Transporting Bicycles
Our last motorhome had a Fiamma Pro bike rack which was not too high but still required quite a lift to get bikes on the rack. Our new Bailey has the fixing for the same rack but unfortunately they are even higher up and therefore impractical for us. I have been looking at chassis mounted racks which are probably the easiest to load but come with quite a hefty price tag. I have been quoted £1600. One alternative is to have a tow bar fitted and use a detachable towball mounted rack. Another choice which gets over the height of the loading position is to have a lifting rack. These range from an electric version which cost around £1000 without fitting to the Fiamma Bike Lift at about half that price but has manual operation, less to go wrong I imagine? I just wondered if any of our motorhome owners have used any of these alternatives to the Fiamma Pro?
David
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David when we bought our 794 last year I wanted to fit the Fiamma bike lift, but was told by Lowdhams that it wouldn't fit on the mounting bars on the back (apparently they need to be higher up than the current fittings) and ended up with the Fiamma Pro bike rack and a free step. It is worth checking which bike racks will fit onto the mounting rails.
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David we are currently waiting to have a towbar fitted to our MH, all arranged through Witter. We have bought a Thule bike rack to fit on it.
As you say it will be much lower than the one on the Bailey MH but also the weight of 2 eBikes is to much for the rear doors of the van.
At the weekend we were away in the van but took the folding bikes with us in their bags, they fitted lovely through the rear doors and sat very nicely between the seats.
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Thanks for all the comments, most appreciated.
With regards the Fiamma Lift, it might fit as the top bar is quite high compared to our previous Bailey Approach 740 SE, see picture below of our current van. Not sure if the bathroom window might be an issue. As it would be two EBikes weighing about 22kgs each I am also not sure about having that weight at the higher level.
On the weight issue we should be OK as the van has a 750kgs payload and there is not a lot of weight at the back because its a rear bathroom. We have also cut back what we take in this one compared to the 740 which was so much larger.
The preferred option is a chassis mounted bike rack that folds but at the price I have been quoted it is a very expensive option, especially if as we get older we feel that bikes are no longer an option. The towbar option seems the most likely possibility. There is still a weight increase over a standard Fiamma Bike Pro but the lifting variety would also be heavier. It's complicated a bit more by the fact that it's an AlKo Chassis so it require extensions over the standard van fitting. I am just a bit concerned about the security of a towbar mounted rack and quite how folding EBikes (in their unfolded state!) would be secured on it as they are a different shape to standard bikes. Someone has kindly offered to show us how the towball system works when we see them on a campsite in a couple of weeks and perhaps that might allay my concerns?
I suppose with a towbar I could also tow a car
David
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David, I have a Thule towbar bike rack and find it much easier to load my folding E-Bike onto it. You can put one wheel at a time onto it which lessens the load you have to lift. I only fold the handlebars down before strapping the bike on. Another advantage of the tow bar bike rack is you can easily carry other items on it, e.g. an awning. It is also easily transferable to another vehicle.
peedee
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Hi David, not being MHs we dont have the exact same problem but very similar.
Bought an ebike last year and soon became apparent that using a roof mounted rack would be a problem, my current Thule rack cannot accommodate the down tube size and the weight is a real issue.
Been looking at alternatives and one is the Dachlift rack where you load the bikes at the side of the car and then it cantilevers up onto the roof.
Looking at the price it seemed expensive-£275-until I saw the price of the Fiamma rack!
Back when we seriously considered a MH it seemed every one we saw had a Fiamma rack on it.
Our MH buddies used a chassis mounted fixed rack, that accommodated a small scooter, and it may have been the price you mentioned but worth me asking.
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We use our towball mounted carrier for both our Ebikes when not caravanning.
It's a Thule Velocompact 2 cycle carrier that can carry a total load of 46kg, very solid clamp and key locking onto the towball and rock steady.
Our Ebikes (22kg each without battery) have no crossbar but the Thule clamp system allows positioning by moving the clamps horizontal or vertical along with a swiveling system, this allows it to clamp the seat post tube or the front angled tube no matter its shape (ours is oval/rectangular shaped) as in photo. Also the Thule base that the bikes sit on is adjustable to cater for different front to back wheel distances on your bikes, and the individual bike clamps also has a locking key.
All in all it's a very well thought out system that looks to be very well designed for a multitude of different sized, shaped bikes.
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Hi David, quick update re racks.
Spoke to my friend who tells me it was not chassis mounted.He had a flange tow bar fitted, its an Autotrail, and then got a rack that bolted to the flange.
Was substantial and took weight of a scooter.
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We use our towball mounted carrier for both our Ebikes when not caravanning.
Hi Metheven, yes we also have a Thule tow ball mounted rack but its the problem of carrying bikes, other than on the roof, that we have.
Each potential solution then throws up more issues and at the moment waiting to try a Thule Outride in the hope that with the battery and front wheel removed I can safely lift the bike to roof level to load it.
If not its then either a Maxx Raxx, if I can get the bracket attached to the detachable bar-previously discounted as I had a fold away bar-or carrying in the car which requires the handle bars to be removed, the hatch wont close otherwise, and is no use if taking more than one person in the rear.
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Hi David, friends just come back to me. he thinks it was one of these;
https://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/motorbike_scooter_carrier.html
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Hi 'allanandjean', yes my reply was specifically for a towball carrier for Motorhome/Car use.
As for our bikes when caravanning, they get put into the caravan. We have a two single bed layout and the bikes lean against each bed in a 'V' shape with the front wheels against the bathroom door, and the rear wheels 'chocked' so no fore and aft movement. We also have been uprated to just over 300kg payload.
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Thanks again everyone for your comments. I think I am probably moving towards the idea of having a towbar fitted. The probable choice then will be one of those suggest here.
TG a question if I may, I seem to recall you initially had Pro Rider Wayfarers but I think you may have changed recently. Would you mind sharing what you now have. Having failed to find a new battery for one of our Pro Riders that actually fits and am now considering buying at least one new bike but don't want to spend a fortune as we don't use them a lot.
David
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Thanks TG
I had been looking at those, quite tempted by the larger wheeled one but that worried a bit about the size ,and extra weight, when being transported. The Pro Riders we have are in excellent condition but I don't feel I want to risk buying yet another battery which looks correct but turns out not to be if you see what I mean?
David
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We have a Thule tow bar carrier for our ebikes. Sounds like the one TG has bought. Very good piece of kit, easy to use and secure. We always add our own locks around bikes as well. Be aware that you might need a plug in electrics adapter, depending on your vehicle’s towing electrics. The bike carrier has a seven pin system. We only use Thule with our cars, MH has a Fiamma rack fitted, and we can still get our bikes up onto it, if working together.
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David, just came across this again.
The battery that Phil got for his Pro Rider bike looked the same, as you say but he had to change the plate that the battery sits on, it came with the battery and was a simple job to swap over.
Worked fine from then on, in fact the folk who bought both of them from us sent us photos recently of them still using them (Bailey owners)
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You might like to consider something like this which I have had a great many years. It is a plate which bolts behind the tow ball using the tow ball bolts into which you slot a couple of metal posts. These form a "V" on which you hang a bike. I have used this towing as well because it does not interfer with hitching up.
peedee.
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I have found it very good even though it is such a simple idea. I also have a Thule towball carrier which I use when I want to carry more than just my bike.
peedee
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