Home » Technology » How to choose the best bike carrier for your car

How to choose the best bike carrier for your car

Lovers of trips and outings by bicycle love to leave taking their beloved two wheels with them, just for themselves or for the whole family. Let’s see what it is the best solution to transport your bike by car, what alternatives to consider, how to mount the various bike racks and the differences between them.

Rear bike carrier

The tailgate bike carrier can be with quick fixing or to be mounted with straps. The structure with the channels allows you to support the bikes and lock them with rigid arms, in the other case the bikes hang on the bike rack.

Between merits we can include the possibility to hang or place the bicycles, to open the tailgate with the mounted bike carrier (without the bike on top), the ease and speed of assembly. Unfortunately, however, they cannot be mounted on all cars, it depends on the materials or the shape of the tailgate.

The Homcom rear bike carrier is the best selling on Amazon. Perfect for a family vacation, it can carry three bicycles up to a maximum load of 45 kg. Compact and easy to store, when not in use it can be conveniently stored in the trunk of the car.

Fabbri Portatutto is a rear bicycle rack in electro-welded aluminum for cars with hood or tailgate. Guarantee of lightness and strength, it can carry up to 3 bicycles.

Tow bar bike carrier

Even the bike racks from tow hook on the market are different, some allow you to hang the bikes and others instead of placing them on the rails. They are easy to use, because they can be applied to the tow hook in seconds. The price is generally within everyone’s reach, and most of this type of bike rack is generally tilting, so they allow you to open the tailgate of the car.

The Menabo towbar bike carrier is perfect for e-bikes and fat bikes thanks to a sturdy structure that allows you to carry up to 60 kg of total load. It can carry up to 4 bicycles.

Westfalia Bikelander is the universal bike carrier for tow bar synonymous with quality. It carries two bicycles and holds a load of up to 60 kg. It can be folded and takes up very little space.

Bike carrier for the roof

Roof mounted bike racks apply on the roof bars, also in this case there are different models. On the market there are those that require a classic assembly, with a U-bolt under the bars, and others that require assembly in the upper channel.

The universal roof bike carrier Peruzzo Bike Hanger is suitable for all bicycles and has a patented fixing system to the crank arm. The straps are tested to hold up to 150 kg of effort each.

The SeaSucker bike rack with suction cup Talon is easy to mount on the car roof and to disassemble. It can hold a bike up to 20.4kg and has been tested at 140km / h.

Thule bike carrier

A guarantee among fans all over the world is Thule, a Swedish company leader in the sale of bicycle racks for cars. The quality of the materials, the innovative design and the extreme tests in the laboratory make this brand one of the most sought after by lovers of two wheels.

The Thule ProRide roof mounted bike carrier allows you to carry bicycles up to 20 kg. The two-wheeled vehicle is securely fastened thanks to the frame locking pliers and the wheel support channel. Quick and easy attachment of the bicycle thanks to the torque limiter dial that controls the force entering the bicycle frame clearly indicating correct assembly.

The high flow rate allows the Thule VeloSpace XT to carry any type of bicycle, from those for children to heavier mountain bikes or e-bikes. The version we offer is capable of carrying up to three bicycles, but a cheaper version for two is also available.

The Thule FreeWay 3 rear bike carrier with suspension bikes is ideal for cars with tailgate and for sedans and can carry up to three bicycles. For added protection, all parts in contact with the car and bicycles are rubber coated.

Bike carrier for campers

The bicycle rack is one of the most important camper accessories, used for those who decide to take their holidays on the road. It is very useful indeed for those traveling with their mobile home, moving between different locations, but always having your bike with you.

The Carry-Bike CL is a compact, sturdy and economical bike carrier for motorhomes. It can carry two bikes, but the exclusive patented Zoom-4-Bikes shelf allows the addition of two additional rails to carry up to 4 bikes.

FIl bike carrier for campers Fabbri Bici Ok is the robust and elegant made in Italy solution thanks to the electro-welded and anodized aluminum cover in silver color and the joints in thermoplastic material with high mechanical resistance. It can carry up to 3 bicycles.

What the Highway Code says

The bike racks can be freely applied to the car without modifying the technical characteristics, the registration certificate does not need to be updated and therefore no visit and test is required at the Motorization Civil

But obviously it is necessary comply with the provisions of the Highway Code:

  • the bicycle racks must not hide the license plate and the signaling and lighting devices;
  • they must be firmly anchored to the bodywork;
  • they cannot have elements on the outside that can hook pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists;
  • they must fall within the shape and mass limits provided for by the law.

What can we say about the repeater plate? There is a lot of discussion about the possibility of using it if the bike carrier hides the original car carrier. The law does not admit the repeater plate, applicable only to the appendix trolleys

– .

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.