How do you carry your electric bikes? (1 Viewer)

Nov 11, 2013
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I have a Bailey Approach Autograph 745 and recently bought a couple of A S electric bikes (one small 20" wheels, one 26"). We rather naively thought they would fold up a bit smaller than they really do, and that they would fit in our large under bed locker. Well they do fit but with microns to spare, and leave no room for anything else!

How do you guys carry your e-bikes? They seem a bit heavy for a bike rack, although the specific Fiamma rack for a Bailey is rated at 60kg I think, so should carry both. It just doesn't seem right to strap two heavy (40kg in total) lumps on the back hanging in mid air. We could just about fit one under the bed and put the biggest on a rack, but are there any better solutions? I know I could fit a towbar and a proprietary bike/scooter carrier but would that be overkill? The other alternative is to buy a new van with a large garage, but our Bailey is only a few months old and we love it, as well as having loaded it with kit since we got it. We would lose a fortune!
 

Chris

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You need to watch the weight on these bike racks.

We had a Fiamma fitted to our Burstner and put 3 normal bikes on it.

About 3 years after we fitted it and in the middle of Spain the rack started coming away from the van and we had to take them off and squeeze the bikes in the van between children , beds and bags.

I think what did the damage was the bikes bouncing around going up and down the ferry ramps.

As the OP said , they are floating about in mid air.

We haven't got a rack at the moment but next time I think I will get one of those bars fitted to the back onto a tow hitch ( I think that's how they are fitted) subject to any payload issues that may cause.

And subject to finances.

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GJH

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When we first had our electric bikes (we had an Autoquest 100 at the time) we folded them up and bagged them, keeping them in place in the dinette with the seat belts.
The Burstner has a rack so we have carried them on there (though we don't often use them these days because of the dearth of safe places to ride).
In both cases we removed the batteries and carried them separately to reduce weight.
 
R

Robert Clark

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image.jpg
We used to have ours on a standard bike rack, however it was very high off the ground which made it difficult to lift them up. Furthermore with the bike cover fitted it obscured the view of our reversing camera
We went for a towbar mounted bike rack form Watling Engineers, the made a special frame, attached the bike rack and did all the electrics too, they can make towbar frames for any make and model of motorhome
Hope this helps
Robert
 
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pappajohn

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When we first had our electric bikes (we had an Autoquest 100 at the time) we folded them up and bagged them, keeping them in place in the dinette with the seat belts.
The Burstner has a rack so we have carried them on there (though we don't often use them these days because of the dearth of safe places to ride).
In both cases we removed the batteries and carried them separately to reduce weight.

How does that work then Graham ?

If i take the seats out my car and put them in the boot will my car weigh less ????

Or...

A parcel from grandma.

Dear grandson, here is the coat i promised you for your birthday.
i hope it fits as i bought it here so you cant take it back if it doesnt.

Ps. I cut off the buttons to save a bit on postage.......they are in the pocket.

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Badknee

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The bike rack fitted to our Wentworth is so bloody high I'll need a step ladder to put any bikes on it :(
image.jpg
 

Badknee

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How does that work then Graham ?

If i take the seats out my car and put them in the boot will my car weigh less ????

Or...

A parcel from grandma.

Dear grandson, here is the coat i promised you for your birthday.
i hope it fits as i bought it here so you cant take it back if it doesnt.

Ps. I cut off the buttons to save a bit on postage.......they are in the pocket.

I would imagine if the batteries are put in the van there's less weight on the rack.
 

Tootles

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We have a tow ball mounted double rack, because I once saw the complete back ripped off a MH at the side of the M6. :(:(

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GJH

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How does that work then Graham ?

If i take the seats out my car and put them in the boot will my car weigh less ????

Or...

A parcel from grandma.

Dear grandson, here is the coat i promised you for your birthday.
i hope it fits as i bought it here so you cant take it back if it doesnt.

Ps. I cut off the buttons to save a bit on postage.......they are in the pocket.
:LOL: I meant to type "unit weight" John. The batteries travel separately in a locker so it reduces the weight on the bike rack (and the weight I have to lift). :LOL:

EDIT - I've just seen the follow-up posts by yourself and Paul :LOL:
 
Mar 21, 2010
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Take out the battery it will make a load of difference, I am sure rack will take two bikes without the batteries.

colyboy

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Bailey58

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The very project we're going through at the moment. I have already written this on another thread but we have a 26" and a 20" from AS Bikes and I wasn't too impressed with the idea of lifting them high onto a rack nor the safety element.

I emailed Fiamma regarding the Pro C which is recommended for the mounting places provided on the Bailey (we've the 740 Approach). I suggested the 4x100mmx5mm pins which held the rack in place didn't seem up to the job of holding around 35kg of bike on our bumpy potholed roads but was eventually assured it was.

As our van is also approaching (get it? :)) our 3500kg limit I'm toying with the idea of uprating to 3700 which is only a paper exercise and would cost £280 through SV Tech.

Then comes a towbar and some sort of bike mount. Westfalia do a nice job which clamps onto the towball at around £425 or a £100 less at the shows (Jan and Feb next). I queried the safety aspect of this too having visions of the mount spinning around the towball but apparently the flat surfaces make this impossible. I also asked on the Al-Ko stand on towbar options and they took details which they will send to Germany for an answer and price, quite who will carry out the work should I like the answer I never thought to ask as the girl was quite attractive and had nice breasts :laughing: but I will post again if they come up with anything sensible.

I shall watch the thread with interest but I think I know our options already and they're not cheap. Oh and Easy-lifter do a hydraulic lift for £780. :Eeek:
 

Forestboy

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We use a Fiamma rack rated at 60 kgs but were worried about the damage all that weight could do to the rear wall especially after reading about someone who ripped the rear door of a panel van doing the same thing. So I made a couple of brackets from the chassis to the underside of the bike frame with some 1 inch box which supports the rack just enough to take the weight off the rear wall. Made it in sections and fits with wing nuts so easy to put on and take off and fits in the rack runners when not in use. Bit of over kill maybe but for piece of mind worth it and I hate to think what it would cost to repair a rear wall.
Cost £50.00
On a recent 3000 mile trip around Europe we had loads of interest in it and quite a few photos taken so a common worry obviously.
Couple of pics below

IMG_0547.JPG IMG_0546.JPG
 

Badknee

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:LOL: I meant to type "unit weight" John. The batteries travel separately in a locker so it reduces the weight on the bike rack (and the weight I have to lift). :LOL:

EDIT - I've just seen the follow-up posts by yourself and Paul :LOL:


Them batteries, stick 'em under the bonnet that will even the weight out. :whistle:

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musson

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Hi we use the fiamma rack, carry mountain bike style and dutch style electrics we always take the batteries out
I think the weight without batteries is about 50kg ish
We used to use to Geebikes (same as freego)folders on the same rack with no problems again taking the batteries out. Paul
 
Jan 13, 2014
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If it's a decent bike? It will have a Lithium Battery and they weigh next nothing,the nonsense of taking them on and off the bike is not normal as they are designed to stay on the bike and be charged on the bike.

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irnbru

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We use a bike rack fitted to the towbar. Didn't want to risk the back of MH being ripped off.
 
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I should add that we are fortunate in having a Garage for our (2) bikes but we still purchased a unit to carry them.

These people offer a fantastic product that goes far beyond the quality offered by the likes of Fiamma/Thule.
alfred-weih.de

Though in Germany they ship direct and have no language problem, I dealt with a guy called Robert Buck.

Something to consider.
 

Bailey58

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Lithium-ion actually which are re-chargeable as opposed to disposable lithium, the pair we have weigh 6.3kg so worth taking off and sticking up the front of the van.

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trekkin

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We had a bespoke rack made for two electric and two manual bikes. Manufactured by an independent motorhome mechanic. Fastens to rails on the chassis, unboltable and removable.

All for about £350

Or try a small trailer
 

Bailey58

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I should add that we are fortunate in having a Garage for our (2) bikes but we still purchased a unit to carry them.
These people offer a fantastic product that goes far beyond the quality offered by the likes of Fiamma/Thule.alfred-weih.de
Though in Germany they ship direct and have no language problem, I dealt with a guy called Robert Buck.Something to consider.

Broken Link Removed. So which one did you buy, when I downloaded the price list it started getting complicated particularly as my German is on a par with my command of most foreign languages. :frowny:
 

Mousy

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I must confess I read the title of this thread "how do you carry your electric bikes?"
And I thought bloody ell we just ride ours, I couldn't lift mine if my life depended on it.

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OllieUK

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How does that work then Graham ?

If i take the seats out my car and put them in the boot will my car weigh less ????

Or...

A parcel from grandma.

Dear grandson, here is the coat i promised you for your birthday.
i hope it fits as i bought it here so you cant take it back if it doesnt.

Ps. I cut off the buttons to save a bit on postage.......they are in the pocket.

Ha ha ha, so funny :LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL: :cooler: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:
 
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injebreck99

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We have an Altera Strada towball mounted carrier from The Roof Box Company, same as the Thule version, for our 2 full size electric bikes, I had my misgivings at first that the whole lot would fall off the towball, but we have not had a single moment(yet!), we also carry the batteries in the inside for less weight on the towball, also for security reasons as well.
I had a Fiamma ProC carrier already on my Bolero when we bought it, but didn't like the thought of that weight bouncing around on flimsy mountings attached to the back wall .
 

kelv

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I also have a alter strada tow ball rack great bit of kit tilts if you have rear doors so you can open doors with rack on

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Judge Mental

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Lithium-ion actually which are re-chargeable as opposed to disposable lithium, the pair we have weigh 6.3kg so worth taking off and sticking up the front of the van.

Yes...take of all you can to discourage thieves... if they can't nick the bikes they will remove bits and pieces...and an ebike without saddle, battery and charger not so easy to sell on.

we have a Busbiker NL..a superb bit of kit for panel vans tha need access to rear doors. Have a ground anchor bolted to frame and use a security chain, its very secure, peace of mind is what I wanted

 

ebo

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I wasn't happy with the extra weight of the ebikes (20kg) each without the battery, although the rack is rated at 60kg I wasn't sure the rear wall of the motorhome would take it, there appeared to be a lot of flexing and didn't fancy a couple of large holes in the back after we went over a pot hole or a sleeping policeman.
I've strengthened the fiamma rack mountings by using their support bar kit, and also using a metal bar across the top and bottom mounting points inside the van, I also made two support poles that sit on the tow bar, these are attached using clevis pins with R clips so are quick release for when not carrying the bikes, to whole thing now is very solid and there's no movement or flexing on the rear wall, the poles now take all the weight.

image.jpg
image.jpg
 

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