Best Way To Carry E Bike by Car?

[CjP]

This is my rig

 

[R120]

This is my rig

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Snap - except mine goes inside, the exhaust I have means I cant fit the rack

 

[CjP]

Snap - except mine goes inside, the exhaust I have means I cant fit the rack

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Mine doesn’t use a tow ball. I used the rear tow points and built a custom rack. I used to put my old bike inside too.

 

[Gary]

if MADMAX drove a smart car

(He might not have had so many issues over fuel either)

 

[Doomanic]

Are those things even type approved for a tow bar?

 

[R120]

You can’t fit a tow ball or hitch, but there’s a company who makes a bike rack that attaches directly to the chassis.

 

[CjP]

There is a tow ball kit you can buy from Germany that replaces the whole rear support bar which has a square hitch built in.
As for mine I tie a strap back into the car around the cargo blind. That takes up the weight of the bikes! I have stood on each bar and the whole car moves with me so plenty strong

 

[CjP]

Sits flush with the mirrors.
600km to a tank is the best I got with an average of 550km. Love my little smart car!

 

[Lee]

+1 for the Thule easy fold, great bit of kit. Fold up store in home or in the boot.

Issue with the 2 bike version however in case anyone is potentially buying one:

The 2 bike version, while a lot more suitable due to being smaller and having the same weight limit as the 3, does not have as high a back bar which you lock the bike to with the provided arms. For e bikes where you often have massive battery compartments and a shock lower down the only place for some bikes to be gripped by is the top of frame. The height of the back bar you use to lock your frame to is a lot lower than what you get on the 3bike version, and i could not work out any way to get my cube and a mates kenevo on at the same time.

I ended up asking thule for a replacement tube for the 3 bike version and fitted that onto my two.

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Hi Moonballs

Any chance you could provide the part number for that higher back bar? I also have the two bike version and may be interested in doing the same, checked their website but couldn't find it.
Thanks

 

[Moonballs]

Might have used a friends 3bike carrier serial number when dealing with thule, might or might not have got it under warranty. Was that or return the £500 carrier i purchased so hopefully the cost of a metal tube does not send thule under.

I'm unsure of how they will handle a request for a part direct and if there would be any cost ect. Sorry i cant help.

 

[Agu]

That's my solution with Thule racks. The bike goes up without the battery and small chair is needed to lift it up straight. I use plastic to cover battery contacts. The bike without battery weights 20kg so just in the limit of the rack maximum allowed carrying weight.

 

[Bean]

Gave in and bought a van and a Bikestow

 

[Snoozeboy]

That's my solution with Thule racks. The bike goes up without the battery and small chair is needed to lift it up straight. I use plastic to cover battery contacts. The bike without battery weights 20kg so just in the limit of the rack maximum allowed carrying weight.
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I have one of these (Thule Upride) for my Cube with integrated battery (fat down tube) and another Thule 598 for the missus' Haibike with external battery (down tube fits the 598 downtube clamp, whereas the Cube's is too big).

I don't need a chair to put them on the roof and I find it ok to lift them there. The Upride wobbles and creaks a bit, but both seem pretty secure. My Cube is probably 1kg over the Upride limit without the battery but both bikes are within the roof bars'/car's weight limit.

I put the kids bikes on the back of the car with an old tailgate mount from Halfords.

Of course, a tow bar mounted rack would be more convenient and streamlined, but at considerably more cost and faff of having one fitted (plus would likely play havoc with the parking sensors, according to reports).

Steve Jones' solution on a recent ep of EMBN was to "just buy a cheap van". WTF? I guess it's alright for some.

 

[Kentrider]

Looking at getting a Thule EasyFold XT 2 for my turbo Levo XL and a large Haibike hardseven 1.0.... question I have is, would the wheel base of the XL Levo fit that carrier ok?

 

[RobbieBear]

Looking at getting a Thule EasyFold XT 2 for my turbo Levo XL and a large Haibike hardseven 1.0.... question I have is, would the wheel base of the XL Levo fit that carrier ok?

I would say so. I put a Giant Trance e and my mate's XL Powerfly on my Thule XT3 Easyfold with no issues.
I would recommend the 3 bike model over the 2 though for a couple e of reasons:

1. The carrier bar is higher on the 3 bike one(I think this makes mounting bikes easier, personally)

2. Mounting 2 bikes on the 3 bike model is such a doddle. I use the short and long bars so have a gap in the middle.
Last week, I also added a third bike. What a faff and my Giant got a mark where it rubbed against another whilst in transit.

The carrier itself, whilst not cheap, is fantastic. It is simplicity itself to put on and off the towball. Definitely recommend it especially for ebikes. I also ordered the longer straps but so far have not needed to fit them - my Giant has 2.6" tyres.

 

[Kentrider]

thanks will look into the three bike one... i don't wan to mark my bike either so being too close to the wife could cause damage.... getting the tow bar fitted soon too.

 

[Frank_Denmark]

I have used the Thule EasyFold XT 2 for 18 months now - the bike seems very secure on it.
Every time I use the XT 2 I feel excited by the good design and perfect handling

Just like the feeling I get every time I go out on my eMTB

 

[Farmernz]

After much debate I got a Thule 932 EasyFold, i still have some learning to do to get the best setup , so far I have the medium frame bike on front and clamp on the shock, and the large frame bike on last withe the clamp threaded through the bottle holder of the front bike, I found it hard to find a good spot for the clamps where the bikes won’t touch each other. I did try a ezigrip ( same as buzz rack) but the clamp wouldn’t reach the large frame top tube. Also looked at yakame hold up but was tight on length and my swing boot wouldn’t work as well. There doesn’t seem like many racks are rated for a couple of ebike.

 

[Trickz]

Tbh my last 4 cars have all been estate’s my last was a golf r estate and still having to take the front wheel off and battery out to make it easier..I fancied a smaller car but was stressing about how hard it would be…for the extra 1 min max it takes to remove the back wheel aswell why the fck I didn’t do this on my previous estate carsso much easier without the wheel and cassette weight

 

[ebikerdiary]

Hi, new to ebike and want to know how people get the bikes about? Was thinking about roof rack but unsure on weight etc? Are people using some sort is carrier that’s bolts to a tow bar? Cheers. Ant

This post might help: Transporting eBikes

 

[ilostmypassword]

Snap - except mine goes inside, the exhaust I have means I cant fit the rack

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What a fawF! Doing that twice for a ride would frustrate me. But hey if you like fu%king around Must be fantastic when it's raining. and the bike is muddy.

 

[Frank_Denmark]

Just saw this carrier with very solid construction AND integreted work stand...

XLC Almada Work-E