Hi All,
I found these carriers a few months ago and it just ticked all the boxes for me (after a few modifications - but I'm really particular and customise everything).
Firstly, build quality, carrying, usability and customer service are first class. I had mine delivered next day which was ahead of expectations and George was really great in making sure everything was sorted before and after. He was also willing to help and provide input on my proposed mods.
The design and construction of this is top notch. It's really simple, excellently executed and has addressed the problem of rear bike carrying exceptionally well. Once the hoops are aligned its on and off super easy, set and forget as I dont carry different bikes often. As you can see I have the 4x4x2 and the fold down is simple, smooth and solid.
It was an added bonus that the design, engineering and manufacturing is a great example of Aussie excellence and international success. These guys should really get more recognition and business. I would put this up there as the best bike rack on the market internationally. As I said I am picky on my gear and have scoured the net for the perfect solution for me and this is just superb.
I had a unique requirement for my bike carrier though as I dont have a garage so I was expressly looking for something modular that I could dismantle and store in the boot. This fit the bill or more accurately given the design I knew I could make it work with a bit of tinkering (I note that some find this a bit clunky because it's fixed cross beam so this may help).
My first step was to cut the cross member in half which wasn't too hard obviously but I wanted to ensure I retained the security of two contact/retention points and that I didn't lose the rigidity that the complete pole provides.
To do this I drilled a 10mm hole through the inner beam and outer sleeve to fit the 10mm retention pins I had. A bit of paint to seal the bare metal and it was another easy fix.
George also recommened to weld an insert inside the beam on one side as well. The insert will extends out and fit flush inside the other half when mounted providing additional integrity for any loss of stiffness caused by cutting the beam in half. I haven't done this yet but I will soon. For any significant off-roading I'll just get another complete cross beam to restore the factory stiffess.
Given the chat here about lights and plate visibility I also got a motorcycle light/plate setup off ebay for $20. This mounted to the back of the main strut pretty easily and the cables run inside the and out the bottom to the trailer plug. Now I have a visible plate that's illuminated at night and visible lights out the back. No compliance issues with the Police here, don't need that hassle. Just a note Victorian regulations state the lights need to be visible from 50m (brakes) and 20m (indicators), they don't say they need to be at the corners of the vehicle.
Regarding security I have wrapped a kryptonite cable lock wrapped around the main strut. This is long enough to secure my bikes and lock it to where you would normally secure the trailer chain. You can also just lock the rack if you want. Not fool proof obviously but it helps opportunistic theft and allows me to go to the shops without stressing.
Thoughts for improvements? Well apart from the mods I made I think potentially having one upright would work well enough. If that one upright could hinge left and right that would be cool too as you lie it down when no bikes are mounted and allow rear door access without folding the rack down or taking the upright off. Not a deal breaker but I'd be interested to see how this would work in practice. To be clear I'm talking about a 1% potential improvement here.
Knowing everything I know I would absolutely buy this again and totally recommend for all. Comparing price they'e actually really affordable too. Two thule roof mounted pro racks would cost about the same. Compared to a thule tray rack this is cheaper and much sturdier, better departure angles (no scraping) and this will undoubtedly last you longer.
Sorry about the ramble but the above submissions helped me and I figured my tweaks and findings may in turn help others.