Cycle Carrier

Hi - we'll be picking up our "new to us" Kingham in a couple of weeks and plan to have a cycle carrier fitted on the back to carry 2 bikes totalling about 25kg.  All suggestions on which rack to choose, do's and don'ts very welcome.  Also recommendations for suppliers/fitters in the Midlands.  Thanks, Martin G.

Does the van have a tow bar fitted as that may make your choice a lot simpler. Unless you specifically wanted one that fixes on the back door.

No towbar fitted - we plan to fit to the rear door - preferably without restricting the opening of the doors?

There are just 2 that I’m aware of, the popular Fiamma and the Thule (which I went for as it was the only one available in black at the time). It was a bit pricey but I’m very happy with it.
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If you go for one of these, to be safe I would bolt it on also, as in the instructions. I understand this takes some of the strain off the door lips, I have seen pictures on here of damage.

I bolted our's on, but being stupid don't use it, had a mad moment and bought rack and lighting board + had a 13 pin socket fitted. Oh well it's there if we get the urge.

You will be able to open the rear doors, but the rack does make things a little tricky.
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Richard

I have a Thule rack on a Warwick Duo.  Fitted it myself. No mention of bolts. It carries the load with door-edge hooks AND Sikaflex adhesive.  Spoke to the supplying dealer and he declared complete confidence in the security when fitted as stated.  The only failure to his knowledge was a rack fitted during rain which compromised the widely accepted veracity of Sikaflex.
Keith

Richard, if I recall you had the Fiamma rack which I understand is best bolted on as you say. Like you I have also seen pictures of damage when not fitted correctly.
The Thule however is fitted as KMR states above. I also fitted mine myself and as long as the correct Sikaflex is used in the correct conditions, the rack is solid and going nowhere!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]As Richard had said this one is also bolted but the Thule is secured with sealant to stop movement

Sorry complete idiot that I am, did not know Thule is fitted with sealant.

Over and out,
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Richard

Our Sussex had a Fiamma rack fitted to the back door when we bought it.  I had a custom bag made for it to put chairs and smelly fishing gear in, I made sure it was well below the rack rating of 35kg, filled it was 23kg.

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First trip out the rack did this to the door.

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Took the rack off and found it was not bolted on the door skin as it should be but just hanging on the hooks around the edge of the skin.

The bent edges were easy to put back in place and luckily no paint damage had occured.

I refitted the rack spreading the load with 100mmx100mmx3mm steel plates bolted on the inside at the bottom, and a 25mmx25mmx3mm steel angle bolted across the full width of the door at the top.  

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To my mind this meant the whole weight of the rack was still on the outer door skin, so I took the top bolts (studs) all the way through to the inner skin of the door too, fixing it both sides of this skin.

I backed all this up with Silkaflex.

My only concern is the weight limit of the door itself, the rack maybe rated at 35kg, but what is the door rated at, so I try not to open the door with the bag on the rack?

I also made sure the rubbing plates at the top and bottom of both back doors were adjusted to be very snug when closed.

Hope this helps

That was the point I  was trying to make about the Fiamma rack, but my post got taken the wrong way, as always.

I also fitted load spreading washers inside the door, no problem sofar, but as I said we don,t use the rack!!

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Richard

The idea of hanging that sort of mass on a door skin did put me off that type of carrier as even non electric mountain bikes are heavy, especially if you hit a bump in the road. Firstly we had a maxxraxx carrier then went for a memo vanswing and a Thule bike-rack. Heavy but properly engineered.

Thanks everyone.  I have used Thule Roof Bars and Racks on cars and found it very reliable so I guess I'm leaning that way.  Pleased to hear I can fit it myself - recognising the need to do it in the right conditions.  I hadn't thought about additional lighting - will 2 bikes obstruct the lighting cluster enough to make this necessary?  Thanks again for your comments.  Martin G

With regards to the lights Martin, with the Thule (not sure about the Fiamma) set at one of the higher levels, the very top corner of the light assembly is obscured but IMO not enough to make it illegal.
I stress this is just my opinion but I have been passed quite a few times by police cars without issue.

Dbvwt wrote:With regards to the lights Martin, with the Thule (not sure about the Fiamma) set at one of the higher levels, the very top corner of the light assembly is obscured but IMO not enough to make it illegal.
I stress this is just my opinion but I have been passed quite a few times by police cars without issue.

as you say David as can be seen in my picture is folded down and just covers a small area of the o/s light when fitted to the higher position