Bike carrier advice

Whilst you don’t want to fit one, the towbar mounted carriers are by far the most secure, durable, reliable, and economic (fuel economy wise) so long as your car’s nose weight limit is acceptable. For a car with a 100kg limit you should be able to carry three or four bikes with ease, and mounting/demounting the cycles is a cinch even for a heavy e-bike.

I dislike tailgate strapped carriers with a vengeance. A car tailgate isn’t designed to take the static nor dynamic cornering loads of attached bikes, there’s the possibility of paintwork damage, they’re just not secure as the attachment points are invariably a compromise of flexibility across multiple cars and strength, and most will cover the number plate and lights so you need a lighting board which necessitates fitting a towing electric socket. They also prevent you from opening the tailgate without removing the bikes/rack.

Roof mounted carriers are good and secure, but as Oxoman says be very aware of height restrictions. They’re also far from ideal for a heavy e-bike as there’s often a 50kg maximum roof loading limit (effectively limiting you to two bikes plus the mounting hardware), it’s difficult to lift 25kg above your head and then reach forward, and the cycles will be in the wind and will thus affect fuel economy. If you do go the roof mount way, then don’t scrimp on the carriers as the cheaper ones are a faff to secure and that’s not something you need whilst tying to hold a 25kg bike upright and manoeuvre the down tube clamp into place.

Don’t underestimate the value of having Thule equipment throughout, it “just works” with no fiddling or faffing. It’s expensive, but saves a lot of time.

I’ve never been sold on the expensive aero-bars, particularly as you have to factor in the T mount adapters price too, but if you’re going to leave the bars on the car all the time then they’re worth the premium.

If you’re a member of one of the big cycling organisations then you may be eligible for a 10% discount from Halfords, otherwise check out the likes of The Roofbox Company who (if I remember correctly) have a guide to different makes of cycle carriers and their prices are competitive.