What cycle carrier would you recommend for the car

What cycle carrier would you recommend?

  • Rear low mount

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Rear high mount

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Roof bar mount

    Votes: 6 60.0%
  • Tow bar mount

    Votes: 4 40.0%

  • Total voters
    10
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TheVDM

Regular
Location
Margate
Hi all,

As there isn't many cycle friendly places on my doorstep I plan to be driving to the woods or beech cycle routes before heading off on the bike. I've got an estate car with roof rails (not bars... yet) and no tow bar, on the other hand roof bars and a tow bar are in the pipeline to be added anyway as I plan on adding a 14-16' trailer sailor to the drive at some point.

Bare in mind I wouldn't be towing while carrying bikes, also the cost of a tow bar/roof bars won't affect my decision as they're in the pipeline to be added anyway.

What type of carrier do others prefer for ease of use?

Can roof mounted carriers be left on when not in use if they fold down? Do boot mounted carriers feel secure?
 

RickB

professional procrastinator
Location
Norn Iron
Have used a roof mounted on a couple of occasions but have had a Thule 3 bike tow bar rack for ages and its so handy to use. Prices seem a bit steep for them these days though!
 

DRHysted

Guru
Location
New Forest
When I'm towing I use a Thule roof mount (961 I think).
Not towing and with the boot loaded I use a Buzz towball carrier, where the wheels rest in troughs and a clamp holds the bike upright.
Just me using the car, I put the bike in the boot.

I strip all removable items such as pump, lights, garmin etc off the bike if it's on the roof or the rear rack. When on the roof the bike does effect the fuel economy (the rack alone does not). When the bike is on the towball rack it does get filthy, everything on the road just get sucked up onto it.

Final point if you use a roof mount make sure you find a way to remember not to go under height barriers.
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
Discovery owner here. Tow bar mounted if there's more than three bikes. Doesn't affect economy...even fully loaded off for family holidays we were still getting great mileage. Roof mounted would be a nightmare on a tall car anyway.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
If you already have a towball, go for a carrier mounted on that. Only downside is faffing around with the number plate and lights on the back. Roof mounts are fine, I use one, but that's cc os I don't have a towball and they are a bit pricey for me.
 
OP
OP
TheVDM

TheVDM

Regular
Location
Margate
I'm thinking of going for a roof mounted setup, at least I will have the option to tow at the same time if the need arises. At the moment I will only be carrying one bike and the roof mounted setup is kind of modular so I can split the cost and add extra bike mounts over time if required.

One thing I was thinking of is that the Accord has an automatic tail gate and might not be too happy if I knock the button with a rack full of bikes strapped to it, or behind it on a tow bar.

As for hight limitations, the accord is quite low to the ground, not quite as low as the Jaguar XJ40 was (but even at 28 I creaked getting in and out of that), the rails are around 1.45m off the ground and the bike is just shy of 1m tall, so the setup would be around 2.5m. So it's tall enough to make a mess at a carpark (if I forget) but should be fine for other situations.

As for the difference in MPG, the Accord isn't the most economical car I've owned (a lot better than the Jag was though:laugh:) so loosing a couple of MPG when in use won't be much of an issue.
 
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