at it as part of our garage clearout.

stueys

47p2 wrote:

Milese wrote:

[
That like you could have opened it without any tilt!

Ie is more about your towbar than the rack?

I can assure you the boot doesn't open without tilting

I couldn't get past how tidy and organised your garage is

47p2

Stueys wrote:

I couldn't get past how tidy and organised your garage is

It's called OCD :oops: