Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

VicMic
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Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby VicMic » Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:35 pm

All,

I have a Thule set up on the roof for my bikes, but two of my three kids have moved to 16" bikes which take up too much room in the back(compared to their old balance bikes). So I need a tow ball option for carriage. I was thinking this would be a fairly simple affair, but alas I was very wrong. My needs are as follows:

- Tow ball mount
- Tilt to allow access to rear of car (Ford Territory)
- 3 bike carrier (future proofing)
- locking function of some description.
- easy on and off the tow ball (preferable but not essential)
- single pole design (not an A frame)
- not huge for storage (like Thule EuroRide style)

My first choice was the Thule Hang-on 3 bike carrier:

http://www.thule.com.au/details.php?p_id=77

Great bit of kit that ticks all the boxes. However the problem here (and with many others that met my criteria of this style), is that the two arms that hold the bikes are too wide for the small top tube of a kids bike. Even with an adapter bar, the distance between the seat post and the stem is too short. (Radius Neo 16" kids bike - 20cm max for top tube holding).

So much Internet searching later led me to the Rhino Rack XP 3 bike carrier (64930):

http://www.roofrackcity.com.au/AccSubCa ... 27_11.aspx

Perfect! Small cradles to fit the bikes. Alas they no longer make it (only hitch style and I need tow ball style). I called most retailers in Melbourne and Sydney looking for old stock with no luck. Aaahhhh!!!!

Surely I am not the only person who has had this problem. Any help, suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
VicMic.

P.S. Apologies for the essay but I wanted to be as clear s possible as I am desperate for a solution.

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SmellyTofu
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby SmellyTofu » Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:38 am

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rhino-Rack-3 ... 19d4801556

$250 delivered. Must be running out of these things.

VicMic
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby VicMic » Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:49 pm

Thanks for your suggestion, but it is hitch style and I need Towball style. Plus this is of the large style (like the Thule EuroRide)that I am trying avoid.

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SmellyTofu
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby SmellyTofu » Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:47 pm

That Rhino is a towball mount.

VicMic
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby VicMic » Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:20 pm

Smelly Tofu,

Not wanting to start an argument (as i really need some help on this issue), but the Rhino link you gave IS a Hitch Mount (labelled as such, both in the title of the listing and the description). Therefore it requires a square hitch style tow bar. I do not have that style of tow bar, which it why I need a Tow BALL mount style.

VicMic.

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gcouyant
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby gcouyant » Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:08 pm

VicMic I don't know what your budget is but perhaps I can assist you? We know the Ford Territory and travelling with bicycles. One of our businesses manufactures bicycle carriers and whilst we have quite the reputation for facilitating adventurers to travel into rough remote regions and to make their bicycles part of the journey, we do also manufacturer a range of carriers with a 50mm tow ball mount that are aimed at the more highway based traveller - but with the same zero hassle design as our higher end products.

I am mindful of keeping with the spirit of the forum and in particular I have a financial interest in participating with this discussion - but I am happy to assist forum members who have a genuine interest in travelling with bicycles.

With the Ford Territory, the bikes are supported in wheel support cradles that not only support each wheel but also centralise and resist wheel movement on rail support designs. The frame support cradles keep the bicycle in place with no need for straps to secure the bikes. Along with the carrier lowering for clearance to the Territory's rear door and easy access to the cargo area it's nice option for this vehicle.

Image

The model shown is the 4 bike version of the Town and Country model. If you have plans for more demanding driving conditions, then the 4x4x4 carrier may be of more interest to you. Both carrier models have a 25 degree departure angle which is in keeping with the vehicle's departure angle. In other words you don't have to worry about dragging the rear with the bicycles on board.

The link to the Town and Country carrier is http://www.isi-carriers.com/isi-tc/town ... rrier.html and the link to the 4x4x4 is http://www.isi-carriers.com/4x4x4/4x4x4 ... rrier.html

Hope this helps and if you are in Melbourne, you are most welcome to visit.
George from iSi Advanced Bicycle Carrier Systems

GraemeL
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby GraemeL » Thu Sep 06, 2012 8:57 am

I have the Town & Country 2 bike version and I can tell you it is worth every penny, the rack is very well made and will last you many years. Loading the bikes is a breeze, it only takes a few seconds (literally) to put them on or take them off.
It is also easy to access the rear of the car, even with the bikes loaded, the rack swings down out of the way.



Graeme
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SmellyTofu
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby SmellyTofu » Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:30 am

VicMic wrote:Smelly Tofu,

Not wanting to start an argument (as i really need some help on this issue), but the Rhino link you gave IS a Hitch Mount (labelled as such, both in the title of the listing and the description). Therefore it requires a square hitch style tow bar. I do not have that style of tow bar, which it why I need a Tow BALL mount style.

VicMic.
No arguments here If you think it isn't a towball mount but anyway, I hope the others can suggest one that suits your needs.

Image

VicMic
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby VicMic » Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:56 am

Smelly tofu,

Now it gets confusing. Not sure where you pulled that photo, but it appears that the link you suggested is the Rhino BRC041 which is in fact hitch mounted (no good to me).

However I did find that photo on a different model, the Rhino BRC006 which is a tow ball version (yay).

It is not the style I was after but definitely now on the radar. So I must thank you for your input which produced the BRC006 as an option.

Cheers,
VicMic.

P.S. to make matters more confusing, I notice some products are listed as hitch mount when that actually have a removable adapter fitted that makes them hitch mount, but the original product is in fact tow ball mount (with no mention of this).

VicMic
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby VicMic » Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:58 am

Gcouant,

Thanks for your suggestion. I will definitely have a look at these.

Do the wheel cradles slide 'inwards' to enable me to carry 16" kids bikes?

Thanks,
VicMic.

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gcouyant
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby gcouyant » Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:21 pm

VicMic wrote:
Do the wheel cradles slide 'inwards' to enable me to carry 16" kids bikes?

Thanks,
VicMic.
Yes of course they are easily adjusted to suit just about any combination of bicycles.

Image

One of the clever aspects of this design is that you can configure the wheel support cradles in such a way to have zero sideways offset of the bicycles. This solves the problem of having to push one bike to the right and the other to the left in order to make them fit. The wheel cradles shown are the full size units. We manufacture optional small wheel support cradles to suit small bicycle wheels.

Oh, and Graeme thank you for the kind words mate. Appreciate it very much.
George from iSi Advanced Bicycle Carrier Systems

Ricos
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby Ricos » Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:27 pm

Hi George i am in the market for a bike carrier and cant seem to contact ISI. Are there any contact numbers to call

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gcouyant
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby gcouyant » Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:45 pm

Ricos wrote:Hi George i am in the market for a bike carrier and cant seem to contact ISI. Are there any contact numbers to call
Hi Ricos. I don't mean to be rude mate, but we shut the factory on a Friday afternoon for a ride and there is no way we work on a weekend when the weather looks favourable.

Happy to help and sorry for any hassle, but your enquiry will be answered in detail on Monday
George from iSi Advanced Bicycle Carrier Systems

tubby74
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby tubby74 » Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:55 am

VicMic wrote:Gcouant,

Thanks for your suggestion. I will definitely have a look at these.

Do the wheel cradles slide 'inwards' to enable me to carry 16" kids bikes?

Thanks,
VicMic.
I got one of these a couple of months ago. Works well carrying my bikes as well as my son's 16 inch bike, the cradles just loosen with allen key and move in/out. folding down with the bikes on, I never knew how much I'd use it until we go away with kids. coming with brake lights/number plates etc made it nice and easy thing, put in in a couple of minutes

Anna M
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby Anna M » Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:55 pm

I am replying to an old post because my problem is similar.
I have been looking for a suitable bike carrier for more than a year and haven't had any luck.
I am a female and am looking for a light-ish weight towball carrier that will carry up to 4 bikes. Preferably with a tilting option.
I have 2 kids who have 24 inch bikes which sounds big enough to fit most bike carriers but the space below the crossbar is not long enough to fit any of the ones I've tried. There is about 31cm under the crossbar depending on how high the bars on the carrier are that need to fit into the triangle.
I tried this one last week http://buzzrack.com/galleries/moose-4-t ... carrier-2/
which seemed perfect but the 24 inch bikes won't fit.
I have also tried https://www.thule.com/en-au/bike-rack/t ... 4-_-970805

Most of the carriers don't have detailed dimensions on line.

I can't be the only person to have this problem.
I want a bike carrier I can easily manage myself without needing a man to help.
We have a Thule 2 bike platform (from before kids) but I find it really heavy and awkward to handle so I don't want to upgrade to a 4 bike platform which will presumably be even heavier.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

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CaffeineAU
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Re: Bike Carrier for Kids bikes??? Help needed!!!

Postby CaffeineAU » Fri Feb 21, 2020 2:13 pm

We have a Thule Euroway 923 rack that holds 3 bikes (and can be expanded to 4)

https://www.thule.com/en-au/bike-rack/t ... 3-_-923000

My wife can easily attach and detach both the rack and the bikes. The rack itself weighs around 1kg more than my wife's bike so she finds it quite easy to handle.

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