How To Buy The Best Bike Rack For Your Car

SPONSORED BY MICKSGARAGE.COM

Are you looking for a new activity this summer that is fun, healthy, and free? Cycling is a great way of getting family and friends together and adding more fun, freedom, and adventure back into life once again.

With a simple bike rack, you can safely bring your bikes around Ireland on your staycation this summer. Or stay local and explore your favourite places and greenways on two wheels!

But what’s the best bike rack for my car? Cheap or premium? Towbar or roof-mounted? There are lots of different types of bike carriers available for your car, so we have teamed up with the experts at MicksGarage.com to guide you through your options, provide some top recommendations, along with essential information you need to know when choosing the best bike rack.

Micksgarage.com is an Irish company with an excellent website stocking an extensive range of bike racks and other adventure, travel, and road trip accessories for summer 2021.

Read our article to discover the best bike racks in Ireland and start planning your next adventure now!

What do I need to think about when choosing a bike rack for my car?

1. The number of bikes you want to carry at the same time. Just one bike or two, three or four?
2. Position you want to carry the bikes:  a) On the rear door (boot door), b) On the roof of the car, c) On the towbar of the car.
3. What type of bikes you want to carry? The only suitable carriers for electric bikes will be platform towbar carriers due to the weight of the bike. If it’s a bike with a very wide tyre width, you’ll need to check that the bike carrier (platform towbar bike racks) will provide enough space to get the tyre in.

Types of bike rack

There are three types of bike carriers for cars you can choose: rear door mounted rack, roof mounted rack or tow bar mounted rack.

1. Rear Door Mounted Rack

Benefits

• Convenient and affordable
• They fit most cars on the road
• Small, quick to set up and remove – only a little lifting of bikes is required.
• Easy to store

Things to consider

• Check your vehicle is compatible with a rear door bike rack. If your car has a plastic spoiler, generally it’s not advisable to carry a bike rack on the rear of the car as the weight of the rack and bikes can cause pressure on the spoiler and because it’s only plastic, could damage it.
• Ladies’ bikes will need a cross bar adapter so that they can easily and safely fit on a rack where the frame of the bike needs to sit on the rack (also available on MicksGarage.com).

Best Buy: UNIVERSAL 3 BIKE CARRIER

The Universal 3 rear door mounted bike carrier comes highly recommended from the MicksGarage team. It can securely hold three bikes and supports a maximum weight of 45kg. The carrier has a universal design and can be adjusted to fit most types of cars including hatchbacks, saloons, and estates. It can also fit 4x4s as well. It’s easy to assemble and folds away for easy storage!

Buy the Universal 3 here.

Browse more rear door mounted bike racks.

2. Roof Mounted Bike Rack

Benefits

• Safe and convenient to use.
• Very secure with locking function available.
• Keeps the boot completely free for access.
• No bikes in your field of vision while driving.

Things to consider

• You need roof bars (also available on MicksGarage.com) and a roof mounted bike rack to carry a bike on your car in this way.
• Lifting of bikes is required to get them on the roof.
• Consider if you’re going to be carrying a roof box or a canoe on the roof at the same time as well.

Best Buy: AGURI ACUDA (Black or silver)

The Aguri Acuda II Bike Rack Carrier is a beautifully designed product. The Micksgarage team say that this carrier is as high quality as a Thule Bike Rack but for a lot less and comes highly recommended. It’s available in black or silver. The carrier mounts to roof bars by a T-Track system (which is included). The carrier can hold wheels sizes ranging from 16″ to 29″ in diameter and tyre walls with a maximum of 80mm. Wheelbases ranging from 75cm to 130cms fit perfectly. If you love your bike, you’ll love the Aguri Acuda!

Buy the Aguri Acuda here.

Browse more roof mounted bike racks.

3. Tow Bar Rack

Benefits

• Extremely safe, arguably the safest way of carrying bikes.
• Very fast to install and remove.
• They look great.
• Very secure with locking function available.
• Can carry the heaviest weights so ideal when carrying a number of bikes or an electric bike.

Things to consider

• You will need to have a towbar installed on your car for this (also available from MicksGarage).
• If you have an electric bike, you really should be only carrying it on a towbar mounted carrier due to the weight of them.

Best Buy: PERUZZO PURE INSTINCT RANGE

For more than 25 years, Peruzzo has been producing bike carriers for cars made with high quality materials. The Peruzzo Pure Instinct range of carriers is a best buy if you are looking for a secure towbar mounted bike rack. Models available from the MicksGarage website can carry up to four bikes. Quick and easy to fit and remove, with a very compact and functional quick release system. Tilts for easy boot loading using a simple foot pedal. Supplied with grab arms for all bikes. Doubly safe with extra safety strap fixed to frame and complete with homologated rear light bar.

Buy the Peruzzo Pure Instinct Range here.

Browse more tow bar mounted bike racks.

Top Tip!

On the MicksGarage.com website, there is a handy tool to help find the best fit for your car for roof bars, tow bars or any other technical part of your vehicle. Simply enter your car registration number and you will be given the best matches for the exact model of your car! For browsing bike racks, you can browse by type of rack to help choose the right one for your car.

If you have any questions or need technical assistance you can call the team at 01-5311337 to speak to a Bike Rack Expert.

How much do I need to pay for a good bike rack?

Bike racks vary in price from €50 to €600. It all depends on the type of rack you want (rear door, roof, or towbar), how many bikes you want to carry at the same time, and your personal preference for what style will suit your car the best.

What essential features should any bike rack have?

This will vary depending on the type of rack:

1. Carrying Weight

Check the maximum load before you buy. Platform towbar mounted bike carriers can carry the heaviest weights, important for electric bikes as they are much heavier than standard bikes.

2. Security

Roof mounted and tow bar mounted bike racks are more secure because they come with locks and keys to secure your bikes to the rack.

3. Bike Tyre Width

This is only important if you have a very wide tyre on your bike. If so check that the platform towbar bike rack provides enough width for your tyre to slot into.

Are bike racks easy to fit?

Yes. There’s a little bit of assembly involved with some models, but it is not complicated, and full instructions are provided. In terms of fitting them to your car, it is very straightforward, and full guided instructions are included with each rack.

Do I need any other safety accessories?

Buying additional foam padding can protect your car and your bike from scratches when you mount/dismount your bike and rack. You can also buy bungee chords or ratchet tie down straps. These are useful if you want to hold things in a little tighter for extra security. There are even wall mounted bike racks available so you can store your bike neatly in your shed or garage when it’s not being used! Browse bike racks accessories here.

By Caroline Kidd

MicksGarage.com have the widest range of bike racks on their website. Check out the full range of bike racks from MicksGarage here.

They are known for fast delivery and excellent customer care, with almost a million happy customers to date and are rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot! Check out the MicksGarage.com website for a huge range of staycation and road trip accessories to make your next adventure awesome – paddle boards, roof boxes, roof bars, gadgets, tents, BBQ’s… and loads more …