Tiltable bike racks for upto 4 bikes

Tigerandahalf

Hi

I am wondering about the above with the rack mounted on a towball hitch.

I see some are platform and others just have the clamp bar.

I have a 2 bike non tiltable at the moment and it is perfect as I can fold it up easily.
But with kids' bikes I am thinking this might be needed in the future.

I could keep my own and just put kids' bikes in the back but I can't access the booth without the tilt function.

The platform one looks heavy and would probably be an issue with storage.

Ideally I would like one that I could tilt up and down myself.

Any thoughts?

koutoubia

I have a four bike rack that sits on the towball and is tiltable.
Never had any issues and is as sturdy as can be. It's a Thule.
Folds down kinda into itself and is handy enough for storage

Tigerandahalf

koutoubia wrote: »

I have a four bike rack that sits on the towball and is tiltable.
Never had any issues and is as sturdy as can be. It's a Thule.
Folds down kinda into itself and is handy enough for storage

Is it the platform one or the one with arms?
Some of the thule ones are a crazy price and look heavy.

Takca

I got this 2 weeks ago from chainreaction. I seems plenty sturdy. We've just used it for a short trip with 2 adults bikes and two children's all went perfect. We only had to use the tilt function once and worked as expected

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/thule-9708-hangon-4-bike-towball-carrier-aw17/rp-prod165295?utm_source=CRM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OrderDispatch&utm_content=IE

Tigerandahalf

@Takca

Ya I had seen that one. It seems the best option but I think you still need 2 people to tilt it back up and close it. But probably the most reasonable option.

I have a socket pin for a lightboard so I could always buy one if needed.

sav1

I have the Thule VeloCompact 3. Find it very solid and as it is tilt-able give decent access to the boot. It is easy enough to get on and off, is reasonably light and holds the bikes solidly. an extension can be got to carry a fourth bike.
Storage is the only real issue even with the support folded down its quite big.

Tigerandahalf

Ya the storage is a big issue as it is only used occasionally. Don't need it right now but was looking for ideas. The tilt option is very useful when you need to get access to bags etc and when it is raining.

koutoubia

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Is it the platform one or the one with arms?
Some of the thule ones are a crazy price and look heavy.

The one with the arms.
It isnt light for sure but deffo very sturdy.

EDit

Takca wrote: »

I got this 2 weeks ago from chainreaction. I seems plenty sturdy. We've just used it for a short trip with 2 adults bikes and two children's all went perfect. We only had to use the tilt function once and worked as expected

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/thule-9708-hangon-4-bike-towball-carrier-aw17/rp-prod165295?utm_source=CRM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OrderDispatch&utm_content=IE

I have this one and we also have a buzzrack quattro. The latter is a platform type and is definitely overall heavier (it kind of needs 2 people when you are putting it on). However, just because of the design, it is actually easier to tilt and one person can easily tilt the platform with 4 bikes on it with one hand. Does take up more storage room though

Buzzrack page here: http://buzzrack.com/galleries/buzzquattro-tow-ball-platform-bike-carrier-2/

P.s. it’s cheaper than a Thule version

emeraldmtb

How does it compare to the Thule one? Thule seem to be the most desirable, but not actually sure if that's just marketing or are they actually better? They're certainly pricey enough

EDit

emeraldmtb wrote: »

How does it compare to the Thule one? Thule seem to be the most desirable, but not actually sure if that's just marketing or are they actually better? They're certainly pricey enough

If you’re asking about the buzzrack it’s built well and has been pretty reliable so far. I doubt there is much in it vs a Thule platform, but it is much cheaper (and I say that someone who has a few Thule products and rates all of them highly). TBH, we only got the buzzrack one as it was for sale in the LBS vs going up to Dublin or ordering online to get a Thule platform rack.

In terms of the Thule ‘hanging’ type (as referenced in Takca’s post) that is a great option, but we found that we struggled to get 4 bikes on it as the kids (and their bikes) got bigger....hence, why we ended up buying the buzzrack.