4-bike carrier

[Bert]

Can anyone give me advice on the best way to carry 4 bikes on the back?
Maybe a towbar-mounted "ride on" rack?
Any suggestions on the best value for money?
Thanks

[Welshcav]

I have a Mercedes Vito carry bike rack fitted to the back for 3 bikes. It is a bit tight for 3 I couldnt fit 3 without damaging my pride and joy. I have a tow bar mounted thule rack for the car as well which is superb. They are expensive but worth the money in my oppinion. Not sure I would want the weight of 4 bikes on the tailgate of the Bongo even with my lightweight racing machines.

Karl

[LoopyLoo]

Welcome to my life, lol its comprised of nothing else these past few weeks.

We did own a Thule 3 bike towbar mounted carrier which was excellent, but I have 3 kids, so wanted a bigger one. We like the the 'wheel on' types rather than the 'hang on using the crossbar' types due to the fact none of our bikes have traditional crossbars.

However, the hang on types are signifcantly cheaper than the 'wheel on' ones.

I had ordered a 'Tradecar Saffier' 4 bike towbar carrier (because the equivalent Thule 4 bike carrier was really expensive) but when it arrived I really wasn't too pleased with the build quality and other reasons, so its gone back.

Of course, ifyou have crossbars, you can go for one of the MaxxRacks, or the Pendle 'hang on' tpes, save yourself a load of dosh and headaches in the process

[LoopyLoo]

I have a Mercedes Vito carry bike rack fitted to the back for 3 bikes. It is a bit tight for 3 I couldnt fit 3 without damaging my pride and joy. I have a tow bar mounted thule rack for the car as well which is superb. They are expensive but worth the money in my oppinion. Not sure I would want the weight of 4 bikes on the tailgate of the Bongo even with my lightweight racing machines.

Karl

eek...I'm pondering a Thule 973 (permanently on van) set up on the back...but wanted it for 4 bikes, do you think there'll be issues? (2 adults/2 kids, normally)

[Welshcav]

I would say it depends on the weight of the bikes. I am abit precious about my bikes as they are expensive. The thule rear carriers permanently mounted, both 3 and 4 bike are quite tight to fit the bikes on, ok if you dont mind them touching I can get two adult bikes on mine with my daughters in the middle but it takes a set routine to get them fitted correctly. I would personally go for the towbar mounted rack for 4 bikes either Pendle or thule

I have a Mercedes Vito carry bike rack fitted to the back for 3 bikes. It is a bit tight for 3 I couldnt fit 3 without damaging my pride and joy. I have a tow bar mounted thule rack for the car as well which is superb. They are expensive but worth the money in my oppinion. Not sure I would want the weight of 4 bikes on the tailgate of the Bongo even with my lightweight racing machines.

Karl

eek...I'm pondering a Thule 973 (permanently on van) set up on the back...but wanted it for 4 bikes, do you think there'll be issues? (2 adults/2 kids, normally)

[LoopyLoo]

Unfortunately no idea on the weight of ours bikes however as a note regarding the towbar one, it was a tight squeeze on that too, and they were definitely touching..had to have the pedals in a certain way and the handlebars turned on the one closest the van.

[David Edwards]

I was in the same boat, going top centre parcs, 4 bikes and a rack for three, I searched the internet and managed to get a Thule tow bar rack model number 9708 quite cheap. Very sturdy and easy to fit, held the four heavy bikes no problem at all, well worth a look but have a good shop around as prices seemed to vary quite a bit. I paid £84.00 free post for mine, there is one on e bay at the moment item number 150559390885, starting at £30.00, might be worth a go, they also say they will beat any price. God luck.

[dunslair]

We use an Atera Strada 4 bike carrier which is a towbar mount. It has the added advantage that it slides back with all 4 bikes on to allow access to the tailgate. You need to be careful when mounting all 4 bikes to avoid rubbing, but once you get the routine its fine. Not particularly cheap, but well put together and folds fairly flat for storage.

[rapiddescent]

I have the vito rack - with only 2 Downhill bikes (weighing between 37 and 48 lbs each) and not a heavy conversion - the rear suspension bottoms out pretty heavily on the road up to glencoe/fort william etc.

be aware that whilst you may be able to fit 4 bikes on, the bongo handling will suffer.

[MountainGoat]

Bottoming out, time you got some Air Spring Assisters fitted then. They work great on my Bongo.

Tony

[alan]

http://www.maxxraxx.co.uk/Racks/racks.html

we have one of these not the quicks to fit but the bikes saty on well
and u have to put a light board as the bikes cover the lights and plate up

[David Edwards]

Sorry peeps I told a bit of a porkie earlier on, I didnt pay £84.00 for the Thule 9708 4 bike rack, I actually paid, £71.99 delivered,lol, from a company on this site, http://www.skidrive.co.uk. just found the invoice, I ordered online before 2pm and it was on my door 11.30am the following day by carrier, well impressed with the service and also with the rack which is one sturdy piece of kit, four bikes very securely held in place. I can recommend both the rack and the company. Forgot they have a phone..01223 750800 for any query.

[Bert]

Welcome to my life, lol its comprised of nothing else these past few weeks.

We did own a Thule 3 bike towbar mounted carrier which was excellent, but I have 3 kids, so wanted a bigger one. We like the the 'wheel on' types rather than the 'hang on using the crossbar' types due to the fact none of our bikes have traditional crossbars.

However, the hang on types are signifcantly cheaper than the 'wheel on' ones.

I had ordered a 'Tradecar Saffier' 4 bike towbar carrier (because the equivalent Thule 4 bike carrier was really expensive) but when it arrived I really wasn't too pleased with the build quality and other reasons, so its gone back.

Of course, ifyou have crossbars, you can go for one of the MaxxRacks, or the Pendle 'hang on' tpes, save yourself a load of dosh and headaches in the process

I have a hang-on Pendle carrier but the bikes tend not to have traditional crossbars so it gets a bit messy...
Looking for a "wheel on" type without breaking the bank (plus not many seem to handle 4 bikes).

[LoopyLoo]

Hello Bert
Does seem you are in a similar position to me. My bike is a traditional ladies bike and the kids have weird frames so the hang on ones just didn't work for us.
Like I said in my other post, I'd ordered a "Tradecar Saffier 4 bike rack" but I really wasn't happy with the quality..there were some quite sharp edges on it for a start and it seemed HUGE as well. It was nowhere near as sturdy as the Thule 'ride on' one I'd had before unfortunately the equivalent Thule is about £350
Good luck in your search!

[David Edwards]

Two of our bikes definitely fall into the weird cat,lol, they are american made Landrider automatic mountain bikes and not the same shape an "normal" british bikes, the Thule coped with them no probs, the rubber reatining straps on the rack fitted really well, no movement at all.