UKC

I’d like to get a tow bar fitted to my hatchback, to accommodate a bike carrier. I could do with some help on what kind of tow bar to have fitted and what kind of carrier is right please. I’ll be carrying up to two bikes: either two mtbs, or an mtb and an electric mtb. My car has reversing sensors. I have a garage to store the carrier in when it’s not in use, but I’d still prefer a carrier with a smallish footprint if possible so that my garage / gym doesn’t get too full of crap. I’ve bought Thule before for roof mounted carriers, but it looks to be twice the price of other manufactures. Any helpful tips?

I was in the same position last April.  Wanted something that was really easy to use, that tilted so I could access the boot, didn't take up too much storage space, and finally could take the weight of e-bikes.  I looked at Witter, Wesfallia and Thule.  I ended up with the Thule Easyfold as it met my needs perfectly, but as you say it was not cheap! However, I have used it loads and have no regrets.

We  bought this one, but it's for 3/4 bikes. Cheaper than Thule and works fine. It's not much dearer than Atera's 2/3 bike rack. Roofbox seem like a good company.

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessorie...

I had one of those. If I need another towbar mounted bike rack I'll get another. 

OP: for a normal car I'd go for a detachable towbar. I had one a while back and had no issues with it.

Thanks. That Atera looks good. Has good reviews.

Is there anything I need to know about tow bars?

Ta. Yes, detachable makes sense. The only time I’d need it is for the bike carrier.  

Not sure, but probably. I don't know anything about them. That rack was for Mrs Felt's car, her idea, but as I say it's fine. I'm happier with my rear-mounting carrier on my car, a Saris Bones RS3, which is considerable easier to deploy and much less faff all round imo, but not everyone's a fan of this type of carrier.

Similar here. One of my planned uses is for my Mrs to carry her eMTB. I’d put the carrier on the car for her but she’d be taking the bike off and on. I’m after something robust and straightforward to use when securing the bike to the carrier, and those tow bar ones seem to fit the bill. I’ve previously had various carriers secured to the car by straps and I’ve never quite trusted them completely.

I’ve got a twinny one that holds two with an attachment for a third.  It tilts so you can open the boot and just drops onto the towbar.  The best thing about it is it clamps the cranks so one of the strongest bits of the bike with no risk of damage to the frame.  Having immediate and arrred for a while I wished I fitted the towbar and wrack sooner!!

I now also have a 4 bike vw carrier on my van which is great but for the lifting and slight worry clamping the frames.

hope you find a good solution

Toby

A couple of things about tow bars (I went through exactly the same process last year).

1. Check out the different types of sockets. There's basically an older standard and a new standard, you'll almost certainly get the newer one. You can get a cheap adapter if you need to plug in something from the old standard (old trailer, bike real etc.)

2. When it gets wired in the car electronics will either be smart and recognise when something is plugged in to it (bike carrier, trailer etc.) and turn off the parking sensors automatically, or you'll have to turn then off manually. On our Kia it's just a button down by the gear stick which I press when I stick it in reverse to stop the sensors going bananas. 

3. I don't know if it is ever mentioned in the UK, but you should be a bit careful with the vertical load you put on the tow hook. It's inch thick steel so it's not going to break - it's about pressing down too hard and unweighting the front wheels, which can lead to handling problems. In Germany, the permitted weight appears in your vehicle docs and you can get fined if you've overweighted the hook. This load is obviously bikes + carrier, and is car specific. A short wheelbase and light engine mean a lower permitted load than a long wheelbase heavy engined vehicle. I'm a bit sceptical about these load values given there's about a million other variables at play, but still should probably not take the piss.

4. If it's an aftermarket tow hook, there are some differences between them. If it's removable then you'll probably want it lockable (ditto bike rack should lock to car or hook). There are also different styles with a swan-neck style or more straight-out-the-back. Most will require some piece of your bumper to be cut out, but it might well be underneath and not visible. The swan neck style which go down and then up tend to need less bumper to be cut, but do reduce ground clearance a significant bit. Be careful going over speed bumps, reversing from a flat road to an upward facing driveway etc. I've not grounded it yet, but looking at it makes me nervous! 

5. I got a thule rack for 3 bikes (my bikes are light). It's fine, but not earth shattering. One of the fixing arms broke at the end which fixes to the rack (rather than the bike). I think the design there is basically flawed and have since reinforced the area with some glass fibre/epoxy which I had left over. Generally, they are a bit if a faff if you're putting on multiple bikes, you have to make sure they don't rub on each other etc. I find pipe lagging and some dense but squashable foam pieces which came in the shipping box of a canyon bike do a good job combined with some strong velcro ties. Pay attention to how far apart the bikes are on the rack - ours just about fit and we've got skinny road bikes - I don't know whether I could put three wide MTBs on there. Also, if you're planning on going to Spain or Italy you'll need an aluminium red and white striped board to mark a load outside of the area of the car. Stupidly, the pattern of the stripes required by law varies slightly between Italy and Spain, so it's worth getting a double sided board. 

Right, I think that's it - good luck! 

Thanks. That’s really helpful, potentially saved me some hassle. As my dad likes to say “nothing’s ever straightforward is it”. 
Just looked up the tow ball weight - 80kg. Will be well below that. 

I use a Maxx Raxx, takes no space to store as it's 2 piece. Quick to fit, load and remove.

There's different foot pieces depending on which towbar you do get fitted.

Mark

I've got a Buzzrack from Roofbox.co.uk, used it for about 10 years with no problems.  They seem to do ones specially recomended for e-bikes now.

The carriers have weight limits and e mtb are somewhat heavier than your regular mtb.  Check the limits of any carrier you buy.

The other thing is to look at how the bikes are secured to the carrier. If it’s a down tube clamp that’s unlikely to cope with the square down tube of an e bike.

Thanks. Good point about the clamp. 

I have one for sale if you are interested. Its a Witter but its for four bikes. It fits to a plate attached to the tow bar rather than a towing hook. I also have the tow bar kit which was for a vw passat. Not sure how interchangeable they are between different cars. I know you are after a carrier for two bikes but I always thought ours was quite tight for four bikes with more scope for rubbing etc. When you used it for just two bikes, they were better separated. I would be happy to let you have it for £100 ono. Im in Preston, Lancs

Thule every day.

3 weekends ago I was helping a mate move house and one of the items to move was a Thule 3 bike carrier that I gave him second hand 24 years ago when I quitted down hill racing. It has had loads of use and abuse and still going strong. 

I have a Thule hitch mount ... love it.  Agree - $$$.

My thoughts:

1. How long until your current car is up for replacement?  Not a cheap job to fit a tow bar ... and probably not money you'll back when you come to sell i.e. if you're putting a tow bar on a car .. do it as soon as you get the car to get your money's worth.
2. I have a detachable swan neck at present .. but have never detached it.  Some people do because they like the clean lines ... it's never bothered me.  There might be £100 saving if you can live with a permanent one.  (makes for a nice warning to other drivers while parked in super market carparks too ... they'll see your tow bar and not back into/too close to your car)
3. Garage assured me that my car would "detect" something plugged in and suppress rear parking sensors but mine never did.  I have to turn them off manually every time.  Worth also noting that your car will likely beep with the blinkers on ... if it's not beeping then you know your lights are def not working on the hitch mount.
4. Even if you only plan for 2 bikes .. I'd consider buying a 3 berth.  The bikes will rub against one another if you have them stacked tightly and the eMTB are bigger bikes.  I put sponges/rags on touch points on the bikes and hold them in place with reusable cable ties for most drives (can't undo a rub).  + Give's you space for a friend(s) to come too.
5. There is weight limits on these things.  eMTB's are much heavier than normal MTB's and you get eMTB specific carriers as a result.  Some even have ramps to help you get them up onto the carrier.
6. Got to watch out for security.  The locks these things come with are garbage.  I lock the bikes onto the hitch mount using my own lock even when driving and always when parked - 100% of the time.  I'm not even that keen on leaving them on the back of a carpark to nip in and grab something.  A highly visible lock is best so that they see and know to not bother wasting their time or more important so that they don't try, fail and damage a bike in the process.
7. Tilting rack is a must .. I wouldn't buy one without it.  I am basically guaranteed to mount the bikes and then decide I either need something out/in the boot.  Really is great!
8. Check what it's made of.  Many roads are covered in salt in the winter.  Salt will not rust aluminum .. but it will rust steel inc. steel bolts/fixings.   A splash down with a hose in winter not a bad idea before you store it.  
9. Storage is a good point.  I store mine on the wall with a set of ladder hooks - gets them right up out the way.  Ladder hooks are super cheap but with the ~20kg of most carriers ... absolutely must be bolted to a stud or you will (guaranteed) pull it off the wall with the weight.  Other point to note is that the lights are usually plastic, plastic brackets ... may or may not slide in/out i.e. are the one part of these things that could be broken.  If you were to store on the floor of the garage ... I suspect at risk of being kicked and damaged.  Once you've got it up on the ladder hooks on the wall they take up almost no space and are super safe.
10. Remember that you'll need to buy another plate before you can drive with this thing.  £13 amazon.

Last but not least ... I leave a single Thule bike rack on the roof pretty much year round and use that when riding without the family.  It's going to take you a full 20mins(?) from zero -> hitch mount on > bikes racked.  i.e. if you ride on your own at least part of the time ... you might want to keep that single on the roof for convenience.

Come back and tell us what you decide to buy.

Thanks for your thorough reply. Really helpful. Having looked into the price of tow bars I might put this off until we change my wife’s car some time next year. Point number three in your list is a worry. I’ve got very used to parking sensors on both my car and the wife’s. I once switched them off whilst parking next to a low wall when the constant beeping was getting on my wick. I then reversed into the wall. Not being stupid is the best fix for that, but I’d need to be extra careful reversing with the sensors off. 
I had got it into my head that it was a legal requirement to remove a tow bar when not using it, but it appears that I have made this up. There is a requirement to do with not obscuring the number plate.  

If you feel fancy, you could get a bike rack with reversing sensors or a retrofit kit. 

Re:  Parking Sensors

I didn't mean to make it sound like a deal breaker.  Bottom line .. parking sensor aren't going to work with the bike rack on anyway - as you rightly said, you'll need someone to help you back up.  I find myself looking for appropriate parking spots which includes me thinking about spots where others won't be clever (stupid!) enough to back into me.  

For me it's a matter of whether the sensors go nuts or they self detect and quietly mute themselves - that's all.  In my car ... the parking sensors reset after after every start/stop of the car meaning there is no risk that I leave them off.  What it does mean though is that I need to shut them up ever time I start the car with the bike rack on.  Very mildly annoying ... not a deal breaker ... good reminder that I have the bike rack on the back before I take off.

1000% not a requirement to remove your tow bar as long as your towbar does not obscure your number plate.  I've driven with one for years.  Passed every MOT with it on.

I have the Atera strada 4 bike tow bar carrier - bought from Roofbox and have used it fully loaded lots of times, never a hiccup. It is superb. I spoke to roofbox on the phone before buying as I wasn't sure which brand was the best- and the sales guy told me all I needed to know "we all personally own the Atera models" 

Excellent design and easy to tilt down and back up fully loaded with adult bikes. 

I’ve had al Altera Stada from Roofbox for 4 years now and it’s been perfect for two 23kg Ebikes. Contrary to some above observations the clamps on this model clamp square tubes perfectly and the two bikes are held with no way to rub on each other, negating the need for any packing. Both of the clamping arms are lockable as is the rack to the tow ball. It tilts and comes with lights and number plate. 

I also have a Maxxrack, excellent bit of kit and packs down really small

If you do get a towbar fitted, remember to inform your insurance company, as it's classed as a modification to the vehicle. My car already had one fitted when I bought it second hand, and happily drove it around without realising…

Didn't cost any more to insure, but it could invalidate your insurance if you don't declare it.

The modern socket is 13-pin, the older one is 7-pin.  Probably best to get 13-pin because (as you say) you can get an adaptor to allow you to plug a 7-pin light board into a 13-pin socket but (AFAIK) not the other way around.

One thing to beware of with the 13-pin socket is that some MoT stations can't test them properly.  This seems to be especially true if your car has canbus electrics, the theory being that the canbus detects the cheap crap LEDs in the not-very-cheap-but-still-not-actually-fit-for-purpose tester box as failed bulbs and cuts the circuit.

I went through this pain myself when my car failed its MoT the first time it was tested after getting the towbar fitted.  Back home I hooked up the bike carrier and tested the lights: all fine.  I called the guy who'd fitted the towbar and he told me about the issue with the testers.  Turns out there's plenty of discussion about it online, mainly on caravanner forums.  Apparently the DVSA had to issue advisory notices to MoT testers warning them that their 13-pin socket testing boxes might not work properly - though it didn't seem to give any helpful advice as to what to do if that turned out to be the case.

In my case, I took my car back to the MoT station with the bike carrier fitted to the towbar and the test technician had to admit that it worked fine, and passed it.  Through the online forums I discovered that a simpler dodge for future MoT tests is to fit a 7-pin adaptor into the 13-pin socket before you take the vehicle to be tested.  7-pin sockets don't have to be tested, and because the tester has to test the vehicle "as presented" they can't take the adaptor out to test the 13-pin circuitry.  Ain't bureaucracy wonderful?

Agree with that 

You can, we usually use the 13 pin rack on our van, another vote for the Altera Strada, but when the car came with a 7 pin tow bar, a few quid for an adapter seemed worthwhile. 

One thing we found. Due to the low sitting of our number plate the tow bar was obscuring part of it. Not a problem if you have the carrier on but technically not very legal without. We had to take it off to get the car through its MOT. (only undid the bolts. We didn't have to get it removed completly)

As others have said the Roofbox.co.uk company does seem good. I've been pleased with my Atera towbar mounted rack.

It is nice having a bit of room so if you usually carry two bike a three bike rack is nice. I don't like the 'hang on' models without wheel support.

One which slides / tilts away from the tailgate is really good (almost essential I think). Once you have parked, be careful if the ground rises up behind the car  - when sliding the rack back don't bash it into a rock with 20 or 30kg to add a bit of momentum to it. Things will bend.

Removable towbars can be a bit pricey , but well worth the extra. The tolerances are close and if you use it intermittently it might not sit properly due to grit / slight corrosion - I keep a blunt old file with  my towbar to clear the 'socket'.

The locks on the bike carriers never fill me with confidence....

Another dimension to bear in mind is the bike wheelbase.  The specs for the Atera Strada carrier linked by felt above say maximum wheelbase 120cm.  A good number of modern slack-geometry MTBs have longer wheelbases than that.  My eMTB is 125cm, for example, so I ended up going for the Thule Velospace (2x30kg bike model, with the option to expand it to take a 3rd 15kg bike) which can accommodate 130cm wheelbase bikes.  (My garage is already full of ladders hanging on the wall so ladder hooks wouldn't have helped - plus it's a fairly hefty bit of kit to hoist up - but it leans neatly out of the way when stood up on its end on the floor, so I'm happy enough with the ease of storing it when not in use).  It's far from a budget option, though...

In reply to:

Thanks again everyone. This has been very useful. I had no idea there was so much to think about. 

For the pin test; the little tester can give false readings due to the canbus.

However you can get the suitcase sized tester; which basically has an actual light setup inside, using the same actual bulbs as for your bike rack/trailer for testing. 

Not so necessary on two-bike racks, but if you are using 3x or 4x bike racks, these Fiamma extending arms (using on our Thule tow bar rack): they are just great to further help secure bike number 3 & 4; especially if you have full suss bikes loaded:

https://www.leisureoutlet.com/6299-fiamma-carry-bike-frame-adaptor?gclid=Cj... 

We also secure rack using extra straps right back to the van tow bar mount.

If you have a multimeter kicking about there is also info on the web how to test the sockets.