Bike racks - help a non-cyclist out!

[rainbowboots]

Hi all
My husband and son are very keen cyclists, and I am hoping to get my husband a bike rack for Christmas, so us and the bikes can travel more.

Any recommendations of good bike racks please? Is there anything that I should be looking for? We'd probably like one which goes on the back of the car, as we already have a full width roofbox for camping/beach equipment. My husband has a Boardman gravel bike, and we have two kids who are 12 and 7 with appropriately sized bikes!

Travelling leads me on to my next question... What does everyone do with their bikes while camping? Do many campsites have cycle storage, and if so how do you find them? Can you lock them onto the bike rack? What if you need to go somewhere without the bikes, or what do you do overnight?

Thank you for any help you can give... I want to make sure I get it right ☺️

 

[13 rider]

Make and model of car will help with recommendation ,Do you have a tow bar ?

 

[ColinJ]

Make and model of car will help with recommendation ,Do you have a tow bar ?

Those tow bar mounted ones are good!

I never trust locks so even if it is possible to lock bikes to the rack, I would be worried about the locks being cut off if bikes were left unattended for long. I would lock the bikes in the car!

 

[rainbowboots]

Make and model of car will help with recommendation ,Do you have a tow bar ?

Eek yes! Sorry! Vauxhall Zafira

 

[roadrash]

I can only recommend the rack that have experience of , Saris Bones.. Saris: Know No Bounds | Bike Racks & Bike Trainers | Saris had no problems at all.

 

[Mike_P]

It will need a reg plate and car indicator / brake lights added on to be road legal with the necessary cabling and external socket added to the car if you do not already have such.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What country are you in, which countries do you camp in?

 

[Lookrider]

Regarding securing bikes with a rack
I heard tale from friend of friend so I have no idea how true it is but this is it

If your bikes are insured it may be via house insurance and away from house policy
So " unbelievable" if you secure your bikes inside the car as opposed to locked onto the rack outside
Your home insurance of the bikes may be void whilst inside the car .. as they are now under the car insurance and unlikely to be covered if robbed
If there secured outside on a rack outside they car then they are still covered under the home and away type insurance ...even though they are less secure on the rack as opposed to inside the car
If this is true ....its mad

I cannot help with your choice as mine are a roof rack
If you select a tail gate type as well as the extras you need to buy you will also loose the use of the tailgate door as usually the bikes are in the way of open/close
Your at the correct place for advice so hopefully you will choose a rack wisely

 

[13 rider]

Thule racks would be my recommendation not cheap but great quality

 

[PaulSB]

Regarding securing bikes with a rack
I heard tale from friend of friend so I have no idea how true it is but this is it

If your bikes are insured it may be via house insurance and away from house policy
So " unbelievable" if you secure your bikes inside the car as opposed to locked onto the rack outside
Your home insurance of the bikes may be void whilst inside the car .. as they are now under the car insurance and unlikely to be covered if robbed
If there secured outside on a rack outside they car then they are still covered under the home and away type insurance ...even though they are less secure on the rack as opposed to inside the car
If this is true ....its mad

I cannot help with your choice as mine are a roof rack
If you select a tail gate type as well as the extras you need to buy you will also loose the use of the tailgate door as usually the bikes are in the way of open/close
Your at the correct place for advice so hopefully you will choose a rack wisely

The comments on insurance are true. I discussed it directly with the insurer. If my bike is inside the car and the bike is stolen from the car it's not covered. If the car is stolen with the bike inside, no cover.

If the bike is locked to a rack I have cover in both cases. The cover requires the bike to be locked to an immovable object...............so then I guess we discuss whether a parked car is an immovable object or not?

 

[Mike_P]

What if it was locked to an anchorage point; would that be considered the same as being locked to an external rack? The anchorage point being equally unmovable.

 

[Lookrider]

The comments on insurance are true. I discussed it directly with the insurer. If my bike is inside the car and the bike is stolen from the car it's not covered. If the car is stolen with the bike inside, no cover.

If the bike is locked to a rack I have cover in both cases. The cover requires the bike to be locked to an immovable object...............so then I guess we discuss whether a parked car is an immovable object or not?
[/QUOTE

Did you happen to discuss this sane scenario on a BIKE ONLY type specialist insurance
It's crazy how the out of sight security is undermeaned by the insurance under writer's ....I still take my bikes from roof rack and put them in carbif we are out for an hour or two away from the car

 

[PaulSB]

What if it was locked to an anchorage point; would that be considered the same as being locked to an external rack? The anchorage point being equally unmovable.

No idea as I didn't ask. It has occurred to me though. I can't say I've ever worried about theft and there's more chance of my garage being broken in to than my car.

 

[gasinayr]

I had a Zafira for years, used a Thule 9104 boot rack, brilliant very stable even with three bikes on. rack cannot be removed without opening the hatchback which is good. For securing bikes I used a long steel cable from pets at home, loped through the bikes then inside rear doors and joined inside car. then doors closed.

 

[Big T]

Regarding campsites. We take our bikes away with us whilst camping in our Campervan. Not many campsites have secure cycle storage. Many campsites are in rural, even remote locations where bike theft isn’t a problem. In this case, we usually lock our bikes to a tree or fence at the campsite and, so far, we’ve not had a problem. Campsites that are on the edge of towns do sometimes have secure cycle storage, but not always. One that I know of, is the Clumber Park Caravan Club site. This is not far from Worksop and bike theft is a problem, so they have a secure metal shed that can only be accessed using your barrier key.

Another site that has a bike theft problem is Ferry Meadows, on the edge of Peterborough. This one doesn’t have any secure storage. What we do here is lock our bikes to the rack on the back of our van, using the locking mechanisms that come with the rack. We also lock them with 2 or 3 sturdy bike locks to the rack. Most Bike thefts occur at night, and we would hear anyone trying to tamper with the locks, bikes or rack. The bikes that get nicked tend to be those that aren’t locked at all, or are only locked with flimsy locks, in my experience. We don’t take our best bikes either - usually either winter bikes or touring bikes.