Hi All

This is my first post here but I did do a google search of this group for a 
similar question and found only one other mention of the Tradekar carrier.

I'm looking at two carriers at a price of about £150;
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/bikeGen.cgi?type=det&query=TR437
and
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/towbar/Items/a007p4rafv?&caSKU=a007p4rafv&caTitle=Mottez%204%20bike%20towbar%20mounted%20cycle%20carrier%20tow%20bar 
or http://preview.tinyurl.com/5lxdnw

Does one appear to be better than the other, or do either actually look any 
good at all?
We currently use a tow bar mounted hang-on carrier, but it's pretty much 
useless for 4 bikes.
Our bikes are not particularly lightweight, weighing in at just under 60kg 
total. I could remove the saddles to save a couple of kilos ;-)

Thanks for any comments.

On 30 Aug, 17:08, "Grumps"  wrote:
> Hi All
>
> This is my first post here but I did do a google search of this group for a
> similar question and found only one other mention of the Tradekar carrier> I'm looking at two carriers at a price of about £150;http://www.roofbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/bikeGen.cgi?type=det&query=TR437
> andhttp://stores.channeladvisor.com/towbar/Items/a007p4rafv?&caSKU=a007p...
> orhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/5lxdnw
>
> Does one appear to be better than the other, or do either actually look any
> good at all?
> We currently use a tow bar mounted hang-on carrier, but it's pretty much
> useless for 4 bikes.
> Our bikes are not particularly lightweight, weighing in at just under 60kg
> total. I could remove the saddles to save a couple of kilos ;-)
>
> Thanks for any comments.

I bought the tradekar carrier a couple of months ago.  Used it a few
times now and am very happy with it.  Seems quite miraculous how it
hangs on the towball, I added a couple of extra straps from an old
door-mounted carrier because I couldn't believe it could just balance
on the towball like that, but I don't think it really needs them.
Very easy to load and unload, especially compared to threading several
bikes onto a hanging rack, and also the bikes are kept apart so they
don't scratch each other.  Only complaint is that it only comes with 3
arms to hold the crossbars and you need 4.  Very odd as the 4th isn't
in any of the pictures or parts list but gets a mention in the
instructions, I made one up for a couple of quid.

In article , Grumps wrote:
>I'm looking at two carriers at a price of about £150;
>http://www.roofbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/bikeGen.cgi?type=det&query=TR437
>and
>http://stores.channeladvisor.com/towbar/Items/a007p4rafv?&caSKU=a007p4rafv&caTitle=Mottez%204%20bike%20towbar%20mounted%20cycle%20carrier%20tow%20bar 
>or http://preview.tinyurl.com/5lxdnw
>
>Does one appear to be better than the other, or do either actually look any 
>good at all?

The "But not the TAKE FOUR! You step into the carrier, grab the frame holder 
(which is on the point of balance) and walk the carrier onto the tow ball."
looks convenient, but I don't have any practical experience of it.

(I can fit the cheaper holder I have single handed because I'm fairly large, 
but it is rather awkward.)

There was a thread on tow bar mounted carriers not long ago, but I'm failing
to find it on Google.

Double-take...

I read the thread title as "Town hall mounted carriers".

I'll get my coat.

In message , Grumps 
 writes

>Our bikes are not particularly lightweight, weighing in at just under 60kg
>total. I could remove the saddles to save a couple of kilos ;-)
>
Probably ok.

The key thing to check is the nose weight on the tow bar for the car, 
(on both of our cars -  Punto and Mondeo it is 75Kg, which should be ok 
for a rack and four bikes)
-- 
Chris French

On Aug 31, 12:17 pm, JNugent  wrote:
> Double-take...
>
> I read the thread title as "Town hall mounted carriers".
>
> I'll get my coat.

Why do I think you haven't pulled!

{translation: leave your coat where it is, you probably haven't pulled
with that line}

You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, the 
limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen + bikes 
came into a sniff under this.

On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
wrote:
> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, the
> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen  bikes
> came into a sniff under this.

You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
plate.
I've seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:16:20 -0700 (PDT), JP
 wrote:

>On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
>wrote:
>> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, the
>> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen + bikes
>> came into a sniff under this.
>
>You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
>plate.
>I've seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
>lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.

And the French Police at channel ports are very keen on handing out
tickets to rosbifs for the same reason too.

"JP"  wrote in message 
news:0f39ef3a-3b6e-4458-b01d-f08b6ec4da8d@25g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
wrote:
>> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, 
>> the
>> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen + bikes
>> came into a sniff under this.

>You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
>pate.
>Ive seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
>lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.

Thanks for all of the replies.
The nose weight is a max of 90kg, so 4 bikes + carrier is well under this.
And both carriers that I'm looking at come with the light + plate holder.

JP wrote:
> On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
> wrote:
>> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, the
>> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen + bikes
>> came into a sniff under this.
> 
> You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
> plate.
> I've seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
> lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.

As I understand it you don't want a trailer board.

  A trailer board is for .....Wait for it...... It's coming ... soon...

A trailer!

And has in addition to the lights, No plate etc... two, count them, two, 
  red reflective triangles , which denotes that the item it's affixed to 
is a .... trailer!


What's required is one of these

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_253707_langId_-1_categoryId_129470


Not one of these

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_510239_langId_-1_categoryId_131115

On 31 Aug, 20:32, Marc  wrote:
> JP wrote:
> > On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
> > wrote:
> >> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, the
> >> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen  bikes
> >> came into a sniff under this.
>
> > You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
> > plate.
> > I've seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
> > lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.
>
> As I understand it you don't want a trailer board.
>
>   A trailer board is for .....Wait for it...... It's coming ... soon...
>
> A trailer!
>
> And has in addition to the lights, No plate etc... two, count them, two,
>   red reflective triangles , which denotes that the item it's affixed to
> is a .... trailer!
>
> What's required is one of these
>
> http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_100...
>
> Not one of these
>
> http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_100...

You clearly understand nothing.


They are called trailer boards  because of the The Road Vehicles
Lighting Regulations 1989 which refer to Projecting trailers and
vehicles carrying overhanging or projecting loads or equipment

It''s a generic term.
Trailer boards are used on the back of boats, and cycle carriers,and
errr trailers  etc.

It is also used by retailers like Tesco, Towsure, Amazon etc etc

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.100-4603.aspx
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=28571&MAN=Sealey-Trailer-Board-For-Use-With-Cycle-Carriers-3ft-With-2mtr-Cable

There's even a website called errrr ...wait,..... for it

http://www.trailerboard.co.uk


and guess what they sell........ errrrr  wait for it......
trialer boards for cycles.

The red triangular reflectors have FA to do with it signifying a
trailer. They are part of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations
As these show
http://www.trailerboard.co.uk/index.asp?cat=&PagNo=13

All of which, as was your post,  totally and utterly irrelevant to the
OP.

"JP"  wrote in message 
news:0f39ef3a-3b6e-4458-b01d-f08b6ec4da8d@25g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 31, 5:32 pm, "wafflycat" <w*a*ffl£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
wrote:
>> You need to check the load capacity of the towbar. As an example, IIRC, 
>> the
>> limit on mine is 50kg, and the weight of the bike carrier chosen + bikes
>> came into a sniff under this.
>
>You may also need to consider a Trailer board, lights and number
>plate.
>I've seen several cops giving tickets to folks who obscure their rear
>lights and number plates with  towbar bike carriers.

On the two products the OP refers to, he won't need a trailer board as this 
is already built into both bike carriers. He'll only need to get a 
numberplate made for the carrier - lighting already built in.

On Tue, 2 Sep 2008, JP  wrote:
> 
>  The red triangular reflectors have FA to do with it signifying a
>  trailer. They are part of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations
>  As these show
>  http://www.trailerboard.co.uk/index.asp?cat=&PagNo=13

It's a crying shame to bring facts into it when you're so sure of 
yourself, but triangle reflectors may only be affixed to trailers.  
Sorry to spoil your rant.

RVLR 1989
Schedule 18, Part I, Clause 8, b:
"No vehicle, other than a trailer or a broken-down motor vehicle being 
towed, may be fitted with triangular-shaped rear reflectors."

And just in case you want to argue that 'a trailer' means something 
other than, well, a trailer, you will find in Part I clause 3 the 
definition of trailer : "A vehicle constructed or adapted to be drawn 
by another vehicle."

Perhaps you'd like to read the RVLR before sounding off about them 
again:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1989/Uksi_19891796_en_1.htm#tcon

HTH.

regards,   Ian SMith
-- 
  |\ /|      no .sig
  |o o|
  |/ \|

On 02 Sep 2008 18:22:04 GMT, Ian Smith  said
in :

>It's a crying shame to bring facts into it when you're so sure of 
>yourself, but triangle reflectors may only be affixed to trailers.  
>Sorry to spoil your rant.

This is true, but the generic term "trailer board" is often used to
apply to any lighting board.

Guy
-- 
May contain traces of irony.  Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> On 02 Sep 2008 18:22:04 GMT, Ian Smith  said
> in :
> 
>> It's a crying shame to bring facts into it when you're so sure of 
>> yourself, but triangle reflectors may only be affixed to trailers.  
>> Sorry to spoil your rant.
> 
> This is true, but the generic term "trailer board" is often used to
> apply to any lighting board.
> 
>
IME it used to , when all you could buy were "trailer" boards.
The market has now segmented into trailer boards for ...  you fill it 
in,  and lighting boards.

On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:21:30 +0100, Marc
 said in
:

>IME it used to , when all you could buy were "trailer" boards.
>The market has now segmented into trailer boards for ...  you fill it 
>in,  and lighting boards.

Now consider the intelligence and level of education of the average
shop worker :-)

Guy
-- 
May contain traces of irony.  Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:21:30 +0100, Marc
>  said in
> :
> 
>> IME it used to , when all you could buy were "trailer" boards.
>> The market has now segmented into trailer boards for ...  you fill it 
>> in,  and lighting boards.
> 
> Now consider the intelligence and level of education of the average
> shop worker :-)

Or web page designer?

I can show lots of web pages calling lighting boards " trailer boards" 
and vice versa

On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:46:31 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
 wrote:

<snip>

:

>
>Now consider the intelligence and level of education of the average
>shop worker :-)


You're a really nasty piece of work Chapman.

--   

If you're going to make snide insinuations about the author,
as you undoubtedly did, then you can fuck right off. (Guy Chapman)
If you are going to make accusations about someone, then you need to
be able to substantiate when asked to. (Judith Smith)

On Sep 2, 10:46 pm, "Just zis Guy, you know?"  wrote:
> On Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:21:30 퍝, Marc
>  said in
> :
>
> >IME it used to , when all you could buy were "trailer" boards.
> >The market has now segmented into trailer boards for ...  you fill it
> >in,  and lighting boards.
>
> Now consider the intelligence and level of education of the average
> shop worker :-)

Christ, I never realised your head was quite that far up your ass.

>
> Guy
> --
> May contain traces of irony.  Contents liable to settle after posting.http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
>
> 85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound