Tow bar bike carrier advice

[AJ1987]

I am getting a tow bar fitted and then ordering a cycle carrier for it. The other half had a pendleton Somersby Ebike, without being silly, will all the bike carriers carry a womens bike? - any advice on which one to get? I don't want to be spending 100's for it not to fit!

Thanks in advance

 

[GLJoe]

I am getting a tow bar fitted and then ordering a cycle carrier for it. The other half had a pendleton Somersby Ebike, without being silly, will all the bike carriers carry a womens bike? - any advice on which one to get? I don't want to be spending 100's for it not to fit!

Thanks in advance

I can't say if ALL the tow bar type carriers will work, but most of them are pretty adjustable.
I have an Atera one, and I've used many types of bikes on it, including ones without a crossbar.
Can't remember the exact model (and I'm sure it was WAY cheaper than these when I bought it!) however it looks very similar to:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Atera+022686+Strada+E-bike&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Just make sure all the mounting points can slide around to get the right position.

 

[graywok]

The Thule Europower is superb and best price I got by far was from Decathlon store. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/tow-ball-bike-carrier-europower-916-7-pins-for-2-electric-bikes/_/R-p-X8364943

 

[Ocsid]

For "hang on" bike racks, where the bike cross bar for example sits on "rods" there are for non cross bar bikes, like many female bikes, false cross bars. Like "THIS"
Having said that we have used a Thule "Hang on" rack for twenty years and it is great for our road bikes, but I have never dared use it for our e-bike.
For e bikes I really would recommend you only consider those types of racks where the weight is carried via the bikes wheels as on the road.
These can also be lower, so mounting the bikes less of a physical lift, plus, these can come with minimum effort securing provisions, not all the strapping I need with our hang on type.
Thule, are excellent in most things they do, but really charge for their quality and expertise.

 

[RetiredAndRolling]

My Thule rack is rated for ebikes and clamps onto the tow ball. It’s brilliant. It’s so quick to mount the rack and then mount the bikes and drive away. I carry two bikes and neither has a crossbar. Thule uses two quick clamp swinging arms, one short, one long, that can hold the lower part or vertical part of the bike frames. There’s no fiddling or particular alignment required. There‘s also no need for a hook-on crossbar. The whole rig is rock solid.

Now for the bad news. Thule ebike racks are not cheap. They are genius designs. I kept looking until I found a decent offer and coupled that with a discount code from a car magazine. Very satisfied.

 

[Danidl]

Thule do a cheaper range..and I paid about 150 in Halfords for a 3 bike towbar unit. We have put two ebikes on it. . .Both unisex or womens bikes .the wheels slide into a gutter and are tied there , and a upright pillar holds the saddle post. I found that a few bungees were the best way of attachment to the upright.
Additional advice is remove the battery before travel, and carry it in the boot.. they are very expensive, and a very heavy brick were they to fly off at 60 mph. It also makes it easier to guide the bike onto the guttes. I also remove the handlebar mounted controller on the Bosch, as it would be an expensive loss.

 

[sjpt]

I also remove the handlebar mounted controller on the Bosch, as it would be an expensive loss.

Also likely to suffer pretty badly from rain if left on the bike on the rack.

 

[Stevo7]

I am getting a tow bar fitted and then ordering a cycle carrier for it. The other half had a pendleton Somersby Ebike, without being silly, will all the bike carriers carry a womens bike? - any advice on which one to get? I don't want to be spending 100's for it not to fit!

Thanks in advance

I have just asked a similar question about stagger frame bikes, how did you get on?

 

[Ocsid]

Tow ball mounting bike "carriers" of this ilk where the wheels are planted in tracks are well suited for step through frames. LINK

Tow ball mounting bike carriers, of the type where the bikes hang, have some challenges carrying step through frames, though not insurmountable. LINK.

A way around carrying a step through on the latter "hang on" type rack is to fit the step through with a false cross bar, LINK.

The route we take is IMO largely dictated by the depth of our pockets and how we cope with the bulk of the kit in storage, and in dodgy areas when we park up the car. If these are no issue, I suggest the former track type are IMO better for weighty e-bikes.

 

[Old Grumps]

My Thule Velocompact 3 is rated for e bikes and is so easy to put onto the car.