Ebike carriers?

[Grez]

New to the world of EMTB and just got a XL Kenevo.

My current method of transportation is a Thule pro ride roof mount and it isn’t man enough so looking at toe bar options I’m considering Thule velo compact 925 and 927. They are very similar but the difference is two bike and the other is three. Has any body had two Ebikes on the 925 as it’s only rated to 46kg. The 927 is 60kg. Is it just marketing speil. I’m guessing the toe bar hitches are the same.

Thoughts and advice please

 

[khorn]

Depending on the car many tow bars have limits below 50 kg as well, just saying.

Karsten

 

[Grez]

Depending on the car many tow bars have limits below 50 kg as well, just saying.

Karsten

Kia Sportage. I’ve not had it fitted yet I was opting for a swan neck none retractable. I’ll check the load capacity. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Shane]

I use this.

Thule 938AU VeloSpaceXT 2 Bike Carrier - Thule Australia

Actually a superseded version I got for about half the price. Still not cheap but it’s holding a lot of moneys worth.

It’s easy to use but heavy and a bit cumbersome. Would recommend but I still feel a little nervous with all that weight just on the townball. Would have maybe felt better if I’d gone for one of the types that slides into the 50mm hitch point.

 

[RickW]

got Thule Easyfold 2 for 2 2019 levos arms fit on downtube on one; seat tube on the other

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

$1049.00 RRP LOL - I would rather get this for £500 and use the rest to tax and insure it! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...de=sn55qr&advertising-location=at_vans&page=1

 

[Gary]

I think importing the Van to Aus might negate the saving there.
Ps. Where do you get tax and insurance for £80?

completely the other end of the spectrum but this was £50 here (in the UK) in Decathlon :
Thule Xpress 2
It will take one Emtb fine, But buy a couple of separate bunges to secure the bike(s) more. The built in strap is just a short nylon one with a basic clasp/buckle fastening
best thing about it is these is they come in a durable little drawstring bag and can be kept folded in the car at all times ready to be used at any time.

I also have a 3 bike thule ride-on wheel truss style towbar rack with lightboard costing 5 times the price that can take 2 DH bikes (or Ebikes) or 3 normal mtbs but I rarely use it.
like this:

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

I think importing the Van to Aus might negate the saving there.
Ps. Where do you get tax and insurance for £80?

completely the other end of the spectrum but this was £50 here (in the UK) in Decathlon :
Thule Xpress 2
It will take one Emtb fine, But buy a couple of separate bunges to secure the bike(s) more. The built in strap is just a short nylon one with a basic clasp/buckle fastening
best thing about it is these is they come in a durable little drawstring bag and can be kept folded in the car at all times ready to be used at any time.

I also have a 3 bike thule ride-on wheel truss style towbar rack with lightboard costing 5 times the price that can take 2 DH bikes (or Ebikes) or 3 normal mtbs but I rarely use it.
like this:

this will cut into your tow ball and ruin it for towing with a friction stabiliser- I would prefer a bolt on option?

 

[Gary]

no it won't. As usual you're talking out of your arse.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

no it won't. As usual you're talking out of your arse.

Polite reply as usual - is someone having a bad day?

BTW this is only a bike forum - nothing serious enough to get excited about.

 

[Grez]

I’ve opted for the velospace XT 2 it can carry up to 60kg and a ebike weight of 30kg each so will managed 2 e-bikes with ease I also like the Idea of the bike channels being further apart and 1300mm long for a XL bike. I’ve managed to get it for £410 through the cyclescheme so saved another 40% off the price works out at just under £20 a month for 12 months. Result

 

[Gary]

No one gets excited over poor advice ever.
I'm actually having a great day.
thanks for caring.

 

[GOSBTS]

Mercedes Vito Sport X - 224 bhp V6 creamy smooth diesel automatic - 5 seats - fun while you're not e-biking and can ferry the family about. Best vehicle i have ever owned, if i could marry a vehicle I would....obviously after my e-bike...

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

No one gets excited over poor advice ever.
I'm actually having a great day.
thanks for caring.

I was speaking from experience as I have used a "clamp on" bike rack - and it did dig into the tow ball and when I went to collect my first caravan in 2001 I had to buy a new hitch before I could use the Alko Friction Stabiliser, when this happened I had the Volvo removeable hitch and it cost me over £250 back then - but if you dont tow and arn't bothered about scoring your tow ball then rock on.
Besides a clamp on is never going to feel solid.

Luckily my tow car has a removeable bracket with holes which I can bolt a rack onto..

 

[Gary]

You sure it wasn't from towing heavy caravans up the Wiltshire Alps on rusty towballs?

 

[Mad Mark]

Why am I not surprised W/W has got a caravan & Volvo ?

 

[billwarwick]

Being serious for a moment, I was told that I would have to pay main dealer prices to have a towbar fitted as the cars ‘brain’ needs to be told that the towbar has been fitted, otherwise it will affect the reversing sensors and cameras. Is this correct or is someone winding me up?

 

[VaseLEVO]

KUAT NV-2 you can carry two E-Bikes, no problems at all. Study enough but on heavy side. Extremely well made and looks really good.

 

[Topham]

Being serious for a moment, I was told that I would have to pay main dealer prices to have a towbar fitted as the cars ‘brain’ needs to be told that the towbar has been fitted, otherwise it will affect the reversing sensors and cameras. Is this correct or is someone winding me up?

Yes and no mate

I’ve got a Vw amarok, v6 2018 spec. They do however come with tow bar prep.

It cost me 115 for the flange, tow hitch, and gubbins, then it cost me 149 for the dedicated electric kit with a byepass relay. Took me about an hour to fit myself, then popped it to a place to have coded. Total cost about 255.

If you only using a cycle carrier you could get away without coding the car. Just means the electrics don’t function properly with parking sensors etc. Obvs depends what car you have

 

[bbred]

New to the world of EMTB and just got a XL Kenevo.

My current method of transportation is a Thule pro ride roof mount and it isn’t man enough so looking at toe bar options I’m considering Thule velo compact 925 and 927. They are very similar but the difference is two bike and the other is three. Has any body had two Ebikes on the 925 as it’s only rated to 46kg. The 927 is 60kg. Is it just marketing speil. I’m guessing the toe bar hitches are the same.

Thoughts and advice please

I use the 927 Thule for 3 bikes. No problems with weight very solid on tow bar much to my surprise! The rubber straps only just go around the wheel/tyre on the 27.5 2.8" so any bigger sizes you will struggle. I've had 2 electric and one ordinary bike on this rack and it coped ok. The only thing to check is the extra weight ok for your vehicles handling etc

 

[steve_sordy]

I bought recently the Thule Velospace XT. It has a 13-pin socket, weighs 18.7 kg, is suitable for up to 1300 mm wheelbase and tyres up to 4.7" wide. Capacity is two bikes up to 30kg each. Buy an extra bit and you can carry three bikes. I don't think it's three bikes at 30kg each though.

I got it from Halfords who were selling it at £425 instead of the rrp of £475. But when I opted for click and collect at a local Halfords, I got another 10% off. They didn't tell me it was cheaper for c&c, I just saw the discount after I'd pressed buy. It seems to be a very robust and flexible bit of kit, well made etc. It absolutely has not moved a fraction whilst in use. The keys are a bit tricky to get into the locks, but I suppose that keeps the muck out. I installed some brackets on the inside garage wall with some pipe insulation on them to store the folded up rack. The plug fits into the socket easily enough but I just could not get the barsteward thing back out again! There was nothing in the instructions that there is a detent to overcome that needs a little extra twist to overcome before the plug can be easily withdrawn from the socket. Once I knew about the detent, it was a doddle.

I discovered today that the two clamps can't be locked by the key, so they will be going back tomorrow.

I have bought the PF Jones Westfalia detachable towbar for £485 inc vat. That included fitting and also coding to my Audi A5 plus a free courtesy car. (Audi quoted over £1300 without the courtesy car)! The towbar kit comes with a lifetime guarantee for the towbar and the dedicated electrics. I installed the Thule rack to the towbar and checked that everything worked before I left the garage.

On the way home (1hr 30 mins trip), the Audi Pre-sense emergency braking system went off and has remained off. I only found out today what the warning symbol actually meant, I had thought it was telling me that the Audi pre-sense could see the bike rack. I also got a "key not recognised" message that appeared than went away. Today the main Navigation system went dark and the back up on the dashboard is on for 2 secs and off for 12 secs. The nav symbols don't appear on the head up display either. I'm also getting a "seats not occupied" message for the three passenger seats appearing at random intervals. Probably a loose connection somewhere. Looks like a trip back to the garage, I hope it doesn't take them as many hours to resolve as it did to install. That would be another whole day out.

 

[billwarwick]

Thanks folks.. sounds like too much of a faff for me. for now i'll carry on struggling to get the bike in the back of the car!
Also just wondering if having the work done not at main dealer would affect the warranty on your car if something went wrong with the electrics and main dealer had to rectify the faults.

 

[billwarwick]

Let us know what happens with yours, Steve.

 

[steve_sordy]

I spoke to the Tow Bar Depot in Sheffield and they could not have been more helpful. None of the expected "it was OK when it left us" malarkey! It is booked in for next Wed when they have a courtesy car available, just in case it takes a while. Obviously I'd rather not have had this problem, but as I have been told before "it's not whether you have a problem or not it is how it is dealt with that brings the customers back!"

I accept that the car's on board electrickery is more complex than usual; it is "launch spec", ie one provided by Audi to the dealers with every bell and whistle on it so that customers could look and feel instead of just being told. But then again, I've never had a tow bar fitted before and this is their business, so if it was important, they should have asked. The technician believed that it would be something simple. Let's hope so!

 

[Charlie]

I have the cheaper Thule on a detachable.
Didn't notice any wear yet.
Batteries can be removed to get weight nearer the limit.
Makes lifting them easier too.

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks folks.. sounds like too much of a faff for me. for now i'll carry on struggling to get the bike in the back of the car!
Also just wondering if having the work done not at main dealer would affect the warranty on your car if something went wrong with the electrics and main dealer had to rectify the faults.

I have had intermittent back problems ever since I dislocated a vertebrae in 1996, so I'm a bit cautious about lifting heavy stuff whilst bent over. Loading a 13kg bike (less as no front wheel) in the back of the car, is a doddle. I do not wish to contemplate that with an eBike. Hence the tow bar and rack.

Ref the warranty. The car is still under its 3 -year warranty and I had not considered the effect of fitting an aftermarket tow bar integrated to the cars electrickery. By the way, when I contacted Audi to see what they would charge (and recoiled in horror!), the guy never warned me about any possible impact on my warranty. I do hope that all will be well.

 

[tretopflir]

Kuat Nv here.....best customer service anywhere.

 

[njn]

I've been using a Thule T2 classic for years. 60 lb bike weight limit.

Thule T2 Classic

 

[JoshDwnHll]

Just make one, this cost me around $60 AUD. Its made the way it is as i do alot of offroad stuff and didnt want to compromise departure angle with a towbar style carrier. This good for about 600kg haha

 

[MattyB]

Just make one, this cost me around $60 AUD. Its made the way it is as i do alot of offroad stuff and didnt want to compromise departure angle with a towbar style carrier. This good for about 600kg haha

View attachment 7768

Mate, call the police - someone stole the back half of your car...

Only joking. Nice McGyver skills on that homebrew rack.