Carrying two bicycles

[andyml]

Having had a bike rack that "secures" to or hangs off the tailgate and a tow bar mounted Thule there is no comparison. The tailgate ones are downright dangerous although loosening straps can be taken care of by fitting bungees to take up the slack. The tow bar mounted systems are expensive but so worth it in the long run. Yeti Cycle meet?......sounds interesting!

[lepidocrocite]

Chaps

All helpful - I think tow ball mounted it is: I already have a Thule express and will need to get a tow bar fitted at some point anyway for sailing.

I assume that these are OK with detachable tow-bars. Last car (BMW 5 Series) had a fixed tow ball which meant my reverse parking skills got rather refined.

[Yetigreenline2]

My express is fitted to the genuine skoda (westfalia) removable towbar.

Expensive as a dealer fitted option especially if you have not had towbar prep done on build spec.

But got my towbar off ebay £120 and coded myself all working perfectly.

Edited 7 April, 2013 by Yetigreenline2

[summers]

I have a Thule rack : http://tiny.cc/5d16uw attached to a Witter detachable tow bar. Can't recommend the set up too highly.

The rack shows up on the Columbus unit as a trailer when the electrics are connected.

[rockhopper]

I have a Thule rack : http://tiny.cc/5d16uw attached to a Witter detachable tow bar. Can't recommend the set up too highly.

The rack shows up on the Columbus unit as a trailer when the electrics are connected.

As does my lighting board and my parents caravan :lol:

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[beej]

I notice there are a few who don't appear to have a lighting board!! :peek: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

Is it the breaking of the law that warrants the icons? Or do you sometimes find yourself behind rear carriers sans light boards and aren't able to see all the lights etc?

I genuinely ask out of curiosity and without malice. From reading these boards it seems to be more heavily pushed over there that rear carriers have such light boards.

In Australia - or at least, the state I live in - the main focus is on the number plate being visible, and nearly everyone runs a smaller bike-specific plate attached to a part of the carrier. The other, seemingly odd focus is that you can't drive around with an empty rack on the back (something about it being less visible, such that a pedestrian crossing behind your moving car too soon my get caught by it and dragged to death).

As for lighting however, there's not much mention other than with regard to the number plate. And I would guesstimate only 1 in 40 such carriers I've seen have lighting, or run light boards of any kind. And I know of not a single person being nabbed for it (including friends, or instances mentioned on MTB forums down here). I don't have access to any statistics that indicate it's a cause of accidents, and I've never heard it mentioned either. Mobile phones are the most common cause of rear-enders here.

But anyway, the main reason for my question is, being an avid MTB rider I find myself frequently behind such carriers when heading to/from bike parks/events. Not a single time have I ever had problems seeing at least one brake light, or enough of either indicator, to not know what the car in front of me is doing. It's something I don't even notice I have to try and notice, day or night.

[Llanigraham]

In the UK it is illegal to have the rear lights and number plate obscured by the bike carrier or anything else. Many people "get away with it" but in the last few years some Police Forces, notably Devon & Cornwall and North Wales have started to get strict about it, especially during the holiday season. Devon & Cornwall have run operations on the A30, A38 and M4 around Exeter and made people either remove the bikes into storage they provided or purchase light bars before they could continue. Stroppy ones got given a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Leaving a rack on without the bikes isn't encouraged.

I think most people realised my comment was a little "tongue in cheek"

It was mentioned on one of the camping and caravanning forums that allegedly the French Police were targetting cars with the "strappy, hatchback" type racks last year, mostly over security of the fixings. They were happy about the solidly mounted tow bar racks, but were insistent about the big reflective square plate that seems to be compulsory in Europe.

[Deputy]

If it's just 2 of us going cycling then we take the wheels and chuck 'em in the back ! (just fold the seats down, even if muddy I just use a picnic blanket (with a waterproof backing) over the folded seat).

I have a fairly relaxed attitude to the interior of my car......

[stevetdci]

I have a witter zx200 bike rack, granted I don't use it on a yeti bu it sat on the back of a 206 very easy. I'd rather have the bikes on the bak than stuck inside.

[survey]

Best I have found is the Witter cycle rack fitted between towball and towbar flange. Will carry 3 bikes. Very stable indeed. Used on Land Rovers, X Trail and indeed on our Yeti.

[Llanigraham]

Deja vu!!

That (top one) is a concept model, and not a real production Yeti!

[lepidocrocite]

All

Many thanks - all of this convinces me of the new to get a tow bar fitted as a (higher)priority.

[Breckie]

I used to have roof bars and 2 cycle carriers.

As I'm not particularly tall (5ft 6/7inches) I found it a bit of a struggle getting the bikes up there.

As I have a hereditary heart condition I decided enough was enough and sold the roof bars and carriers to my older brother, and invested in a rear mounted system.

I'm MUCH happier with that, and can see the bikes easily in the read view mirror.

In case the straps break and a bike falls off on the motorway, I always pit Kitten's bike on the outside......

Only kidding there, but her bike DOES fit better if it goes on last. :yes:

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Just to bring this up to date (Sorry...bit slow on the uptake) can I ask what that carrier actually is? Couldn't see anything to positively say the type. Might be Halfords but I wasn't too sure. Eyes are dim & I'm needing new specs.  Incidentally don't really need a three or even two carrier. One be fine. No towbar & the Thule rack won't fit on the roof with the wide roof carrier....AND....I'm not carrying it inside.

[eribaMotters]

After a bit of research I went with this Thule from Decathlon as I have a tow bar. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/express-2v-tow-ball-bike-rack-id_8176983.html If you have one near you the price is the best I could find.

I was a bit dubious at first as wanted a posh rack the bikes sit in instead of hanging from. I am most impressed with the rack, and so is the good lady wife who used it when she went to pick youngest up from university. It was a doddle to use and she felt the bike to be very secure.

 

Colin

[Breckie]

After a bit of research I went with this Thule from Decathlon as I have a tow bar. http://www.decathlon.co.uk/express-2v-tow-ball-bike-rack-id_8176983.html If you have one near you the price is the best I could find.

I was a bit dubious at first as wanted a posh rack the bikes sit in instead of hanging from. I am most impressed with the rack, and so is the good lady wife who used it when she went to pick youngest up from university. It was a doddle to use and she felt the bike to be very secure.

 

Colin

Thanks but no tow bar I'm afraid.

[Macdemon]

The rack I have came from my local Raleigh cycle centre and was about (from memory) about £130 about 2/3 years ago.

I hope that helps

[survey]

Best I have found is the Witter cycle rack fitted between towball and towbar flange. Will carry 3 bikes. Very stable indeed. Used on Land Rovers, X Trail and indeed on our Yeti.

Used one of these for years on several cars including the Yeti. Secure. stable and excellent carrier.  Best I have seen.

[rockhopper]

I ended up with a Buzz a Racks Sparky 3.

It is a towbar mounted rack. The roof is too high and I don't like spare wheel mounted ones on the back door adding more strain to the door hinge.

I spent ages working out what to go for with Roofbox. I wanted the Altera Strada but it wouldn't fit due to my spare wheel. The Buzz Rack design is such the the upright is between bikes 1& 2, so the 3 bike rack fits perfectly.

So far I have done about 1300 miles with it. It is really solid and very easy to fit. Takes a few seconds. Mounts to the tow ball.

[lepidocrocite]

Just stumbled back onto this topic. 

 

For the last year we have found taking the seats out carrying bikes internally. This works fine a tarp and a few bunggy straps means the car stays clean and the bikes don't move around although I imagine that smaller people might find lifting thing in and out a grind. 

 

We are off to Spa later this month and carrying a big tent and comfortable camping supplies plus bikes won't work,  so have gone the Witter route with a removable flange tow bar (why would you chose anything else) and thier bike rack that folds down - ZX210 (expensive but very solid and well desgined). 

 

Tried this out last weekend and very impressed tow bar completely solid but very discreet when removed,  bike rack much more solid than our previous one and folding mechanism very good. 

 

Would not hesitate to recommend Watling Engineering near St. Albans: they did an excellent job took their time and did not cut corners. Although they hate Yetis and VAG cars generally - apparently they are B*****ds to work on. 

[kenfowler3966]

I have found that 1 road bike goes in the back complete, I just fold the seats, put an old rubber bot mat I have kept from a Superb over the seats to protect them and lay the bike on its side, no straps needed. My mountain bike also fits like this, but I have to take off the front wheel first to get it in. Two bikes like this will not fit on their sides.

 

I also have a roof rack set up for four bikes, works but takes time to fit, and to get all the bikes on safely.

 

One tip, the roof is too high to easily fit and get to the bikes, without standing on the sills with the door open. At IKEA they sell a plastic stool meant for children to stand on and access the sink in their bathroom department. This is lightweight and strong. It is ideal to take with you and to stand on to access the bikes on the roof high. When not in use as a step I turn it over and it forms a useful storage box for all the straps etc for the rack

 

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90291330/#/60265163

[lepidocrocite]

With ours we had to take the front wheels off the bikes but then two fit with some luggage pretty easily. Not a bother  with quick releases.  Not a fan of bikes on the roof - massive amount of extra drag and you have to think about low bridges. Bikes on the back seem to have no impact on efficiency (they did our last car). 

[g6zru]

  Not a fan of bikes on the roof - massive amount of extra drag and you have to think about low bridges.

We were told a sad tale by a family we met in Dorset last year. They were a young couple with a 2 year old son. The wife had her wrist in plaster and told us how it happened.

They were riding their bikes on a path when the wife collided with a gate post damaging her wrist but fortunately not the child attached to a child seat on her bike. The husband panicked and rushed back to his car (a nearly new Audi A6 Estate) put the bikes on his roof rack ready to rush his wife to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately he forgot that the carpark had a height barrier at it's entrance/exit. He'd unloaded the bikes on the way in but,in his panicked state, totally forgot on the way out.

Result; 2 bikes destroyed, roof rack destroyed and car roof damaged. The last item was estimated to cost £1900 to repair!

 

Fred

[edencampers]

Road bike and MTB carried inside, on homemade brackets attached to the tie downs. I turn the bars on the road bike and take the pedals off which takes 2 mins. The full size spare is carried alongside and can be accessed with the bikes inside. For added security I put a strap through the seats to hold the other end. Plastic corrugated board is used to create  "dirty space" for the bikes.