Bike racks...

[jptbiow]

Waiting for delivery of a META POWER 29 and its unlikely that I'll fit in the car along with my wife, daughter, luggage etc... Give that leaving any of the above behind is not an option, has anybody got any tips re: a solid bike rack that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (for an estate car).

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gee]

I'm waiting for the same bike and I'm going to try it on the roof if the weight is close enough to the rack limit.

Will try it on my Thule Thruride 565, weight limit is supposed to be 17kg. Should be a few kg less than stock by seting up tubeless with the battery out and front wheel off.

LBS says loads of people are sticking ebike (lots of kenevos) on the roof with no probs but it's a chamce you take I suppose.

 

[Mattwilko92]

I'm waiting for the same bike and I'm going to try it on the roof if the weight is close enough to the rack limit.

Will try it on my Thule Thruride 595, weight limit is supposed to be 17kg. Should be a few kg less than stock by seting up tubeless with the battery out and front wheel off.

LBS says loads of people are sticking ebike (lots of kenevos) on the roof with no probs but it's a chamce you take I suppose.

I use the Thruride 565 to transport my levo all over the place. Battery out and front wheel off its about 15kg. No issues and recommend the rack, feels very solid and well made.

 

[jptbiow]

Thanks for the replies. Had a quote for a tow bar at £500

... Don't fancy sinking half a grand before even looking at the bike rack itself. Looked into the thule rear bike rack range and none of them will fit my A6 estate... Need to check other brands but apparantly will be similar outcome due to the shape of the boot.

Looks like it will have to be roof racks...

 

[Jamsxr]

My Meta Power 29 goes on my BMW/Thule roof rack no problem. £150 eBay job ?

 

[DTZ]

I put 1 x Levo Alloy FSR, 1 x Levo Womens Hardtail (both batteries removed), and 2 x kids islas bikes on the roof of a Skoda Octavia estate with no issues so far (I've only done a couple of short journeys though).

 

[Blue Moon]

3 x Powerfly 7's with batteries removed on my Altera Strada / VW T6 Caravelle.

 

[Blue Moon]

Can also squash a clockwork spesh rockhopper on the 4th rail.

 

[d3ftone]

The middle metal cylinder part of my Saris Bones 3 has buckled and bent a bit, still usable, due to a 53 lb YT Decoy on the back. I guess I'll be removing the battery during transport from now on.

 

[Crashlad]

What do you use to weatherproof the battery contacts on the bike while transporting it on the roof?

 

[AndyH]

@jptbiow -If you have a tow bar fitted, I use a Thule 970 Express 2 to carry my Levonall intact: carries up to 30kg, so I just put 1 bike on. At about £65, Cheapest I have seen is Wiggle... well worth considering!

Wiggle | Thule 970 Xpress 2-Bike Towball Carrier | Tow Bars

 

[jptbiow]

@jptbiow -If you have a tow bar fitted, I use a Thule 970 Express 2 to carry my Levonall intact: carries up to 30kg, so I just put 1 bike on. At about £65, Cheapest I have seen is Wiggle... well worth considering!

Wiggle | Thule 970 Xpress 2-Bike Towball Carrier | Tow Bars

Thanks so much for the Andy. Will check that out. Roughly what did you pay to fit a tow bar, or was your car already equipped? I had had one quote for £500+ which seems steep...

 

[AndyH]

This car had it already fitted, but previous was £300 from a mobile tow bar fitter- it was detachable which drove up the cost.... definitely worth looking at mobile tow bar fitters rather than dealers etc ....

 

[thewildblue]

I put my trek LT7 on a yakima roof rack. Seems to work well and hold it in place.

Yakima HighRoad bike carrier no. 8002114.

 

[jptbiow]

This car had it already fitted, but previous was £300 from a mobile tow bar fitter- it was detachable which drove up the cost.... definitely worth looking at mobile tow bar fitters rather than dealers etc ....

Thanks - thats really helpful - this quote was actually from a mobile fitter so I think I need to get a few more quotes, as he seems high.

 

[AndyH]

Thanks - thats really helpful - this quote was actually from a mobile fitter so I think I need to get a few more quotes, as he seems high.

Whereabouts are you? I got mine fitted in Stafford- May be worth exploring a wider area...

 

[jptbiow]

Whereabouts are you? I got mine fitted in Stafford- May be worth exploring a wider area...

Welwyn, Hertfordshire... Yeah I think you are right, mate...

Time to look further afield.

 

[Gee]

Well, got the bike up on the 565 earlier and I don't trust it at all, bit wobbly, bike minus battery and front wheel is 19kg. It was complete mare to get it up there (Suzuki Vitara so not the lowest roof and had to use steps). Didn't feel very stable and it would only be a matter of time before I either end up doing myself an injury, dropping the bike and/or damaging the car.

Had to use a tonne of effort, cant see myself being able to do that after a ride or with a potential injury after an off, so will be getting a tow bar fitted this week and ordering a Buzz rack.

Was funny tho, as I collected a new emtb for my father today (Giant Fathom HT 650B) and that flew up there and was rock solid with the wheel and battery off.

 

[maw1000]

I have the Saris Bones 2-Bike Trunk Rack and really like it. It is a 2 bike rack but because of the weight it can only hold 1 E-Bike.

 

[MitchF]

Just picked up a Witter ZX200 towbar mounted rack for £99 It’s for 2 bike so capacity is 36K. I only have one ???
Already have a tow bar.
Don’t pay more than £300 for single electrics fixed towbar ?

 

[AndyH]

Welwyn, Hertfordshire... Yeah I think you are right, mate...

Time to look further afield.

In summary, if you only have 1 bike, just buy a bike rack that can hold multiple bikes and use that to carry 1.... look at other options too- you never know what is out there... Halfords may be a good start!

 

[JoeBlow]

In summary, if you only have 1 bike, just buy a bike rack that can hold multiple bikes and use that to carry 1.... look at other options too- you never know what is out there... Halfords may be a good start!

I assumed the same but contacted both Thule and Saris in order to double check. Both told me that max weight was not the issue and advised me politely but explicitly not to use their racks in this manner. Apparently there are individual components for each bike that will not take the weight. In matters like this I'm not convinced that doing something for a period of time without any consequences is necessarily proof of anything and in the event of an accident I hate to think of the insurance implications which is why I heeded their advice and settled for keeping my bike inside the vehicle.

Al

 

[p060064h]

Ya not a proper MTB rider unless ya have a van

 

[Doomanic]

Bike goes in the car, mutt goes on the front passenger seat.

If the Doris ever wants to come along I’ll cable tie a rocking chair to the roof bars.

 

[crazymac680]

I'm happy with this 60kg rated 4 bike carrier. Thule th9708. £119 at Rutland

 

[Farmernz]

Overkill??

 

[Dustjunky]

Dave Cooper trials bike tow bar rack £98 …..don’t get ripped off by the greedy manufacturers …anything ebike sells for silly amounts of money