bike carriers

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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Alfie180
Posts: 1
Joined: 9 Apr 2021, 4:34pm

bike carriers

Post by Alfie180 »

I would like to get a bike carrier to take my ebike out to different places and research suggests that I need a tow ball mounted platform carrier to ensure it will take the weight. As this will involve quite alot of cost a) getting a towball fitted to the car and b) the actual bike carriers even for one or two bikes seem quite expensive, I would like to try one out in the sense of... I need to know if I can fit the carrier to the towball on my own and then that I can lift the bike onto the carrier and secure it to my satisfaction. Several years back I purchased a witter carrier for my then non e bike and found it hard to fit securely to the towball and it was an expensive mistake. Some places will fit the carrier to the car but only after you have purchased it and had a towball fitted. Anyone know of anywhere that will let you have the different models out of the box before your purchase.
Jdsk
Posts: 24630
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: bike carriers

Post by Jdsk »

Have you already checked the approved weight for your car? Some of them are now surprisingly low.

Jonathan
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5814
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: bike carriers

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Very surprised if a towball carrier is essential weight wise.

Given you can get multiple bikes on roof mounted or rear mounted carriers, a single ebike doesn't seem excessive? Particularly if you remove battery for weight.
Jdsk
Posts: 24630
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: bike carriers

Post by Jdsk »

Recent discussion of weight, approval and registration checkers for compatibility:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=144586&hilit=ebike+carrier

Jonathan
audaxjk
Posts: 155
Joined: 2 Mar 2020, 4:45pm

Re: bike carriers

Post by audaxjk »

Hi Alfie

I'm surprised to hear of your difficulties the first time around. I had a non-dealer detachable towbar fitted to my car and put a cheap Decathlon towball mounted rack on for my bikes. Securing the rack on the towball is really straightforward.
What was the issue causing problems? Was it tightening the rack on the towball? Some of the more expensive racks get around this by having a lever option, making life really easy.
Just checking that you didn't confuse towball mounted with towbar mounted at the time as they are not cross-compatible.
I note that you said that it was an expensive mistake, not sure whether that was the cost of the tow bar or the rack itself. If you know people/friends who are caravaners, ask them for recommendations of reputable non-dealer towbar fitters. We did this and we were given good advice/reassurance re: fitting of bike racks. In addition, it was about 75% cheaper (£250 vs £1000)!!

I don't know where you can try before you buy, but try internet searching bike suppliers close to where you live.
Hope that is of some help.
Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: bike carriers

Post by Oldjohnw »

I wonder if by the time you need an ebike - because of a health or mobility issue or mere age or both - you are possibly well unable to lift a heavy bike onto a car roof. I certainly couldn't.
John
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5814
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: bike carriers

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Oldjohnw wrote: 9 Apr 2021, 5:38pm I wonder if by the time you need an ebike - because of a health or mobility issue or mere age or both - you are possibly well unable to lift a heavy bike onto a car roof. I certainly couldn't.

I thought the same, hence mentioned rear mounted too.

Thule 3 bike rack is rated for 45kgs. Bike max 15kgs. I can't imagine it would be unsafe for a single e bike even if >> 15kgs.

https://www.thule.com/en-gb/bike-rack/t ... 3-_-968001
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531colin
Posts: 16083
Joined: 4 Dec 2009, 6:56pm
Location: North Yorkshire

Re: bike carriers

Post by 531colin »

Friend of mine has a ramp to get his E bike onto the bike carrier...maybe this...https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/loading-r ... get%201500
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TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: bike carriers

Post by TrevA »

The problem with a roof mounted rack is getting the bike up there. As a 6ft2in burly bloke, I sometimes struggle to get my MTB, my touring bike or my wife’s hybrid onto our roof rack. I suppose you could take the battery off the ebike which would help a bit.

A tow all mounted rack is certainly expensive, but you only have to lift the bike a foot or so off the ground. The best solution if you car is big enough and you don’t need to carry much else, is to put the bike inside the car.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
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Grumpy-Grandad
Posts: 69
Joined: 2 Apr 2021, 11:25am
Location: Crewe, Cheshire

Re: bike carriers

Post by Grumpy-Grandad »

I very recently bought a Thule towball mounted carrier for 2 ebikes.

I am disabled but manage to put it onto the car ok and get the bikes onto it.

I bought from Halfords at a discount but you can see it here:

https://www.thule.com/en-gb/bike-rack/t ... -_-927002/
Steve
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