Tow ball bike rack

nodrogsom said:

Square tube over square tube with a pin wont swivel to the attachment point

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My new car came with a swan neck vertically removable hitch. If I knew that when I ordered it I would have got an aftermarket 50mm square hitch installed instead. That would have required cutting a notch in the rear bumper. So yeah I am constrained to a towball mount this time around.

I am looking at the Thule VeloCompact three bike rack and may be placing an order today.

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread. Looking at a velocompact and see max tyre width is specifics as 2.4”. Anyone using 2.6’s with this rack?

oh and will 2 ebikes (Orbea rise in large and a small trek powerfly) fit on a velo compact 2 bike carrier? I’ve read here that people use the 3 bike model and use the outer 2 for 2 bikes

I use a Thule Euroway G2 and 2.6" tyres work ok, even though it's made for 2.4" tyres. The Velocompact looks stronger so you shouldn't have any problem with 2.6" tyres.
Definitely get a 3 bike version for carrying 2 bikes - makes it much easier to load the bikes.
The Thule towball mount is the best system if you're regularly removing and fitting the rack, super quick and easy to fit after you've done it the first time and adjusted the clamping mechanism.

This is an old photo showing 2.6" Smart Sams on the bike; knobby tyres are slightly wider but they still fit ok - got DHR 2.6 on the back now and DHF 2.5 on the front.
The medium Cube Stereo has a ~1225mm wheelbase and I wouldn't want to go much longer on this rack, but it works just fine for our bikes.

I borrowed a Velocompact 2 and it took my Large Cube with 2.6 tyres just, but no problem
Different story when I picked my mate up and added a second e-bike. It was moving about all over due to the excess weight
I bought an Easyfold XT 2 which seems much better

That all looks a bit snug on a 3-bike velocompact, I think the 2-bike one would be too small. Think I'll go for a buzz rack Scorpion unless I can fid an easy fold XT at a decent price.

Buzzrack escorpion carrier is the dogs danglies in my opinion, makes my Thule feel like cooked spaghetti in comparison, even with my driving it hardly moves a muscle on the back of my car

The Buzz Rack e-Scorpion gets a yes from me too. It’s seen some excessive speeds, and doesn’t twist at all. Simple to use - and the only modification I made to mine was zip tying all the cables to keep them neat and easy to manage. The number plate holder could be easier to get off - but a good dunt with the palm of your hand usually does it.

Not as ‘premium’ as the Atera Strada 3 bike rack I have, but for a single bike it’s just a lot easier.

Looks great. On the roof box site they recommend the Strada for 1 e-bike and 2 bikes. Not 2 e-bikes. Although it’s rated at 50kg or something. May look in to that as have a wv t5 and getting in the back doors might be useful although not essential

Have a Buzzrack e-Scorpion 2. Carries two Rails no problem.

irie said:

Have a Buzzrack e-Scorpion 2. Carries two Rails no problem.

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I think the E-scorpion is the front runner, the STRADA looks great for boot access on the van, but the buzz rack does look super stable for big ebikes

John_A said:

I think the E-scorpion is the front runner, the STRADA looks great for boot access on the van, but the buzz rack does look super stable for big ebikes

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You can pull a lever then pivot the rack down with the bikes still on it. Do this on my Kuga then can open the tail gate.

Another vote from an owner of a Buzzrack. Purchased from the Roof Box Company, who have great customer service and also sell many spare parts for when things inevitably break

Ditto Roof Box Company.

irie said:

You can pull a lever then pivot the rack down with the bikes still on it. Do this on my Kuga then can open the tail gate.

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I’ve got a vw t5 with twin “barn doors”. Apparently the strada DL is the only one that swings out of the way far enough or the £600 genio pro, which is another option. I can use the side door so not a huge deal

irie said:

You can pull a lever then pivot the rack down with the bikes still on it. Do this on my Kuga then can open the tail gate.

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I do this on my Mondeo estate too, I was a little alarmed at the angle it sits at with my bike attached but as with all things Buzzrack it was rapidly allayed

John_A said:

I’ve got a vw t5 with twin “barn doors”. Apparently the strada DL is the only one that swings out of the way far enough or the £600 genio pro, which is another option. I can use the side door so not a huge deal

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Was going to ask if it swings left or right but on second thoughts decided not to.

Hi, I am using a bosal comfort pro III. no problem with 3 ebikes, or 2 ebikes and 1 enduro.The belts are wide, the distance between the wheels is up to 150 cm, adapted for the wide tubes of e-bikes, 7 and 13 pin socket, light, handy and strong

I have tried many over the years, E-Scorpion and others from Roofbox company and they were very good but nothing gives me the confidence over a thule easy fold, just upgraded to the 3 bikes version.

Hey tow ball bike rack experts!
I have thule easy fold xt3 and I love it. It is very easy to use and quick to attach.

But I have a question.
Is it normal, if my towball looks like this after cca 10 uses? Am I clamping it too hard, or is my tow ball not that great? It looks like clamping mechanism removed some of the protective paint, so small rust spots started to appear. I don't use it for towing, only for bike rack.
What do you think?

clix said:

Hey tow ball bike rack experts!
I have thule easy fold xt3 and I love it. It is very easy to use and quick to attach.

But I have a question.
Is it normal, if my towball looks like this after cca 10 uses? Am I clamping it too hard, or is my tow ball not that great? It looks like clamping mechanism removed some of the protective paint, so small rust spots started to appear. I don't use it for towing, only for bike rack.
What do you think?

View attachment 121921 View attachment 121922

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Mine is the same, and my previous car was the same too.

I bought a cover for the tow ball (a black rubber thing textured like a golf ball), and I give the ball a quick wipe and put the cover on before I press the button in the boot to put the tow ball away!

Saves it getting rusty whilst under the car…

clix said:

Hey tow ball bike rack experts!
I have thule easy fold xt3 and I love it. It is very easy to use and quick to attach.

But I have a question.
Is it normal, if my towball looks like this after cca 10 uses? Am I clamping it too hard, or is my tow ball not that great? It looks like clamping mechanism removed some of the protective paint, so small rust spots started to appear. I don't use it for towing, only for bike rack.
What do you think?

View attachment 121921 View attachment 121922

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I don’t understand how a tow-ball could stabilize a bike rack. Unless the torque is extremely high at the hitch position. Even then a slight tilt would seem possible. Maybe I’m missing something? A2” receiver seems to be more secure.

p3eps said:

Mine is the same, and my previous car was the same too.

I bought a cover for the tow ball (a black rubber thing textured like a golf ball), and I give the ball a quick wipe and put the cover on before I press the button in the boot to put the tow ball away!

Saves it getting rusty whilst under the car…

Click to expand...

Good to know this is normal. Mine is verticaly detachable(manualy) but I left it on during the winter, with the included plastic cap. Now that I noticed some rust, I will probably be more diligent about detaching it during winter.

Stihldog said:

I don’t understand how a tow-ball could stabilize a bike rack. Unless the torque is extremely high at the hitch position. Even then a slight tilt would seem possible. Maybe I’m missing something? A2” receiver seems to be more secure.

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Yup, I agree. Clamping force is probably very high, to counteract the torque of 80kg load trying to swing around and move up and down when there are bumps on the road. But it looks like it is kind of working.
There was new standard invented, called "Fix4bike" that is aiming to improve stability of the rack. Both towball and rack have to support it. There are two horizontal pins sticking out below the ball, where rack can also grip. Clamping force can than probably be lower, with even higher rack stability.

Stihldog said:

I don’t understand how a tow-ball could stabilize a bike rack. Unless the torque is extremely high at the hitch position. Even then a slight tilt would seem possible. Maybe I’m missing something? A2” receiver seems to be more secure.

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I like more Atera's system. Look at 1:20

Kind of a different looking ball-hitch but i see how it secures now, thanks.

I recently bought a Thule Epos, and I absolutely love it. I can take up to three bikes and have individual arms for each bike, so you can unload each bike individually.
It folds so does not take much space to store and there is a cool feature where the bike carrier can be used as a service stand (additional adapter required)









Bike carrier used as a repair stand. Pretty cool feature

The Epos looks good. 25cm between the bikes is an improvement over the 19cm on my Euroway - might even be able to fit 3 bikes on a 3 bike rack.

I use and I'd recommend "Yakima Hitch Bike Rack - Holdup 2" (Model# 8002443) it needs a 2" square hitch and holds 2 full size eMTBs without issue (can be extended to 4). Sadly its a bit pricier than when I bought in 2022... HoldUp Tray Hitch Bike Rack | Yakima AU

I’ve not used it yet, but I just bought the Thule Epos 2. Folds up really small, pivots away from the car on the hitch and I like the bike ratchet system (better than the claw).

Wanted to share my experience with a rack that I don't see many mentions of online. This is the TX2 rack from a dutch company called Spinder. I got it in Portugal for 600 euros. It's a bit more than the Buzzrack E-Scorpion but the same (or less than) similar Thule racks. In my use, the rack is very high quality and easy to use. Here are a few key features:

• Rack weight is only 17KG which is important since my car is only rated for 55KG on the tow ball
• Telescoping arm clamp gives many different clamping options
• I like the added security of a strap rather than the open style jaw clamp found on most thule racks (the strap goes all the way around the frame)
• The rack secures to the ball by just moving one lever down, no bolts or other adjustments needed (similar to thule)
• The light connector has 7 pin on one side and 13 pin on the other side, so no need to worry about how your car is wired for lighting
• Folds up small for storage in the garage
• Weight rating is for 60KG total. So you could carry 2 ebikes if your car can handle the weight
• 1350mm max wheelbase and up to 3" tire
• Has an add-on for an extra bike, but doesn't seem the most convenient to use. Good for occasional use.
• Tilting rack for access to the rear
  
  I prefer bike racks that hold bikes by the wheel rather than the frame, but this is one of the best designs that I have seen available in Europe. Almost like a Thule Epos 2 but half the price.
  
  One downside is that the rack has some slight side to side movement while driving, but it isn't too concerning and I think this is expected from ball mounted racks. Fine for road use and moderate off road to get to the trailhead. But wouldn't be my first option to mount on the back of an offroader.