Lifting 25kg electric bikes

Quilter wrote:Welcome to the forum!

We found this made it easier:  position the bike along the end of the bike rack so that the front wheel is nose in to the end of a runner. Person 1 holds the bike in this position while person 2 lifts the front wheel  and tilts the bike so that it is almost upright on the rear wheel. Person 1 holds it steady in that position while person two locates the front wheel onto the runner bar. Person 1 then lifts the rear wheel and pushes gently while person 2 guides the front wheel along the runner. It can then be secured onto the rack and bike 2 dealt with in a similar way.

We always took the batteries off as this made them lighter to lift and have on the back of the van. Less likely to be stolen as well.

Plymouthwelshboy wrote:We have a Broadway EB and went for towbar as newbies with Thule rack. So.....our ebikes come in at 55kg. The rack is 15 kg. The tow bar requires the support legs to be removed and then the towbar plates and frame almost weigh 60 kg in themselves. All up we added 130kg + to the rear axle and immediately went over the axle.limit by 60kg when we added in water payload etc. To get around this and to increase the payload slightly anyway, we up plated the van ...which requires five new tyres to take the extra load. We were newbies and didn't see this coming...however, the semi air suspension has made the ride so much better it's like driving a different vehicle. Handling is hugely different and better. The bike rack is low enough that we can almost wheel the bikes onto the rack. We have extra payload capacity although we don't use it and the axle weight isn't exceeded. Search for our blog on all of it on the internet.....wherenexthun...... And then search air suspension and upplating .  As an aside we were horrified at how little.payload we had when we bought it and.out it on the weigh station before fitting the towbar etc etc. A full tank of diesel, quarter tank of fresh water, some.clothes for a week and we were pushing the payload limit pretty quickly.  We learned loads....painfully......but now we have come to realise it was worth it. Until I reach 70 I guess and then the medicals etc as our Moho is now rates over 3.5 tonnes . Hope that helps

Apple wrote:Greetings from a newbie . 

My partner and I (both pensioners) have recently graduated to a Broadway EB from a caravan so are still in the early stages of motorhome ownership. We are both keen e-bikers and previously carried the bikes on the car, a low lift option. Whilst we can just about manage to lift our current 25kg e-bikes onto the rack it is hard and painful work. I’ve seen the powered lift option but on a pension £650 is a huge extra cost for us. 

Anybody got any ideas to resolve this or on the feasibility of fitting a tow bar . I would be grateful for any advice, guidance or tips

Exploring another option I could perhaps replace the existing Fiamma rack with the Wind down model to facilitate lifting the ebikes on and off. Would I be correct in assuming that the original mounting plate location would be the same for the new dropdown rack and/or perhaps racks from other manufacturers eg Thule. I don't want to have to drill additional holes in the back panel. If that is the case do you know the practicalities of fitting a piece of aluminium section across the whole of the width of the van to spread the weight of the mounts. Hope that makes sense!

KMRTOPAZ wrote:I devised a method for Lifting an Electric Bike and this was explained and illustrated in a post of that title dated Oct 12th 2020 which can be sourced by using the search facility.
If it's any encouragement to you, I still use it, I lift using one hand, I will be 90 years young in a couple of months.
Keith