I have a Nov 2009 Octavia 1.6 elegance hatchback and would like to use my towbar bike rack on it.

I was thrown into a panic on Friday when I called a towbar manufacturer and asked if they fitted towbars and they said they did, that was fine but then they asked me what I intended to use the tow bar for and I told them to fit my bike carrier on it.

The reply floored me, sorry we do not want the job because we do not recommend fitting bike racks to towbars.

When I asked why they said because it will be over the 75kg noseweight limit and they would not be responsible for any problems so they declined to do the work.

I see that a similar problem has been covered before in the Yeti forum but what would the Octavia forum members recommend?

Add the weight of your bikes (not more than three, I hope) and the weight of your bike rack. You shouldn't exceed the total noseweight allowed by the manufacturer of the towbar. That's it.

Mind you, the additional weight might cause your tow bar to hit the road from time to time. On a Dutch Skoda site, additional springs at the back are adviced when doing that.

My Thule 9503 weighs 12Kg. Add 3 mens moutain bikes at 15kg each and your are still under 60kg...

Can't really see what the issue is?

Add the weight of your bikes (not more than three, I hope) and the weight of your bike rack. You shouldn't exceed the total noseweight allowed by the manufacturer of the towbar. That's it.

Mind you, the additional weight might cause your tow bar to hit the road from time to time. On a Dutch Skoda site, additional springs at the back are adviced when doing that.

Thanks broere, the company said they had done the sums and were concerned that the bikes were further back from the ball of the towbar making the weight a big problem and would not supply and fit the bar

I had a 2 bike Thule carrier on my 123Ds towbar and the noseweight issue was a good excuse to buy a lighter bike