View Full Version : Mounting bike on rear of car
Mounting bike on rear of car
Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda Aerodeck),
on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and easily deforms when pressed. Some of the mounts
I've seen advertised seem to depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of the plastic
bumper - or am I mistaken? Thanks for advice
--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
"Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an
estate
> style Honda Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic
and
> easily deforms when pressed. Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem
to
> depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of the plastic
bumper - or
> am I mistaken? Thanks for advice
> --
> M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
>
>
IMHO the ONLY way to go is with a towbar mounted carrier (yes, I know you need a towbar fitted BUT
that "protects" plastic bumpers from touch parking drivers) - strapping to rear doors and plastic
bumpers is asking for trouble.
The Thule 971 rack is great - bikes stand on channels and are securely clamped on - I have driven
thousands of miles, at high speed, with mine and no problems .... so far
RG
"RG" <newszzzzzz@bntinternet.com> wrote in message news:biobel$l30$1@titan.btinternet.com...
>
> IMHO the ONLY way to go is with a towbar mounted carrier (yes, I know you need a towbar fitted BUT
> that "protects" plastic bumpers from touch
parking
> drivers) - strapping to rear doors and plastic bumpers is asking for trouble.
>
> The Thule 971 rack is great - bikes stand on channels and are securely clamped on - I have driven
> thousands of miles, at high speed, with mine
and
> no problems .... so far
>
> RG
>
>
What's rear visability like with this type of carrier?
--
Neil M
>IMHO the ONLY way to go is with a towbar mounted carrier
Yup - I agree with this. I've also done a few thousand miles with bikes mounted thus - including
miles of potholed Italian roads & Italian cobbles - bikes stay secure & car undamaged
Cheers, helen s
~~~~~~~~~~
This is sent from a redundant email Mail sent to it is dumped My correct one can be gleaned from
h*$el***$$n*$d$ot$**s**i$$m*$m$**on**$s$@*$$a**$*ol*$*.*$$c$om*$ by getting rid of the
overdependence on money and fame
~~~~~~~~~~
"Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an
estate
> style Honda Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic
and
> easily deforms when pressed. Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem
to
> depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of the plastic
bumper - or
> am I mistaken?
I think you are mistaken. All the racks I've had have straps passing over the bumper and attaching
various bits under the car.
pk
In message <biom7b$eji$1@titan.btinternet.com>, Paul Kelly <spam.trap100@btinternet.com> writes
>
>"Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
>> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an
>estate
>> style Honda Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic
>and
>> easily deforms when pressed. Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem
>to
>> depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of the plastic
>bumper - or
>> am I mistaken?
>
>
>I think you are mistaken. All the racks I've had have straps passing over the bumper and attaching
>various bits under the car.
>
I've certainly seen racks on other cars hooked to the bottom of the bumper. I remember thinking at
the time that this seemed a bit dodgy.
--
Chris French, Leeds
> I've certainly seen racks on other cars hooked to the bottom of the bumper. I remember thinking at
> the time that this seemed a bit dodgy.
>
It is dodgy but is the fault of the owner making a dodgy installation. The straps and hooks are long
enough for their designed purpose.... to attach to the metalwork on the underside of the car,
ususally a tow hoop and assorted bracketry. The reasonably priced Halfords rack (probably a variant
on the Paddy Hopkirk design) that I own has earned its keep on a Volvo 340, Volvo 440, Fiat Panda,
Rover Metro and a Toyota Corolla over the past seven years travelling from Leeds to Dorset,
Cornwall, SW Ireland and Somerset. On most ocassions it was carrying two adult and one childs bike.
No mishaps or near mishaps, no need for a tailboard because the number plate was not obscured as the
bikes were held clear. Rear visiblity was compromised but not totally obscured.
No doubt superior technology and kit exists but I reckon I've had my money's worth with the
Halford kit.
Vernon Levy In Leeds
Rear visibility with either type does suffer. I have both types and the strap on type is indeed
meant to fasten to the inderside metal of the car and not the bumper. I was never happy with the
strap on one and decided when I changed car ro go for a twobar mounted one. Much more secure in my
mind and also far more convenient to attach and load with piece of mind driving. Ray
--
Remove NOSPAM from address to send me email.
chris French wrote:
> In message <biom7b$eji$1@titan.btinternet.com>, Paul Kelly <spam.trap100@btinternet.com> writes
>>
>> "Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
>>> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda
>>> Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and easily deforms when pressed.
>>> Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem to depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower
>>> edge of the plastic bumper - or am I mistaken?
>>
>>
>> I think you are mistaken. All the racks I've had have straps passing over the bumper and
>> attaching various bits under the car.
>>
> I've certainly seen racks on other cars hooked to the bottom of the bumper. I remember thinking at
> the time that this seemed a bit dodgy.
They have not read their instructions! Mine specifically warned against attaching to bumpers.
pk
"Paul Kelly" <spam.trap100@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bipmne$ign$1@hercules.btinternet.com...
> chris French wrote:
> > In message <biom7b$eji$1@titan.btinternet.com>, Paul Kelly <spam.trap100@btinternet.com> writes
> >>
> >> "Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
> >> news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> >>> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda
> >>> Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and easily deforms when pressed.
> >>> Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem to depend on ropes or straps tethered to the
> >>> lower edge of the plastic bumper - or am I mistaken?
> >>
> >>
> >> I think you are mistaken. All the racks I've had have straps passing over the bumper and
> >> attaching various bits under the car.
> >>
> > I've certainly seen racks on other cars hooked to the bottom of the bumper. I remember thinking
> > at the time that this seemed a bit dodgy.
>
>
> They have not read their instructions! Mine specifically warned against attaching to bumpers.
>
> pk
>
>
Going back to the point about rear visibility ... well, it all depends on the car - I normally have
the bikes on a Discovery and they barely appear above the spare wheel, however on a Rover 200 you
have to squint through the frames of the bikes - but not really a problem provided you also check
the side mirrors
RG
VERNON LEVY wrote:
>> I've certainly seen racks on other cars hooked to the bottom of the bumper. I remember thinking
>> at the time that this seemed a bit dodgy.
>>
>
> It is dodgy but is the fault of the owner making a dodgy installation. The straps and hooks are
> long enough for their designed purpose.... to attach to the metalwork on the underside of the car,
> ususally a tow hoop and assorted bracketry. The reasonably priced Halfords rack (probably a
> variant on the Paddy Hopkirk design) that I own has earned its keep on a Volvo 340, Volvo 440,
> Fiat Panda, Rover Metro and a Toyota Corolla over the past seven years travelling from Leeds to
> Dorset, Cornwall, SW Ireland and Somerset. On most ocassions it was carrying two adult and one
> childs bike. No mishaps or near mishaps, no need for a tailboard because the number plate was not
> obscured as the bikes were held clear. Rear visiblity was compromised but not totally obscured.
>
> No doubt superior technology and kit exists but I reckon I've had my money's worth with the
> Halford kit.
>
> Vernon Levy In Leeds
I agree. I've used a halfords rack for years on an Escort estate.
--
Mark I got something special built for me but when it arrived it was broken. :-(
On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 18:52:26 +0100, Malcolm Stewart wrote:
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda
> Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and easily deforms when pressed. Some
> of the mounts I've seen advertised seem to depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of
> the plastic bumper - or am I mistaken? Thanks for advice
There's a few reviewed in this months what mountain bike, save the money, read it in the shop!
Steve
it depends on the car, but I never attach the lower hooks to the plastic bumper on my Peugeot 306 -
I find that the exhaust mounting on one side and the spare wheel cradle on the other make very good
secure metal anchor points. Having said that I always feel paranoid when driving, especially at
motorway speeds, that the bikes will fall off the back and cause some kind of terrible accident
behind me. I would be happier with a towbar mounted one if I could afford it. I'm not sure that my
paranoia is really justified though... are many accidents actually caused by racks falling from the
back of cars? R
"Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an
estate
> style Honda Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic
and
> easily deforms when pressed. Some of the mounts I've seen advertised seem
to
> depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of the plastic
bumper - or
> am I mistaken? Thanks for advice
> --
> M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
Malcolm Stewart wrote:
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda
> Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and easily deforms when pressed. Some
> of the mounts I've seen advertised seem to depend on ropes or straps tethered to the lower edge of
> the plastic bumper - or am I mistaken?
Any decent carrier will strap to the edges of the boot lid: top, bottom and maybe sides. There are
also some that strap to the towing hook below the bumper, this might be what you have seen. I've not
come across one that requires it to be strapped to the bottom of the bumper itself, there are very
few cars that could take that!
--
Stevie D \\\\\ ///// Bringing dating agencies to the \\\\\\\__X__///////
common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs" ___\\\\\\\'/
\'///////_____________________________________________
VERNON LEVY wrote:
> Rear visiblity was compromised but not totally obscured.
I found that the rear visibility (with one bike only, this might make some difference) was barely
compromised; the only off-putting thing was glancing in the mirror and seeing something so close
behind, I kept thinking there was a motorbike on my tail!
--
Stevie D \\\\\ ///// Bringing dating agencies to the \\\\\\\__X__///////
common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs" ___\\\\\\\'/
\'///////_____________________________________________
Many thanks to all for your suggestions / advice. I've now bought the latest mag with reviews of
carriers etc. so am somewhat better informed all round.
--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
"Malcolm Stewart" <malcolm_stewart@megalith.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bio3sr$hbk$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Which bike carrier is recommended for rear of car mounting (I drive an estate style Honda
> Aerodeck), on which the whole of the rear bumper is plastic and
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