Having spent a while trawling through the forum looking for bike rack discussions, I have come to the following conclusions:-

Tow bar mounting is the way to go
Thule are the favoured manufacturer.

However, I have a need to transport 4 bikes on journeys of approximately 30 mins for family afternoons out in the woods. I had originally though that I would buy the Thule 9403 three bike rack that retails for about £160 and then throw the last bike in the back.

I have found that Halfords do an Exodus 4 bike platform, which isn't as elegant as the Thule but it will carry four bikes. The reviews are quite good (except for the bloke who fried his electrics).

My question boils down to: Has anyone tried one of these Exodus carriers or should I stick with Thule, ---------------------------
MY13 HSE Black Edition
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Santorini Black with Black Interior
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It's Very Black

I recommend Thule - I thought they did a 4 bike rack or a kit to add +1 to 3 - is it 4 adult bikes?

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carriers/bik...filterform

Bottom of the page - I think mine is a Euroway but that is now about 6 years old - depends what style you want. (Hanging vs standing).

it looks very similar to the Thule 3 bike carrier i have, same tubing, same supports and same light board

but the description says it doesn't tilt, which mine does, (albeit no very easily like the newer version), which means once the bikes are on, you can not access the boot

Last edited by npinks on Wed Jan 15 2014 11:55am. Edited 2 times in total

It is two adult bikes plus two large kids bikes (24" wheels) - only one of the 4 could be described as not heavy. ---------------------------
MY13 HSE Black Edition
----------------------------
Santorini Black with Black Interior
---------------------------------------
It's Very Black

To answer your question, no, I've not tried the Halfords 4 bike carrier.

But.....a friend has the Thule 3 +1 tow bar rack (Thule EuroClassic G6 LED 929) and it's very good, albeit quite pricey with the +1 add on.
I've used it with 4 road bikes off the back of the RRS and it was very stable.

Clearly there will be a price differential, but I can back the Thule's as being VERY well made. For me, when I had 4 road bikes on there, it had in excess of £20k's worth of carbon bikes on it, but if you are just moving run of the mill family bikes then maybe the Halfords one is the way to go.

You pays your money......

Edit: Valid point from Nick about the tilt. You will need it to tilt if you want to access the boot on the RRS (well on my MY12 anyway) ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

Another possible solution that tilts and a bit less money than the Thule.
http://www.skidrive.co.uk/cycle/product_de...tAodIkQAdQ

Have never seen them in the flesh though, but from the pics they look ok.

From this description, it says the Halfords one tilts. For the price diffeential, I'd get the halfords one, you'll always be able to sell it on for £75-100 if you decide to upgrade to Thule.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/...yId_165477 ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

Can you open the rear hatch on these tow bar carriers?

I think I may go with the Halfords one - my family's new-found enthusiams for the great outdoors may be short-lived and as BC says, I can always flog it and upgrade later. ---------------------------
MY13 HSE Black Edition
----------------------------
Santorini Black with Black Interior
---------------------------------------
It's Very Black

The Euroway tilts to clear the full tailgate

JimR wrote:

I think I may go with the Halfords one - my family's new-found enthusiams for the great outdoors may be short-lived and as BC says, I can always flog it and upgrade later.

Not looking for a towbar are you

MAW.....I was, but I secured one from ebay a couple of days ago. Allegedly brand new and genuine for £100 inc P&P. ---------------------------
MY13 HSE Black Edition
----------------------------
Santorini Black with Black Interior
---------------------------------------
It's Very Black

TheJollyBodger wrote:

Can you open the rear hatch on these tow bar carriers?

For the ones that tilt - yes 100%, you can open the whole boot. For the ones that don't tilt, it depends on the height they stand off the tow bar. ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

Ta, sometimes have bikes on the back and dog in the boot and wouldn't be any good if I had to take the rack off to get the dog out., normally have the bike on a SARIS Bones but don't like having it resting on the glass. Not so much a problem with the carbon road bike but the MTB is a bit heavier and I sometimes have a couple on!

JollyBodger - Here's a pick of my mates 4 bike rack on my old RRS (excuse the location, not my area )
Looks like there is plenty of room to open the rear hatch on a pre MY12 car, mine had the electric opening boot, so I had to tilt the rack 40 degrees down but was a 2 second job.

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