BIKE RACKS AND CARRIERS FOR CARS MEGATHREAD - all questions asked and answered here

scblack said:
I have come across Ecohitch from the USA for WRX - anybody use them? If it fits new model I reckon thats a great option.

Other than roof racks, is there any other options? I do have two roof rack holders with adapters as needed.
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i have a hidden hitch for the Mazda MPS. It is rated as a class 1 rack so only good for bike racks and other lighter weight things. Not for a caravan or you will be seeing it from a distance in your rear view mirror. :)

I like that it is tucked away. You can remove the receiver so you don't have a towball visible all of the time.

https://www.draw-tite.com/product/24843_class-1-trailer-hitch-2000-lbs

Although I usually end up taking Mrs Jimny which deals with roads to trailheads much better than a lower car.
 
teK-- said:
I've had both the Frontloader and the HighRoad.

Never had any issues with the Frontloader except abrasion from the rear wheel holder causes a lot of surface rust which can get unsightly.

After getting a heavier bike and seeing the Highroad, I replaced both carriers with Highroads.

They are much more sturdy and easy to use. Their design also leads to less overhang over the rear, if you have a sedan or smaller car. The cable lock system is also much better.
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The rust is a problem with the Frontloader because it's steel and not aluminium. My rear wheel holder can no longer slide back and forth because of it. I need to replace the tray. Because of this I'm looking at replacing it with a Thule Proride or similar (the Upride is a bit expensive) but I don't really like the frame attachment. Is the Rocky Mount Tomahawk or Brass Knuckles steel or aluminium?
 
Just putting it out there that I was in the hunt for a vertical rack recently and picked up a Velocirax 4-bike rack. Very impressed with the anti-wobble mechanism and rest of the rack is sturdy and well made. Pretty impressed for the price ($1200).
 
Okay I just bought a new used car so I can take my bike out. It already had a towbar on it with a locking pin but no keys so I had to drill it out. I then looked up the manufacturer which rates it at 1800/180kg towing capacity and for whatever reason clicked on the faqs page where there's a question that says "Can I use a bike carrier?" and it says the following:
"BTA Towing Equipment manufactures towbars & hitches specifically for the purpose of towing. We do not recommend the use nor do we warranty our products for use with bike carriers due to the torsional stress applied to the tongue by the bike carrier and suspended load exceeding design specifications."

I have never ever heard of this or would expect it. Is this normal? Would you still do it? (I am using just a carrier with 1 ebike)
 
mas2 said:
Okay I just bought a new used car so I can take my bike out. It already had a towbar on it with a locking pin but no keys so I had to drill it out. I then looked up the manufacturer which rates it at 1800/180kg towing capacity and for whatever reason clicked on the faqs page where there's a question that says "Can I use a bike carrier?" and it says the following:
"BTA Towing Equipment manufactures towbars & hitches specifically for the purpose of towing. We do not recommend the use nor do we warranty our products for use with bike carriers due to the torsional stress applied to the tongue by the bike carrier and suspended load exceeding design specifications."

I have never ever heard of this or would expect it. Is this normal? Would you still do it? (I am using just a carrier with 1 ebike)
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She'll be right.
 
mas2 said:
Okay I just bought a new used car so I can take my bike out. It already had a towbar on it with a locking pin but no keys so I had to drill it out. I then looked up the manufacturer which rates it at 1800/180kg towing capacity and for whatever reason clicked on the faqs page where there's a question that says "Can I use a bike carrier?" and it says the following:
"BTA Towing Equipment manufactures towbars & hitches specifically for the purpose of towing. We do not recommend the use nor do we warranty our products for use with bike carriers due to the torsional stress applied to the tongue by the bike carrier and suspended load exceeding design specifications."

I have never ever heard of this or would expect it. Is this normal? Would you still do it? (I am using just a carrier with 1 ebike)
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YOLO

I’m no engineer but I fail to see how a single bike can cause more stress than towing 1800kg
 
mas2 said:
Okay I just bought a new used car so I can take my bike out. It already had a towbar on it with a locking pin but no keys so I had to drill it out. I then looked up the manufacturer which rates it at 1800/180kg towing capacity and for whatever reason clicked on the faqs page where there's a question that says "Can I use a bike carrier?" and it says the following:
"BTA Towing Equipment manufactures towbars & hitches specifically for the purpose of towing. We do not recommend the use nor do we warranty our products for use with bike carriers due to the torsional stress applied to the tongue by the bike carrier and suspended load exceeding design specifications."

I have never ever heard of this or would expect it. Is this normal? Would you still do it? (I am using just a carrier with 1 ebike)
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No problem *


*be sure to mount rear facing dashcam and post any spectacular failures
 
mas2 said:
Okay I just bought a new used car so I can take my bike out. It already had a towbar on it with a locking pin but no keys so I had to drill it out. I then looked up the manufacturer which rates it at 1800/180kg towing capacity and for whatever reason clicked on the faqs page where there's a question that says "Can I use a bike carrier?" and it says the following:
"BTA Towing Equipment manufactures towbars & hitches specifically for the purpose of towing. We do not recommend the use nor do we warranty our products for use with bike carriers due to the torsional stress applied to the tongue by the bike carrier and suspended load exceeding design specifications."

I have never ever heard of this or would expect it. Is this normal? Would you still do it? (I am using just a carrier with 1 ebike)
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do they look more flimsy, or use shorter mounts (shorter moment arm) than other towbars?
 
oldcorollas said:
do they look more flimsy, or use shorter mounts (shorter moment arm) than other towbars?
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No not really. Looks like a normal heavy duty towbar.
1750331266693.png
 
1750335393625.png



As Ozzy says one of this style with your ebike on it would have less torque on the tow bar tongue than one of the anodized marvels below
And no one anything about loading these up with 4 bikes on a std 80s tow bar - no 50mm hitch.


1750335718677.png


BTA are protecting themselves against 150 kg of bikes, 30 kg rack and 1500mm of leverage.
1750335523137.png


So did you get the Delica?
 
I have something similar to this. Not to discount anything that people have said above, but when I watch it in the mirror as I drive, I can definitely see that it rocks from side to side a bit (there's a little bit of play between the hitch and the carrier that can't be removed), which would create torsional forces.


1750373639711.png
 
johnny said:
I have something similar to this. Not to discount anything that people have said above, but when I watch it in the mirror as I drive, I can definitely see that it rocks from side to side a bit (there's a little bit of play between the hitch and the carrier that can't be removed), which would create torsional forces.


View attachment 417988
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That’s the one I have too.
 
The 180kg is the load that the "ball" can take and only at the ball. Even putting a longer tow tongue in, lowers the rating.
Once a bike rack is added the center of gravity moved rearwards and up. You are effectively moving the "ball" away from the original position where the load is rated.
There have been a number of towbars broken by having a big bike rack on the car.
The rack itself might be rated to X amount, but the towbar won't be rated for the position of the mass.
 
latheboy said:
The 180kg is the load that the "ball" can take and only at the ball. Even putting a longer tow tongue in, lowers the rating.
Once a bike rack is added the center of gravity moved rearwards and up. You are effectively moving the "ball" away from the original position where the load is rated.
There have been a number of towbars broken by having a big bike rack on the car.
The rack itself might be rated to X amount, but the towbar won't be rated for the position of the mass.
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?
 
latheboy said:
Having said that, I still put my vertical rack on my getto towbar extension and go full send
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The rating of 1800/180kg on smaller cars is easy to state for towing as it doesn't really change apart from a loaded trailer/van, even then, a balanced loading is only adding to trailer weight and not so much towball weight as weight rear of the axle approximately evens out front weight between the axle and towball.

Where bike racks don't have the support of an axle to keep the weigh relatively stable.

Probably easier for a lot of towbar manufacturers to blanket state no bike racks due to the variable setups that can be fitted.

A simple 2 bike rack would be perfectly fine but stating that a bike rack is OK for use then someone fitting a ~50kg Singletrail shuttle rack with 5 x 20kg+ ebikes on it has the possibility to snap off $50,000 of bikes on to the road and cause an accident.

The overhang of a loaded shuttle rack makes 99% of cars using them illegal anyway, so there's a bit of common sense involved as potentially a pissed of policeman could have the bikes removed roadside and slap a fine.

FWIW, I see a bloke I know regularly arrive with a shuttle rack on his Tesla model 3 with 2-3 ebikes on it and a strap steadying the rack. I posted a pic here before. A quick BoBo looks like Tesla 3 is 1000/100kg.

EDIT: Found the pic.

Screenshot_20240220-143648.jpg
 
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