Hello from Brad & Marion keen electric bike riders
Hello eveyone.
We have been campers for many years and just moved over to caravaning. We hired a couple of motorhomes but felt that the added flexibility with caravans outweighed the faff of towing.
So we have invested in a new Swift and now (Feb 21) have it on our storeage site in lockdown. One thing we found during research was that carrying cycles does not seem to be widly addressed by manufacturers, except Swift. Which we found really surprising.
We moved into electric bikes in 2018 and found that they bring back all the joy of cycling we had in our youth. Hills - bring them on - we power up them aot eve puffed at the top.
Just as with caravaning there are many pitfalls in buying an electric bike and we have benefited by listening to experienced caravanners so if you are think about an electic bike and have any questions let us know we will be happy to help. Its what we can give back for all the great help we have had.
We hope to link up with other cyclists, electric or not, as we travel round this year and start more discussions with other cyclists who are in the Club.
So if you see a Swift 560 with 2 electic bikes on the back when you are on a site wave to us or come over and meet us, We look forward to meeting you all over the coming years.
Comments
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Hello and I share your enthusiasm of ebikes and thanks for the offer of helping.
I have thought about taking the bikes with me and we too have a swift with the mounting points already there. One question, or rather a worry, is about having all that weight (of two bikes near 50Kg?) tight at the back of the caravan and will that affect towing?
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Yes that is true, thanks, but what about stability, won't that amount of weight at the back affect nose weight? I suppose as Swift have the mounting points ready it's been thought out?
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Mmm, but were they thinking of lekky bikes or ordinary pedal bikes? Even with batteries removed, lekky bikes are a hefty lump.
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yes the batteries are only a few kilograms, the main weight is the motor.
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yes exactly the same for me. I suppose you'd have to put them on and see what effect they had on the nose weight then rearrange inside to get that right again?
car rood mounted might be better but difficult to lift them up on my high Kia.
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I used to use roof with normal bikes but had to stand on caravan step to put them on. Wouldn’t risk it with e bikes, as I could imagine ending up on my back with a bike on top of me.
OH and I purchased a cpl of folding e bikes for using while away in the caravan. As there are just the 2 of us the rear car seats can be folded and bikes put in the car. While not as good as full size bikes it a compromise. I am not happy putting them on or in the caravan due to weight issues, and I have a weight upgrade for my van.0 -
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First welcome to B&M.
I had considered electric bikes but it was not till using a friends, on holiday in France in 2019, that I took the plunge and bought one in the Black Friday sales that year.
It was clear that I would need to look at my options for carrying as the weight and down tube size, it’s where the battery is mounted on mine, being the main issues.
As said by others lifting a 19kg bike onto the roof of a car is not the easiest thing to do and the potential for damage, to you or the car, quite high.
However I soon found that the weight of the bike meant only one or two racks were suitable.I have tried, or considered, all the options that AD has mentioned but whilst I have no issues when solo, I have a Thule Ball mounted rack,it is the towing that presents the problem.
A rear of the van rack is not something I have considered and have narrowed down the possibilities to a single suitable option, the MaxxRaxx, which will be able to be used solo or when towing and the weight capacity of the bar and car are OK.
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We have one of these when not towing, a Thule xt2, highly recommended and as easy to carry and put as shown. Used it when Mrs C went to work and I park there to extend where I can go.
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Facts please. What weight of rack plus electric bikes hanging on the back wall of their caravans does the Swift warranty cover?
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This is a very good website for all things ebike. Pedelecs do bike insurance as well, we have used them, very good.
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/transporting-ebikes-when-towing-a-caravan.28922/
Its the nose weight issue with carrying ebikes on rear of a caravan. We carry two ebikes (minus batteries) on back of our AS Gatcombe MH with no problems. We always transported our two conventional bikes inside caravan over axle, carefully stowed. But you can get lots more kit for taking bikes nowadays.
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We have a couple of bikes and carry them inside the caravan, after taking the batteries out.
Mind you we have a payload of 206kgs and even with the bikes in only just touch 150kgs. Both are sited over the axle. Have no problem with stability.
Like A&J we have a Thule rear mounted bike carrier for the 2 when not towing. Great bit of kit but it does take up quite a bit of boot space.
They have made a significant difference to our cycling. Due to health reasons I was finding that I ran out of puff on a normal flattish cycle after about 30 miles. This was sometimes only half way around so we now use the electric aspect but only when needed. Still feel the need to use pedal power.
Wish there was one for walking in the hills.
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I am a great believer that instability has more to do with right foot than any other single factor and a rear rack .was top of my wish list when we changed the van.
I will agree with that, that can be one reason for instability. But so can bad loading. You should load your vehicle and any trailers so that they are safe to drive at the permissible speed limits. When safe to do so of course.
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No stress I know my vehicles are spot on. Nose weight within the limits checked with gauge. Tyre pressures correct checked with gauge. Basically the I lift it to check weight been doing it for 40 years now”I know what I am doing”. It reminds me of the old I have been driving for 40 years and never had an accident. What you don’t know is how many the said person has caused.
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, we know it breaks all the rules about weight distribution but in over 27000 miles in 5 years we had no problems with it and among continental caravanners it is the norm.
A statement from your website which to me is proof that that you are cavalier about road safety. I just hope that not to many people take any notice of this.
How many more rules are broken.0 -
DT, you seem determined to cause an argument.
If you carry out the checks you say good for you, but my money is on most folk being somewhat less fastidious, but no less safety minded.0 -
It’s not a game. What you need to realise is that an unstable outfit is dangerous. You might have got away with it all these years. So just realise this, one day due to your unstable outfit which is rear end heavy you have an accident. In that accident due to your rear end heavy caravan you get into a snake. The car next to you gets sideswiped and the people in the car get killed. Whose fault would that be.
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DT, to use your phrasing, you need to realise how aggressive and condescending you sound.
On what do you base you comment that the van is ‘rear end heavy’ or unstable, and the mention of resulting deaths is both ridiculous and distasteful.
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