I have a Yeti on order which will arrive just before a family holiday so I need to be ready with a bike rack, roof bars and box.

 

Roof bars and box are easy, they are listed by manufacturers.

 

Hang off the rear bike racks are not listed for the Yeti. I have no tow bar so what are my options?

I have only seen one Yeti with bikes on a roof-rack, and one with bikes inside, sans wheels.

If you enter Yeti as your vehicle in http://www.roofbox.co.uk they come up with a few options

 

Saris Bones and Thule Raceway (http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel3.php?emulate=whycar&query=7756&vptype=&producttype=Rear+door+bike+carriers)

 

Note that despite the lack of towbar, you may still need towing electrics for your lighting board

 

14 minutes ago, Gyp said:

If you enter Yeti as your vehicle in http://www.roofbox.co.uk they come up with a few options

 

Saris Bones and Thule Raceway (http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel3.php?emulate=whycar&query=7756&vptype=&producttype=Rear+door+bike+carriers)

 

Note that despite the lack of towbar, you may still need towing electrics for your lighting board

 

 

Thanks Thule do not list anything themselves which I find odd.

 

Will start ebaying for unwanted 992s

Strap your bike(s) on a 'hang off' rack and thats your tailgate access borked!

 

Atera Strada here, but I do have a tow bar and need access to the tailgate for the trail dog!

 

Its an expensive fix, but has been on 3 vehicles now and is in very regular use!

 

Given the potentially fraught 'electrics' coding for a lighting board, I'd probably opt for a roof mount, unless you need a roof box for luggage?

 

HTH

How many bikes will you need to carry?  You can get one or even perhaps two next to a narrow roofbox.  I'll admit I am no fan of strapped-on racks on the back, both in terms of security and bodywork damage (plus the whole boot-opening thing).

 

Could you even pack the bikes in bike bags and put them in the boot or on the roof with the 'box?

I'd suggest speaking to the people at roofbox.co.uk, I've found them very helpful in the past.

 

They should have a good idea of what make/model/size of roofbox will fit next to a bike carrier, and what length bars to get (you may be able to select slightly longer bars than normally specified, if it helps).

 

I have used this cheap type of bike rack that many sell for around £40-60 on a Yeti, they fit saloons & hatches, it had the bikes sitting lower on a Yeti so needing a tail board.

Only used with one or 2 lights bikes though.

3 hours ago, Merlinman said:

Strap your bike(s) on a 'hang off' rack and thats your tailgate access borked!

 

Atera Strada here, but I do have a tow bar and need access to the tailgate for the trail dog!

 

Its an expensive fix, but has been on 3 vehicles now and is in very regular use!

 

Given the potentially fraught 'electrics' coding for a lighting board, I'd probably opt for a roof mount, unless you need a roof box for luggage?

 

HTH

We've got a Strada too, we use it on the wife's new Superb.

Out of interest, have you got the 4th bike adapter ?

Up to now we've had my 29er MTB and two kids bikes on it, but now the wife's got a MTB too...

I actually have a 2 bike version - but I have the third bike adaptor, which is still (after 6 years) in its original box!

 

It can come to you if you'd like it ? No idea what its worth, but not looking for much in addition to postage cost?

 

I downsized to a 2 biker to avoid becoming a bike taxi for chums

 

Just checked - it seems the 2>3 adaptor uses an extended arm, whereas the 3>4 uses a joining clamp between the top tubes of bikes 3 and 4! You're welcome to try?

 

Edited 22 February, 20179 yr by Merlinman
Update!

As our bikes are each 22 and a bit kg and the Yeti roof is a long way from the ground with heavy bikes, I ended up getting a towbar and the folding Thule 931.

 

Just noticed that this on-line retailer seems to have them at about £100 less than the competition - list is £560, £450 is about typical, these are £355

 

http://www.volvopartshop.com/thule-easyfold-931-bicycle-carrier-folding-towbar-mounted-2-bicycles-14165-p.asp

I have emailed the dealer to see if it is to late to add a tow bar. I had not thought about lighting and the additional cost of that and a rack look like it will come to more than the tow bar.

 

it also means I can tow my trailer rather than using the wifes car to pick up new motorbikes

 

Thanks for all the input folks, you have helped me see the light

I got quite a shock at the price of a towbar, but my local Skoda dealer managed to undercut http://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/ and a couple of others that I'd looked at.

 

Back in the day I used to buy towbars from scrap yards and wire them in myself for peanuts but those days are sadly gone. It seems like the towbar as factory fit with order is £465 and (from my experience) about £150 extra to retrofit (by Skoda with Westfalia removable removable bar, genuine wiring loom and 13 pin socket, bumper cut and clip-in replacement panel and re-coding). Add in the towbar-mounted cycle carrier and you're scarily close to £1000 to cart your bikes around...

 

Still - and this is the important bit - it will make it easier to pick up new motorbikes and the importance of that can't be ignored (if you've not found it already, Briski Bikers is worth a visit)

 

Of course... and if anyone asks, I never mentioned this... you could just spend £45 on something like this, hope the lights are visible and the number plate isn't too badly obscured and spent the £950 saving on occasional fines (fairly unlikely) or motorbikes (likely)

2 hours ago, Gyp said:

I got quite a shock at the price of a towbar, but my local Skoda dealer managed to undercut http://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/ and a couple of others that I'd looked at.

 

Back in the day I used to buy towbars from scrap yards and wire them in myself for peanuts but those days are sadly gone. It seems like the towbar as factory fit with order is £465 and (from my experience) about £150 extra to retrofit (by Skoda with Westfalia removable removable bar, genuine wiring loom and 13 pin socket, bumper cut and clip-in replacement panel and re-coding). Add in the towbar-mounted cycle carrier and you're scarily close to £1000 to cart your bikes around...

 

Still - and this is the important bit - it will make it easier to pick up new motorbikes and the importance of that can't be ignored (if you've not found it already, Briski Bikers is worth a visit)

 

Of course... and if anyone asks, I never mentioned this... you could just spend £45 on something like this, hope the lights are visible and the number plate isn't too badly obscured and spent the £950 saving on occasional fines (fairly unlikely) or motorbikes (likely)

 

 

The car is a 2 year lease so fitting my own tow bar is not an option :(. I have always done this in the past and never had an issue.

 

If the lease comes back to expensive then I will look at your option 2

 

I have a tow ball bike rack already so that half of the expense is already gone. Roof bars will be taken up by a big box and wife and kids bikes are all odd shapes and sizes so roof mounting is not in my plans

21 hours ago, Merlinman said:

I actually have a 2 bike version - but I have the third bike adaptor, which is still (after 6 years) in its original box!

 

It can come to you if you'd like it ? No idea what its worth, but not looking for much in addition to postage cost?

 

I downsized to a 2 biker to avoid becoming a bike taxi for chums

 

Just checked - it seems the 2>3 adaptor uses an extended arm, whereas the 3>4 uses a joining clamp between the top tubes of bikes 3 and 4! You're welcome to try?

 

Thanks for that. Just compared both adaptors, I don't think the extended arm will be long enough unfortunately :(

It's also already quite a challenge to locate three arms in just the right place to fit three bikes, I doubt there'll be room for a fourth arm. Presumably why they've chosen to provide a clamp from bike 3 to bike 4 instead.

Thanks for the offer though.

Roofbox are selling your adaptor for £60, so you might get a bit on Ebay for it!

 

20 hours ago, Gyp said:

As our bikes are each 22 and a bit kg and the Yeti roof is a long way from the ground with heavy bikes, I ended up getting a towbar and the folding Thule 931.

What bikes are they ? 22+kg is pretty heavy. My low-end 29" MTB is around 14kg (and enough of a challenge to lift on the roof - it's only landed on my head once).

Edited 23 February, 20179 yr by muddyboots

A brace of BMW Cruise ebikes

 

 

Bloody hell, those saddles look painful!

13 minutes ago, Llanigraham said:

Bloody hell, those saddles look painful!

 

Thin from the side but not so thin tron the top :-)

 

Surprisingly comfortable

Ok so plan B needed.

 

If I add a towbar I loose my current deal and pay £25 a month more. 

 

If the dealer fit a tow bar it will be £685 I will not get back.

 

Makes a boot hanger look a lot better value now.

Did you manage to find a rear rack that held bikes high enough to not need a lightboard? Thanks