Which bike carrier?

[Beefbeefbeef]

Fellas

Anyone got a recommendation for a rear bike carrier?

My spare wheel is rear mounted so I need something with a bit of clearance. I do have a tow bar if that helps....

Cheers

BBB

 

[SimonD]

ISI in Oz make the best rack I've seen. Wait 12 months and the Aussie dollar will drop a fair amount. http://www.isi-carriers.com/customers/isi-bicycle-carrier-customers.html

 

[clivehorridge]

IMO it depends how much you're going to use it, how many bikes you want to carry (how heavy they are) and how much you want to pay.

Occasional w/e trips with one to three bikes can be done with a tow ball clamping carrier. It's a sort of scissor action where spreading the top bike hangers clamps the bottom end onto the tow ball. It all locks into place with a catch and it's lockable with a padlock. Easy on, easy off and not too big to carry / stow off the car.

If you need to carry more bikes, say up to 5, then you need something more substantial. I've seen a beaut for sale in the US and want to get one. It has a "spine" made from steel square rolled hollow section that fits into a standard receiver and bike "trays" that slide onto the spine.

It's all held together with spring clipped pins and is very strong. I'll post a link if I can find it.

 

[ModelMakerMan]

You can get ones that attach to the rear mounted spare wheel. Ive been thinking of making one that fits like that for my 70 series.

 

[clivehorridge]

http://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/...aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

There's also a video on U-lube of it being assembled.
PS ignore that price, all the parts are individually priced and it's quite expensive for a 5 bike version. Looks well made though.
Like!

 

[sae70]

Why do you need a special carrier if you already have a spare?! You just add additional weight that's not required! About 15/20KG in my experience and how often will it get used?!

Just ratchet strap the biks straight against the spare wheel

when you offer the bike up to the spare, make sure that the peddle that's against the spare is at the top of it's stroke and use this to hang the bike from off of the spare then just ratchet strap the bike against the tyre Then the same with the next bike, but hang that bike off of the first with its peddle and so on

This is the only photo I can find of what I'm describing, but it gives an idea. When all the bikes are on I normally run a safety strap vertically through all of the bikes and around the top of the spare if that makes sense, not shown in this photo The whole lot becomes as solid as a rock, not all wobbly and cumbersome as an imported lump of steel for ££££££

 

[clivehorridge]

That's OK with the kiddie bikes, but I wouldn't want to hang 3 or 4 DH bikes like that at €3K a piece! I have a receiver in the spare swing-out carrier and mount 2 bikes off it. Any more would be too heavy IMO. The DHs weigh in at 26+ kg each.

I can carry more all mountain or x-country bikes, they're more like 12kg each.

 

[AndyCook]

I used a pendle carrier. Two arms fit on receiver that bolts between towbar and tow bar ball. The arms have bend so cleat tbe spare wheel

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Cheers all.

Clive I had a look at one of those tow ball mounted carriers by Thule today but when I tried it on there wasn't enough clearance to sit upright behind the spare wheel - it could potentially have fitted if I had removed the spare wheel cover but that's a pain in the backside to do each time. Do you know if there's one that does fit the 120?

 

[sae70]

Horses for courses of course

When I retired 7 years ago I sold my share of my push bike business to my business partner after many years of selling bikes of all sizes and prices, we were a dealer for Seven among others. I've handled and fitted many a rear bike carrier over the years and found them all to be a compromise to be fair! It is true that if mounting a carrier from off of the spare then most would only carry three bikes although I do seem to remember a four bike spare wheel bike carrier. For me though £3k bike or not a good ratchet strap against the spare works well with no fuss. The trouble with a tow bar mounted carrier is access to the rear compartment without having to remove all the bikes and the carrier! The best option for a number of bikes is to roof mount them with the front wheels removed, although at one of the county bike shows we used to have a regular stand at I did see a chap in a Renault Esapce destroy not only the Espace, but about £10ks worth of road bikes driving under a football goal without the net on!!! For me, if I had 3 or 4 £3k bikes I'd want them inside my vehicle in a special upright mount secured through the front forks with the wheels removed

 

[clivehorridge]

Cheers all.

Clive I had a look at one of those tow ball mounted carriers by Thule today but when I tried it on there wasn't enough clearance to sit upright behind the spare wheel - it could potentially have fitted if I had removed the spare wheel cover but that's a pain in the backside to do each time. Do you know if there's one that does fit the 120?

The simple answer is no, I don't know, but the one I have doesn't fit either! I use a ball hitch on a receiver in the centre of the spare wheel.

One of the problems these days is that frame shapes vary so much from the old fashioned triangular frame which almost always had a horizontal cross bar. A two-pronged carrier is very limited these days. That's why many carriers now use trays that carry bikes in the upright position on their wheels.

Steve's obviously got a point too that expensive bikes are better protected inside, or on the roof. For longer trips I carry mine on the roof, but it's a fag getting them up and down at each end of the day!

Sorry I can't help with the 120 specific questions.

 

[clivehorridge]

The downside of the tow ball type is that over time they start to lose their grip. I've cured that by drilling and bolting mine through the ball, but I don't use a trailer so I haven't compromised the towing ball performance.

What type of bikes and how many do you intend to carry?

 

[froggy Steve]

How about a small trailer, that way you can store all the gear too? My pal runs a Triathlon training thing and collects folk and their cycles from the airport with one. Works well.
Steve

 

[Gary Stockton]

Don't know if you get Hanler Products carriers in the UK but they're outstanding - all sorts of variants and been making them for about 25yrs IIRC

 

[Lorin]

Have a look at the land rover discovery tow bar mounted carrier (yes I know!!!). It sweeps out to miss a spare carried on the back. They can usually be found on eBay.

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

The downside of the tow ball type is that over time they start to lose their grip. I've cured that by drilling and bolting mine through the ball, but I don't use a trailer so I haven't compromised the towing ball performance.

What type of bikes and how many do you intend to carry?

A couple of adult bikes, possibly one kids bike. The other nipper isn't cycling - yet.

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Have a look at the land rover discovery tow bar mounted carrier (yes I know!!!). It sweeps out to miss a spare carried on the back. They can usually be found on eBay.

Any particular make? Or is it LR branded (yikes!)?

 

[clivehorridge]

How about a small trailer, that way you can store all the gear too? My pal runs a Triathlon training thing and collects folk and their cycles from the airport with one. Works well.
Steve

Actually Steve that's my plan B that rapidly appears to becoming plan A!

An 'engineering' friend of mine is nagging me about a low sided tray trailer with bike trays bolted to the floor, corner pillars and luggage racks slung over the bikes and an optional roof attachment... Blah, blah...!

Trouble is it does sound fun and with a little more 'engineering' it could end up doubling as a camper trailer complete with kitchen sink and cupboards under!

We'll see what happens.

 

[clivehorridge]

Any particular make? Or is it LR branded (yikes!)?

is it green & oval shaped?

 

[clivehorridge]

A couple of adult bikes, possibly one kids bike. The other nipper isn't cycling - yet.

My guess is the ball type will probably do you for two and a half bikes, if you can get the cranked version to get past the spare. With a spacer or two on the hitch mount, you're probably half way there with a straight one.

That's the nice thing about a receiver mount, you can choose how far in or out you set the hitch.