Sparkrite Tow Bar Cycle Carrier

[silver1011]

Has anyone ever heard of these before?

 

There is a supplier very close to me selling them so I'm going to take a look tomorrow.

 

Up until now I'd been looking at Witter and Thule as two trusted brands, but as far as the pictures show this Sparkrite carrier looks to be pretty good for £212.

 

I know you get what you pay for etc. but at £100 less than the branded ones it seems worth a look.

 

I'll know for sure tomorrow but just wondered if anyone had one?

 

http://www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk/sparkrite-3-and-4-bike-tow-bar-cycle-carriers

 

[silver1011]

Hmm, or a Witter ZX408 for only a smidge more (£221)...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Witter-ZX408-Tow-Bar-Mounted-4-Four-Bike-Cycle-Carrier-/290976396667?hash=item43bf8b757b

 

Although not loving the fabric straps for the bike wheels versus the plastic loops...

 

[FlyingGecko]

If it looks good in the flesh, and the fittings work as you'd want, bugg@r the name, go for it.

[meta55b]

Hmm, or a Witter ZX408 for only a smidge more (£221)...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Witter-ZX408-Tow-Bar-Mounted-4-Four-Bike-Cycle-Carrier-/290976396667?hash=item43bf8b757b

 

Although not loving the fabric straps for the bike wheels versus the plastic loops...

 

The one in the original photo looks like most of it is alloy and the second one looks mostly steel. I would think there would be a big difference in weight.

[silver1011]

Cheers guys, went to see one today, they had been shipped in from Germany and seem pretty good quality. The beams that the bikes sit on are aluminium but the frame is tubular steel, unlike the square profile steel of the Witter one.

 

Strangely though the electrical socket was 13 pin with a 13 pin > 7 pin adapter in the box, not sure if this hints at its origins or if this is the norm on products sold across Europe.

 

Annoyingly I forgot to check to see if the fog light was on the offside and the reverse light on the nearside. I wonder of the lighting board can simply be turned upside down to suit LHD and RHD markets?

 

Good enough for me though, ordered one for next weekend!

[Llanigraham]

13 pin is now the norm across Europe.

[meta55b]

Don't forget to get a security wire to secure it to the towing hook on the car. I've had many a friend had them stolen when out on rides.

[silver1011]

I think it locks to the tow ball, not too sure but there seems to be a lock and key pictured here?

 

[meta55b]

The locks on every brand are rubbish. All the ones I know off that got nicked were Thules. The barrels where on the ground.

[KBPhoto]

Annoyingly I forgot to check to see if the fog light was on the offside and the reverse light on the nearside. I wonder of the lighting board can simply be turned upside down to suit LHD and RHD markets?

Wouldn't that put the indicators on the wrong side as well?

Might be easier to wire up dual fogs like the Atera Strada has.

[silver1011]

Good point, indicating left but having the right indicator flash would be far from ideal 

 

Looking again at the picture in post #1 the reverse light does appear to be on the left and the fog on the right (these look to be the outermost lights) so hopefully all will be good.

[silver1011]

Picked it up this morning and assembled it, very straight forward.

 

There was a little slip in the box though that says it is a European model, hence the fog light on the left and reverse light on the right. It warned about mounting the light board upside down (as the seller has done in the picture in the OP, tut-tut!) to get the fog light on the correct side as that then means when you indicate the opposite indicator flashes on the bike carrier as mentioned by KBPhoto.

 

It did however also mention that it fully complies with UK legislation.

 

I'm assuming my 7 pin socket is not wired for reverse lights as the reverse light on the bike carrier doesn't work. Can this be rectified?

 

The only little niggle is that there are 5 seperate keys, one for the tow bar lock and then another four, one for each of the arms that grab the bike frames, shame one key couldn't be used for all locks like Thule manage to do.

 

All very good quality, the only issue will be finding somwhere to store it now, oh and I need to get a number plate made up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[skomaz]

Looks good given I paid £78 for my four bike Thule hang-on...

 

For the fog and reverse lights just swap the units over and then two wires across from one light unit to the other to swap the reverse and fog over...

[silver1011]

If I swapped over the light clusters I'm assuming that when I indicate left the right hand indicator would light up on the carrier?

 

This would explain why the reverse light doesn't work, I'm guessing I have a standard 12N socket (i.e. no available output for the reverse light)?

[skomaz]

No leave the original wires as they are and swap the light fittings over - you then have the fittings on the correct sides but need to disconnect the fog and reverse light wires and pass new wires from the right fitting to left fitting just for those bulbs. 

[silver1011]

Ah, I get you now. I'll have to see how easy it will be to feed another couple of wires through the existing sleeve.

[silver1011]

Decided to do it a little different.

 

Since the reverse light was always going to be redundant and it is highly unlikely I'm going to be carrying bikes in thick fog I decided to convert both the reverse light and fog light to perform the role of additional brake lights.

 

The grey reverse light wire and blue fog light wire were inserted into the brake light pin on the plug and I swapped the clear reverse light bulb for a red bulb.

 

From this...

 

 

To this...

 

 

 So now I have four brake lights and all bulbs now perform a useful function.

[Mnae]

Hi. Just wondering how this carrier is going for you. Any issues during use etc? Cheers

[silver1011]

To be honest it hasn't had much use since buying it, the really wet weather put an end to any late autumn bike rides. The cold we can cope with, being wet and cold is a step too far for me 

 

In the two or three trips it has been on it has performed exactly as expected. Comparing it to other far more expensive bike carriers it looks every bit as well built.

 

It will be going to France in April so that will be a good test!

[Mnae]

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll go for one. Cheers

[CarolineD]

I've been following this thread of messages about the Sparkrite bike carrier as i bought one at the weekend. I've put it together but am struggling to put it on my towbar. I can pull the level down 1/2 way but not fully down. Has anyone else had this problem. I don't want to force it in case it breaks the carrier and more importantly damage my car. When i put all my weight on the lever, it pulls the back of the car down and the car creaks.

 

Any advice would really be appreciated. Due to use it tomorrow morning and wanted to do a little test run today.

 

Thanks

Caroline

 

 

[mac11irl]

hello, and welcome to the forum @CarolineD

i have no experience of the carrier in question, but did you check the diameter of the carrier socket is compatible with the diameter of your towbar ball hitch? it getti g half down and then stopping sounds like the carrier socket is to small for your ball hitch

Edited 1 June, 2021 by mac11irl

[Liger1956]

I have a Bosal towball mounted cycle carrier and the towball clamp, which is operated by the lever is adjustable. Also the carrier has to be in the correct position so that the clamp sits on the towball vertically to get it to operate.

[Rjbell]

On 11/10/2015 at 20:14, silver1011 said:

Cheers guys, went to see one today, they had been shipped in from Germany and seem pretty good quality. The beams that the bikes sit on are aluminium but the frame is tubular steel, unlike the square profile steel of the Witter one.

 

Strangely though the electrical socket was 13 pin with a 13 pin > 7 pin adapter in the box, not sure if this hints at its origins or if this is the norm on products sold across Europe.

 

Annoyingly I forgot to check to see if the fog light was on the offside and the reverse light on the nearside. I wonder of the lighting board can simply be turned upside down to suit LHD and RHD markets?

 

Good enough for me though, ordered one for next weekend!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm curious to see how the carrier has been over the years?

[silver1011]

Great, used most months and still going strong. It is garaged but no rust and all clips and clamps working well.

 

I'd still thoroughly recommend it, even it was the same price as Thule, but the fact it is significantly cheaper makes it a bargain.