Towball mounted racks - the good, the bad, the ugly. Please help me make the right purchase

[Dirt sweat and gears]

Im needing a ball mounted bicycle rack. Im trying to look at the issues owners has had to hopefully help guide me before making a purchase. I have a mountain and road bike currently with to many kids to count

 

1. Whats been your frustration or irritations! With a ball mounted unit
2. Do you get racks that can take more than 4 bikes?
3. How is the Back-up service/parts
4. Can one get access to your car if the bikes are loaded

 

Seeing that I’ve never had a bicycle rack hopefully this will help guide me in my purchase. Your input will be amazing. Thanks

[Adr!@n]

I've had 2 Buzzracks. Shouldn't have sold the first one, but I did and ended up buying the same one again. 

The Buzzrack agent in Midrand was very helpful when I needed a new lock and straps, and I had no issue with the prices of spare parts either. 

Definitely get one that tilts, it makes getting access to the rear door of your car a breeze. Maybe someone else can chime in about which models don't work, but I haven't seen a tilting rack that still didn't provide access to the rear of a hatchback/SUV. You're out of luck if your car's rear door swings open to the side, which is what I had the first time round and there's no rack that works for that. 

[Furbz]

 

Make sure the tires and rims while using the rack are clear and not at the same height as the exhaust pipe.

I learnt an expensive lesson.

 

Also. Get one that tilts, I cannot explain how often I have used that function. 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Furbz

[Dirt sweat and gears]

Great feedback. Thanks so much. Dont stop now

 

[Rockjock]

I bought a 2nd hand Buzzrack spark 3 a few years ago...i replaced straps i think once and my rack gets used every weekend. Thebagent was very helpful and last time i went there i also wanted to replace the clamps...they didnt have stock so gave me 2nd hand ones from another rack..no charge. I got it in my head to buy a lighter Thule at one point...the weight difference was negligible but upon getting home with thr Thule and trying to use i noticed that the arms for the 2nd and 3rd bike has to be routed through the triangle of the first and 2nd bikes if that makes sense...it was really irritating and i sold the rack the same evening...on the buzzrack the arms with the clamp pass over the frames and i put the clamp around the seatposts...much better...for me BUZZRACK all the way...good luck

[PhilipV]

MTBs or road bikes?

Thule racks are a hassle to put MTBs next to each other, boost hubs and wider forks have made it a nightmare. 

Holdfast racks has enough space between bikes to fit comfortably, but the tilt mechanism isn't as polished as Thule. 

My money would still go to a Holdfast . I have two of their racks on my my trailer. 

https://www.holdfast.co.za/products/platform-sport

[BigToe]

Just don't hang your bike off the back of the rack. Get one that your bike stands on and is clamped. The rest is covered above!

[Tomik]

I've got the Thule Euroway 3 bike. Can be extended to 4. I think that's the limit in general as there's a limit the towball clamp can safely take. The Thule says max 60kg. No problems at all, other then the slightly annoying way the arms work. Tilt feature works very well. Thing weighs 20kg though but I guess they're all in that ballpark. 

[Ohsostoked]

I got a second hand 4 bike Buzzrack a few years back and don’t see the need to upgrade (other than to maybe get a tilt function). With some preplanning I find we don’t need to access the boot too often. And when it’s critical we can send a ‘small’ in there with the back seat down but it happens very seldom. 
 

A universal complaint is that you can’t easily fit the number of bikes a rack is designed for on the rack. Not if you care about rack rash and components getting buggered at least. We used to take best part of an hour to get three mountain bikes on a four bike rack and had to adjust seat post heights and move handlebars. Even after setting it up so we knew what went where. 
 

So. Got a Thule Freeride and modified the fittings to fit on the roof rack. It’s a cage type rack so not just two bars. Now we load one on the roof and the other two in positions one and four on the rack. It’s a bit of an overkill but we’re on the road in five minutes and there is no chance of any of the bikes touching each other. Extra bonus is that we have space for mates bikes when needed. 
 

Good luck and let us know what you decide on in the end. 

[tinmug]

Frustrations: needing a spanner to tighten the whole contraption to the tow ball (then having to disassemble the whole thing because you need something in the boot. Needing a padlock to secure it. 

Service: haven't needed much but what I did (and this includes my roof racks and associated accessories) the Thule agents have always been happy and able to help me.

Car access: you can easily with a pivot-out-the-way rack.

I've had three bicycle racks in my life: a cheap that that strapped to the back of a hatchback like a backpack. It damaged the car, and likely would have damaged the bikes if I carried more than one. Next was a locally manufactured 2-bike towbar-mounted rack which was over-engineered, agricultural (<all of this I liked) and clumsy AF to use. Bought a Thule 3-bike platform rack a few years ago and it's cured my bike-rack envy. Don't ask me which Thule it is, but it folds flat for storage, clamps onto tow ball, locks with one key, has optional (torque-limited) frame clamp for carbon frame, *can easily get replacement keys for all locks (or new locks), and pivots to get the dog in an out the boot. I paid around R6500 for mine (new, a few years ago after haggling with dealer, but would happily have paid more for it). 

[Furbz]

i would also try out Volvo - rebranded Thule rack with nicer lights.

i bought mine from the Durban branch. at the time it was around 40% cheaper than buying from Thule - all i have to put up with is a small volvo sign on the rack

[madmarc]

I bought a BOSAL (made in Germany) some years back when they still imported them. At the time they were the cheapest and most functional as you can fold it up for storage. It was only a 2 bike rack, but thats all i needed. It has worked perfect over the years, never had an issue with it.

 

Actually don't know why they stopped selling them.

[Shebeen]

more than 4 bikes?!

 

it's called a trailer

[GazaB907]

I have previously owned a local brand 4 bike rack, while it was nicely overengineered in most places, it ended up bouncing around a lot and I sold it. I now have the Thule Velo compact 3 with the 4th bike adapter. I like it because once you get to your destination it folds to fit in the boot easily.

A couple of hints once you have worked out how to get a 26", 2x650b and a 29" all in place, take a photo for future reference???? and set some time aside before leaving to do this. I use a pool noodles to fit between bikes to stop rack rash and if you going off road use an old inner tube to hold things together a bit tighter.  

 

Good luck 

[Steady Spin]

Thule Velo Compact 2 on my side for 2 boost space 29er. 

I use a rubber stop that sits permanently on the bike's forks to keep the rear triangle from rubbing on the fork lowers. 

Sits solid on the back of the car with virtually no bouncing. 

Very glad I went with Thule. Money well spent. 

[Bira]

Also have a Velocompact 2. Have MTB and Roadbike. Love it Tilt function is good, easy to operate. So far no hassles to report