In readiness for a summer of cycling, I've now bought and assembled my towbar mounted cycle rack; in the end I went for the Thule 9503 rack as it takes up to three cycles and seems well built and reasonably priced. Just need to get a number plate done.

Compared to my previous Thule rack, the rack is really easy to put on, and as the cycles are mounted low, they are also very easy to attach.

The rack is supposed to be able to tilt with the cycles on to allow one to load the boot up, but when I tested this, although the rack tilts, it doesn't tilt enough and there isn't enough clearance to open the hatch. I had been used to loading up the boot from inside the car when the bike rack is in use, so this isn't a huge issue for me.

More photos here if interested; the cycle rack/towbar ones are at the bottom of the page.

Looks good

Might look into one.

Looks a nice unit. Watch the weight on the tow bar. It is only rated at 50 Kg - that includes the weight of the rack. An adult bike is 10 - 20Kg, the rack itself is 12Kg.

Looks a nice unit. Watch the weight on the tow bar. It is only rated at 50 Kg - that includes the weight of the rack. An adult bike is 10 - 20Kg, the rack itself is 12Kg.

Thanks for that bit of info; I have got the scales out and my audax bike which is the bike I would normally take weighs approx 12kg and the racing bike obviously less. However, my commuting bike with leather saddle weighs 14kg so the towbar wouldn't support three bikes of that weight .

Having said that, the good thing about the Roomster is that with the rear seat configurations, if necessary (though not ideal), one could fit a bike inside by removing a seat.