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Cycle Carrying advice

Passion, instruction, buying, care, maintenance and more, any form of vehicle discussion is welcome here
Rover110
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Cycle Carrying advice

#323225

Postby Rover110 » July 2nd, 2020, 11:16 am

I want to drive to various places where we might cycle (it's too hilly locally) so we are looking to carry our 3 cycles on our car. (2 adult bikes and one for our almost-7-year-old).
I would appreciate any advice from those who carry their bikes on a car.

The current car is a 2009 Honda Jazz. It does not currently have a towbar. It has been reliable to date, but it is hard enough fitting our son's bike in the boot.
    • Roof-mounting options sound too difficult for us (I might manage it the lifting, but what if my wife wants to take our son without me?)
    • Rear-mounting options will obscure the numberplate so a "lighting board" will be needed. As that needs a socket, some work would be needed to the car. Is this something a reasonably-competent DIYer can do himself or is it best left to a garage?
    • Towbar-mounting also needs work done to the car. I have seen advertisements claiming this is the best long-term solution.
If we go for a towbar (which is my current favourite)
• Any advice on finding somewhere to install a towbar?
• is a flange-mounting carrier better than ball-mounting?
• Should we go for a removable towbar?
All advice welcome.

- Rover (who used to carry a single bike flat on the roof-rack of my previous car, but that was many years ago)

didds
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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323256

Postby didds » July 2nd, 2020, 1:00 pm

something like this shoudmntn obscure a regn plate and lights (unless the lights are somehow towards the roof of the vehicle along the sides?)
the bikes are high enough to avoid it

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-r ... gLDiPD_BwE

didds

richlist
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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323258

Postby richlist » July 2nd, 2020, 1:06 pm

Make sure any rear rack is suitable for your make and model before you buy. There are some vehicles that you cannot fit a rear rack onto ......I'm thinking of a Range Rover Evoque.

Mike88
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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323262

Postby Mike88 » July 2nd, 2020, 1:27 pm

I have tried your three alternatives. A roof mount is simply back breaking as getting bikes up there is difficult and back breaking; a boot mounted rack ends up scratching the car and is a right hassle especially if you need access to the boot although the number plate obscuring issue is not a problem as you can tie on a spare plate. A towball mounted rack is brilliant. It's an expensive alternative but far better in the long run.

didds
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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323303

Postby didds » July 2nd, 2020, 4:25 pm

Mike88 wrote:I have tried your three alternatives. A roof mount is simply back breaking as getting bikes up there is difficult and back breaking; a boot mounted rack ends up scratching the car and is a right hassle especially if you need access to the boot although the number plate obscuring issue is not a problem as you can tie on a spare plate. A towball mounted rack is brilliant. It's an expensive alternative but far better in the long run.



agree with all of that though persoanlly I've never owned a vehicle young enough to worry about scratches :-)

didds

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323382

Postby AF62 » July 2nd, 2020, 8:14 pm

Mike88 wrote:I have tried your three alternatives. A roof mount is simply back breaking as getting bikes up there is difficult and back breaking; a boot mounted rack ends up scratching the car and is a right hassle especially if you need access to the boot although the number plate obscuring issue is not a problem as you can tie on a spare plate. A towball mounted rack is brilliant. It's an expensive alternative but far better in the long run.


I have tried the first two, and would agree with Mike88 but would also add -

- Roof mounted - As they are out of sight you do tend to worry if they are still there! And then there is always the concern that you might drive into a multi-storey car park forgetting they were there...

- Rear mounted - Some cars I used had glass going up to the edge of the hatchback so there was always the concern you would break it. Even those which were metal didn't seem to have been designed to have all that weight on it so you had to arrange the rack so it took the weight on the bumper, but then that was plastic, so... And then they had a tendency to swing around unless you tied them down really securely, and if you did then you were really conscious of the weight on the back of the car.

I never got as far as the towball option, as I had stopped cycling by then.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323471

Postby gvonge » July 3rd, 2020, 10:24 am

Another vote for a towbar fixing here.

One point worth noting. If your car has rear sensors, make sure you can turn them off.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323481

Postby tikunetih » July 3rd, 2020, 11:15 am

On my previous car, which I bought nearly new, I had a removal towbar fitted from the off and used it with a top-flight towbar-mounted tilting rack. It all worked superbly, travelling into Europe on multi-week trips with it, and the high cost was amortised over a dozen years of usage.

On an '09 car I'd be looking to absolutely minimise the expense of the towbar installation, so as basic a setup as you can get away with - simply not worth the cost of a removal bar. Still worth buying a decent rack though, if you have the budget, as you'll be able to use this on your next vehicle one day.

Towbar mounted racks are definitely the way to go if you think your usage justifies the expense and you've somewhere to store the rack (newer models now often fold up, so easier to store). They are very convenient and quick to use, encouraging regular usage, and secure in operation - unlike some of the alternatives which seem a right PITA.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323823

Postby richlist » July 5th, 2020, 9:11 am

I find taking the front wheel off and putting the bike in the vehicle is by far the cheapest and easiest option.
But it doesn't work if you have to take 3 bikes.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#323838

Postby Mike4 » July 5th, 2020, 10:20 am

richlist wrote:I find taking the front wheel off and putting the bike in the vehicle is by far the cheapest and easiest option.
But it doesn't work if you have to take 3 bikes.

I find the best option is to drive a van or pickup truck. Plenty about nowadays with 'car' standards of comfort and luxury. Mine is a Mercedes Vito Dualiner. 5 seats and space for bikes. Fast, quiet and comfortable.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#326102

Postby HillManMill » July 14th, 2020, 4:36 pm

I have had:
*Towbar Mounted - Pendle required a flange type towbar. The mount comprised 2 L shaped steel bars that dropped into a metal block sandwiched between the plate and tow ball. The bikes were held by their wheels in carriers rather like thin spectacles. The design worked for a number of years
but looked a little scruffy.
*Towbar Mounted - Thule another another rack that held bikes upright by their wheels. Great Thule quality.
* Roof Rack Mounted - Thule. shaped Allloy rail with arm that clamped around the down tube of the bike.

With a towbar solution you are putting a heavy load on the rear suspension. This is because the load of the bikes and rack is BEHIND the back of the car so for a for a smaller car like the Jazz I would go for a roof mounted solution. When its just your wife and child using the car/bikes why not take the wheels off the adult bike and put it in the car and then carry the child's bike on the roof.

I appreciate that Thule stuff is expensive but it is good quality, works well and is durable. So if you can afford it go for thule. You may be able to reduce costs by buying a second hand roof rack on to which the bike carriers are mounted. Use the roof rack selector on Thule or rack suppliers sites to work out exactly which component numbers you need. Also work out if you can fit slightly over length bars [you often can] this enables you to mount the bikes nearer the sides of the roof for easier loading. You can also buy a small collapsible plastic stool to stand one when loading.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328203

Postby Rover110 » July 23rd, 2020, 2:05 pm

Thanks very much to those who contributed.

We had a towbar fitted and bought a Thule bike carrier. We bought it as a package so we could be sure they would work together. The supplier was very helpful and showed us how to attach / remove the carrier, and how to load our bikes. Loading is a bit fiddly / time-consuming but the bikes are firmly attached.

Even though the bike carrier tilts, the rear door of the Jazz won't open. It's a minor inconvenience but we can live with it.

We have just been out on our first family cycle trip - round the perimeter of the local airfield. Freedom at last!

- Rover

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328489

Postby Wizard » July 24th, 2020, 5:00 pm

Appreciate the OP has a solution now, but having read this thread only yesterday I saw this option for the first time on the M4 today...

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/talon

Seems a bit expensive, but for some cars it may mean it is possible to carry bikes when it would otherwise have been impossible (if I knew how to post an image on to this site I would add one showing an example from their website, but I can't crack the technology...)

However, as I have a pick-up I tend to use the front wheel over the tailgate option.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328516

Postby Mike88 » July 24th, 2020, 7:01 pm

Wizard wrote:Appreciate the OP has a solution now, but having read this thread only yesterday I saw this option for the first time on the M4 today...

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/talon

Seems a bit expensive, but for some cars it may mean it is possible to carry bikes when it would otherwise have been impossible (if I knew how to post an image on to this site I would add one showing an example from their website, but I can't crack the technology...)

However, as I have a pick-up I tend to use the front wheel over the tailgate option.


The link relates to a one bike carrier. The original poster needs a rack for three bikes.

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328529

Postby Wizard » July 24th, 2020, 7:58 pm

Mike88 wrote:
Wizard wrote:Appreciate the OP has a solution now, but having read this thread only yesterday I saw this option for the first time on the M4 today...

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/talon

Seems a bit expensive, but for some cars it may mean it is possible to carry bikes when it would otherwise have been impossible (if I knew how to post an image on to this site I would add one showing an example from their website, but I can't crack the technology...)

However, as I have a pick-up I tend to use the front wheel over the tailgate option.


The link relates to a one bike carrier. The original poster needs a rack for three bikes.

They do a three bike version, see link below, but as the OP already has a rack now I was not specifically trying to answer his question, just highlight a type not previously mentioned.

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/b ... cts/bomber

servodude
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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328548

Postby servodude » July 25th, 2020, 2:43 am

Wizard wrote:
Mike88 wrote:
Wizard wrote:Appreciate the OP has a solution now, but having read this thread only yesterday I saw this option for the first time on the M4 today...

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/talon

Seems a bit expensive, but for some cars it may mean it is possible to carry bikes when it would otherwise have been impossible (if I knew how to post an image on to this site I would add one showing an example from their website, but I can't crack the technology...)

However, as I have a pick-up I tend to use the front wheel over the tailgate option.


The link relates to a one bike carrier. The original poster needs a rack for three bikes.

They do a three bike version, see link below, but as the OP already has a rack now I was not specifically trying to answer his question, just highlight a type not previously mentioned.

https://www.seasucker.com/collections/b ... cts/bomber


Interesting product; looks like a neat and compact solution.
Wonder if you can also use it to fix the dents in the roof of your Maclaren from missing the mount points when putting your bike up? ;)

-sd

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Re: Cycle Carrying advice

#328559

Postby richlist » July 25th, 2020, 7:54 am

I'd be rather wary about using that on cars with aluminium panels.


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