Skoda Kodiaq Scout

[linni]

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

Voodoo Bizango -  12.7Kg

Cube Access - 13.4Kg

Pendleton Junier Hanberry - 10Kg

Apollo Claw - 9Kg

Total 45.1Kg

 

 

No no, your selection is poor!

 

 - Pinarelli

- Canyon

- Specialized

- Colnago

 

Each 8,5 kg, kid`s ones even lighter, total 34 kg max.

[silver1011]

You forget, I drive a Skoda.

 

Price is higher up the priority list than weight.

[linni]

Just joking

All these 8,5 kg bikes combined cost probably more than Kodiaq.

[MrTrilby]

8 hours ago, Shevtheblue said:

Second one. It might be as design as this is the first stop/start i've had.

 

‘That’s quite normal then. Diesels need to wait for the glow plugs to preheat before the engine can try to start. When it’s really cold, that can take a few seconds. The car displays “engine starting” whilst doing that. 

[MrTrilby]

4 hours ago, silver1011 said:

Trying to look forward to the summer months already, I need some warmth!

 

Can't wait to get back out with the family on the bikes, now we have some new bikes I thought I'd better check the tow bar vertical weight limitations. All good.

 

The tow bar rating, according to the manual is 75Kg...

 

 

The carrier weighs 20Kg leaving 55Kg for the bikes themselves.

 

Voodoo Bizango -  12.7Kg

Cube Access - 13.4Kg

Pendleton Junier Hanberry - 10Kg

Apollo Claw - 9Kg

Total 45.1Kg

 

So I have around 10Kg spare which should be enough to allow for the two kids bikes to grow in size and weight as they get older.

 

Can't believe our youngest's steel bike weighs two thirds of the weight of my adult aluminium bike!

 

It’s not quite as simple as that. The 75kg is for the weight applied directly over the tow bar. A bike rack hangs back from car, so the weight isn’t directly over the tow bar. See the last paragraph of the section you posted from the manual - if the centre of gravity of the bikes on the rack is more than 30cm from the tow ball, then the maximum permitted load is reduced. 

[silver1011]

Wow, that's pretty poor.

 

By that reckoning I can't even stand on the towbar without damaging it.

 

I weigh 13 stone / 83 kilograms.

 

Hopefully they've built in quite a lot of contingency into their calculations.

[silver1011]

Just doing some rough calculations.

 

From the tow ball, 0 to 30cm, no reduction in max weight. 30cm to 60cm there is a 50% reduction in max weight.

 

That's a 1.25kg reduction for every centimetre from the 30cm point.

 

My bike rack measures 75cm from the centre of the tow ball to the furthest point (i.e. the light board).

 

75cm minus 30cm = 45cm. 45cm x 1.25Kg =  a 56.25Kg reduction.

 

That leaves me with a maximum total weight of 18.75Kg, or 75% of the towbars maximum weight.

 

The bike rack itself weighs 20Kg. So I can't even put my empty bike rack on the tow bar without exceeding its max capacity?

[MrTrilby]

5 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Just doing some rough calculations.

 

From the tow ball, 0 to 30cm, no reduction in max weight. 30cm to 60cm there is a 50% reduction in max weight.

 

That's a 1.25kg reduction for every centimetre from the 30cm point.

 

My bike rack measures 75cm from the centre of the tow ball to the furthest point (i.e. the light board).

 

75cm minus 30cm = 45cm. 45cm x 1.25Kg =  a 56.25Kg reduction.

 

That leaves me with a maximum total weight of 18.75Kg, or 75% of the towbars maximum weight.

 

The bike rack itself weighs 20Kg. So I can't even put my empty bike rack on the tow bar without exceeding its max capacity?

 

Your maths isn’t quite right. Going from 30cm to 60cm reduces the weight limit by 35kg.

35kg / 30 cm = 1.17 kg/cm reduction

 

If the centre of gravity of your bike rack is 45cm from the ball, then that is 15cm beyond 30cm.

15cm * 1.17kg/cm = 17.5kg reduction in capacity.

 

So the max load at 45cm is 75kg - 17.5kg = 57.5kg

So if your bike rack weighs 20kg, then the average weight for your bikes needs to be less than 9.4kg - an aluminium road bike is likely to be around. Carbon fibre bikes less. Mountain bikes and hybrid/city bikes are generally more.

 

But that’s all dependent on two big assumptions:  

(1) the max load scales like that between 30cm and 60cm. I’ve a feeling I’ve seen more detail on the weight limit at a distance somewhere, but might have imagined it. 

(2) the centre of gravity of your bike rack is 45cm out. It won’t necessarily be the mid point, especially if you load the heaviest bikes closest to the ball.

[MrTrilby]

Hmm, my maths is also off. Brain fade meant I thought the max load is 70kg, but it’s not - it’s 75kg. But I’m sure you get the idea. 

[silver1011]

I'm following you.

 

My calculations don't factor in any sliding scales in terms of the centre of gravity and the weight distribution etc. Looks like I might need to reach out to Skoda.

 

Doing a little more digging. Skoda sell their own Skoda branded Thule 2-bike rack, part number 000 071 105C.

 

It is the Thule 941005 EuroRide.

 

The bike carrier itself weighs 15Kg and extends 58cm from the centre of the tow ball.

 

Using the same calculations as above...

 

58cm minus 30cm = 28cm. 28cm x 1.25Kg = a 35Kg reduction.

 

75Kg - 35Kg = 40Kg.

 

The bike rack weighs 15Kg which leaves 25kg for the bikes.

 

My two adult bikes, both aluminium...

 

Voodoo Bizango - 12.7Kg

Cube Access - 13.4Kg

Total = 26.1Kg

 

So even if I left the two kids at home and took just the wife, I still can't put two bikes on the back of my Kodiaq, using the genuine Skoda factory fitted tow bar and genuine Skoda bike carrier.

 

I must be missing something.

 

   

 

 

Edited 4 February, 2019 by silver1011

[MrTrilby]

Extending 58cm from the tow ball means the far end of the bike rack is 58cm away. The centre of gravity will be much closer to the tow ball. 

[silver1011]

If that's the case then Skoda really ought to add this additional information to the owner's manual.

 

My calculations are based on the information provided in the manual and don't make allowances for the centre of gravity etc.

 

If anyone has a source for more detailed information I'd be grateful if they could share it. Guess I'll need to ring Skoda tomorrow.

[MrTrilby]

2 hours ago, silver1011 said:

If that's the case then Skoda really ought to add this additional information to the owner's manual.

 

My calculations are based on the information provided in the manual and don't make allowances for the centre of gravity etc.

 

If anyone has a source for more detailed information I'd be grateful if they could share it. Guess I'll need to ring Skoda tomorrow.

 

I don’t follow. It is in the manual, on the page you posted. The final paragraph where it says “if the distance of the centre of gravity...”

[Ootohere]

?

Is the Towbar rating 75kg when the Nose Weight is 80kg?

[silver1011]

I wasn't clear, I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not sure where the centre of gravity is, when the bike rack is attached and loaded with four bikes. It is therefore very difficult for me to be able to accurately calculate whether or not I'm overloading my tow bar.

 

Given the fact that simply by standing on the tow bar (I weigh 82Kg) , I'd be overloading it, then there is little hope of my bike rack being adequately supported.

 

Ultimately, the limited information Skoda have provided makes it very difficult for their customers to work out what's what.

[silver1011]

 

It would help if the terminology Skoda use in the manual matched the terminology in their technical specifications brochure.

 

I'm assuming "Maximum Trailer Load" and "Trailer Operation", as highlighted here (i.e. where the 75Kg is derived from)...

 

 

Is the same as "Nose Weight"...

 

 

In which case there is a difference of 5Kg.

 

[Ootohere]

Assumption is the mother of all F-***k-ups.   

 

So one must always check and be sure.  Very relevant if your load is all over the carriageway.

[silver1011]

I'm open to suggestions on how best to determine the CoG of my fully laden bike carrier.

[Yogi-Bear]

2 hours ago, silver1011 said:

I'm open to suggestions on how best to determine the CoG of my fully laden bike carrier.

 

Is it an African or a European fully laden bike carrier?

 

[SuperbTWM]

With a caravan on the back with a nose weight of 75Kgs you are going to see probably double and triple that as you go over bumps and all the weight shifts about.

 

I don't think a few bikes are going to worry it.

 

 

[silver1011]

The child seat mats arrived, they seem really good quality, well padded.

 

Not sure what the little tab at the back is for, presumably it tucks between the seat base and backrest to stop the mat from sliding off the seat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kenny R]

That’s exactly what the little tab is for, the full size seat protectors I got from Amazon have the same tab. I found you need to tip the backrest forward to feed the tab through the gap.

[silver1011]

Got them fitted just now, nice fit and well thought through, allowing easy access to the ISOFIX points...

 

 

 

 

 

[silver1011]

Interesting, I was looking back through the old manuals, a version of the manual from 2017 (05/2017) showed a pictorial...

 

 

Every manual published since then has this slightly different information...

 

 

Half of 75Kg (@ 60cm) = 37.5Kg.

 

The older manual has a limit of 35Kg @ 60cm.

 

Edited 10 February, 2019 by silver1011

[MrTrilby]

I knew I'd seen a more useful diagram somewhere! You can calculate an approximate centre of gravity for your bike rack simply by assuming it's half its length. It makes some assumptions about the weight of your bikes and where the heavy bits of your rack are, but assuming you follow the bike rack instructions and load heaviest bike closest to the car then it should err on the safe side and be ok.

 

It's what I did. My bikes are lighter than yours, but I've yet to have any issues after carrying 3 or 4 bikes on a towball mounted bike rack, and that's using it 3 or 4 times a week for the past 4 years or so over at least 60k miles.