Cycle carriers, any advice???

c montgomery

Just after getting a new bike that i plan on using alot so im planning on getting a carrier for the car rather than putting down the seats all the time and destroying the car.

Anyone got any advice or tips on what to get???

I was thinking about this as its pretty cheap.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_250983_langId_-1_categoryId_165515

At the same time i dont want to risk the bike falling off with a cheap carrier.

All advice welcome

mmclo

+1

Cyclingdeise

Halfords cycle carrier caused damage to my car.

I would strongly advise against using a Halfords bike carrier. I bought a Halfords carrier and used it for a single bike. Despite being fitted securely and correctly, it caused significant damage to my car. Firstly the "Foot points" stripped the paint from the boot of the car. Secondly the rubber caused indentations on the top of the bought.

Halfords confirmed that the carrier was fitted correctly but have attempted to place the blame with me, explaining that the carrier must not have been fastened firmly enough.

As This damage has caused approx €600 worth of damage to my car. I visited 2 repuptable bodyshops who confirmed that the carrier had damaged the car.

 

torydiver

Thule towbar type,
Excellent and way more convenient than strap type,
on/off in seconds and totally secure

Maidhci

I have the Saris Bones 2, it is an excellent rack, have used it on several occasions as have my friends and all found it an excellent, stable and safe carrier. I use it to carry my roadbike or hybrid, never the two, but opted for the 2 bike carrier due to the fact that the Saris Solo does not have anti-sway side straps and having read some reviews decided on the Saris Bones 2. It is more expensive than other carriers on the market but in my opinion, it is much more sturdy, stable and overall a much safer carrier than the alternatives that I have seen. Would highly recommend it.

Dazzy

torydiver wrote: »

Thule towbar type,
Excellent and way more convenient than strap type,
on/off in seconds and totally secure

+1

I bought one of the strap type bike carriers and it was a complete pain putting it on/taking it off. I wasn't confident it was secure and reckoned it was going to do damage to the car in the long run.

I've since bought a Thule hang-on 3 bike that connects to the Tow-Bar and find it excellent. Very easy to put on/take off and I'm confident it will stay on. I had three adult mountain bikes on it over the weekend with no problems.

I paid about €90 from amazon.fr Inc. postage. The price goes up and down a good bit. If you have a Tow-Bar then its the best option.

dvntie

torydiver wrote: »

Thule towbar type,
Excellent and way more convenient than strap type,
on/off in seconds and totally secure

+1
Have had mine 3 yrs and couldn't imagine myself without it

tacklemore

Towbar is the job. 5 second job to put it on/take it off. Wouldn't use anything else!

JMcL

Towbar style if you have a bar fitted to your car. I've never used the Thule one personally, but had one similar to this, though a big more solid, on the last car and it was great. Bike strapped on in a couple of minutes, drove halfway across France no problem.

Not having a bar on the current car, I got a Saris Bones (3 bike version but broadly similar to the 2 bike). It's a really well made piece of kit. Rock solid, very adjustable, easy to fit, and doesn't give the feeling you're going to destroy your bodywork. Again, it went halfway across France carrying 3 bikes with no hassle.

slideshow bob

I use the boot most of the time for the bikes as it's really convenient to put the seats up and down in my car. But when I have passengers I need to use a rack.

I have an old 'holywood' rack that clips to the back door of the car. This is fine if I'm just bringing my race bike. But the Thule one that fixes to the towbar is easier to put the bikes on and better for the family bikes. It requires a spanner to fix it to the tow-hitch so I just have to be organised to use it.

bobcranfret

c montgomery wrote: »

Just after getting a new bike that i plan on using alot so im planning on getting a carrier for the car rather than putting down the seats all the time and destroying the car.
All advice welcome

If you don't have a towbar but you do have roof bars you could consider a roof carrier, for example:

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_734096_langId_-1_categoryId_212359

I have used two of these on my car's roof bars including a couple of trips abroad. As long as your car is not too high these are an effective and less expensive option.

Seweryn

Maidhci wrote: »

I have the Saris Bones 2, it is an excellent rack.

I also use the Saris occasionally and found it very good and adaptable to any type of car, van or convertible.
the only negative comment I have is that you need an additional horizontal bar to carry a ladies / town bike.

cdaly_

I use this cheapass roof carrier. Does the job fine but only around €15 abroad vs €25 here...