Bike Carriers

I need a bike carrier to fit on the rear door of an estate car
. Can anyone offer suggestions / advice on features to look for, reliable makes ?

Thanks

 

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I need a bike carrier to fit on the rear door of an estate car
> . Can anyone offer suggestions / advice on features to look for, reliable makes ?

Thule are one of the best (and most expensive) brands. They have an estate car rack that holds the
bikes quite high up so number plate and lights remain visible negating the need for a lighting board
and associated wiring.

http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/product.asp?dept_id=8&sku=965

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/ are competitively priced.

Pete

 

In my opinion the most secure bike carrier is the type that mounts to what we Yanks call a trailer
hitch (is it called a drawbar over there?) This type is more expensive but it is very solid and
nothing touches the glass or paint of the car. The sort of carrier that uses rubber covered hooks
and nylon straps is inspires much less confidence. No matter how tight you think you've gotten the
straps they still stretch and you see the bike bobbing up and down whenever you look in the mirror
and you keep wondering how bad it'll be if the whole thing falls off.

I can't make brand suggestions because I'm not sure whether the US brands I know about are sold
in the UK.

Bob Taylor

 

>In my opinion the most secure bike carrier is the type that mounts to what we Yanks call a trailer
>hitch (is it called a drawbar over there?)

Tow bar I agree - definitely the most secure.

www.roofbox.co.uk for lots of towbar mounted cycle carriers

Cheers, helen s

~~~~~~~~~~
Flush out that intestinal parasite and/or the waste product before sending a reply!

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<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I need a bike carrier to fit on the rear door of an estate car
> . Can anyone offer suggestions / advice on features to look for, reliable makes ?
>
> Thanks
>
I don't know what your situation is but when I had this issue with my estate car I eventually went
for roof mounted cycle carriers from Decathlon on bars which I bought from Charlie Browns. This
seemed a much more secure arrangement than anything dangling off the back and still allowed access
to the "boot" via the tailgate. I took this arrangement to The Ardeche and back with no problems and
didn't get charged any extra on the ferries for going "overheight".

Alex

 

"alex.clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> I don't know what your situation is but when I had this issue with my
estate
> car I eventually went for roof mounted cycle carriers from Decathlon on
bars
> which I bought from Charlie Browns. This seemed a much

This is my preferred method too. For the reasons stated plus the bikes are less at risk from rear
end shunts and parking incidents. The downside is increased wind noise and fuel consumption and be
aware of height barriers.

Pete

 

My thanks to all who contributed the useful reply posts.

As a matter of interest, I have decided to go for the rooftop carrier
- if I can find rooftop bars which will fit onto a gutterless vehicle


>On Thu, 27 Mar 2003 12:22:09 +0000 (UTC), [email protected] wrote:

> I need a bike carrier to fit on the rear door of an estate car
>. Can anyone offer suggestions / advice on features to look for, reliable makes ?
>
>Thanks

 

Thule make fittings for mounting roof racks on cars with no "gutters", which is most, if not all, modern cars. It's a clamping system which hooks into the door openings.

 

Once again, Thule can provide fittings to solve the "gutterless" problem.

[email protected] wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> My thanks to all who contributed the useful reply posts.
>
> As a matter of interest, I have decided to go for the rooftop carrier
> - if I can find rooftop bars which will fit onto a gutterless vehicle
>

 

wafflycathcsdirtycatlitter wrote:
>> In my opinion the most secure bike carrier is the type that mounts to what we Yanks call a
>> trailer hitch (is it called a drawbar over there?)
>
> Tow bar I agree - definitely the most secure.

Also, bikes behind the car won't get the blasting from the elements that bikes on the roof get* -
which I understand is worse than you get by riding the bikes due to the much higher speeds.

* Rain and dust getting into the bearings, etc.

~PB

 

[email protected] wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> My thanks to all who contributed the useful reply posts.
>
> As a matter of interest, I have decided to go for the rooftop carrier
> - if I can find rooftop bars which will fit onto a gutterless vehicle

Just don't forget the bikes are there when you go under low obstructions. Car parks are a
favourite.

--
Dave...