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Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
The Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier carries 4 bikes and has a tilt function allowing you to still have access to your car's boot
Average Customer Rating:
(17 Reviews) 17
Rating Snapshot (17 reviews)
5 stars
3
4 stars
10
3 stars
3
2 stars
0
1 star
1
16 of 17(94%)customers would recommend this product to a friend
Customer Reviews for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Review 1 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
OK,
May 22, 2013
By Karibu
Quality
3
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
3
out of
5
"Had to return the first one I purchased as one of the fold out base tracks wouldn't click into position.
Product is ok and does what we bought it for - carries four bikes directly off tow bar.
As per other reviews it took about 2 hours to set up in the first instance, which wasn't to dificult, just a bit of a fiddle.
Once set up it takes about 1min to put the bike rack on the car and about 15min to put all four bikes on. Then about 5mins to take the bikes off at the other end.
Havent done any long journeys yet but short journeys seem fine.
Has alot of the main features that the expensive Thule models have except with out the convienience. For example where Thule appears to have a lever you push with your foot to activate the tilt mechanism, here you have to unscrew a plastic nut and pull a bolt out, which is a little bit difficult to access when the bikes are on and leaves you holding loose parts.
We have a VW Touran and the boot clashes with the carrier when using the tilt mechanism - can just open the boot door if you force it past the carrier (with a little scratched paint work) - this is likely to be due to the model of car and may not be an issue for all cars.
The way the instructions say the straps holding the bikes to the uprights should be used will result in the metal buckle either scratching the bike carrier uprights or the bike.
The plastic channels which the bike tires sit in seem a bit flimsy - not sure how long they will last. - as far as I can work out the position of these can not be adjusted to suit the bike size eg child vs adult, which seems odd and while a childs bike is secure, it sits rather awkwardly in these plastic channels.
So if you can afford the more expensive Thule models consider having a look at them, if you cant stretch that far this may work well for you.
Not withstanding the above, we generally happy with the product. (have used it on two outings so far)."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
0points
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Review 2 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
solid, easy to use, stores easily,
May 15, 2013
By ed51
from derbyshire dales
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
5
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: easy to use
Cons: first time set up tricky
"This is a very well designed bike carrier. The initial build and adjustment are very tricky so "We-fit" is worth every penny. Once it has been set up, very easy to fit, very easy to mount bikes on. Will fold and fit easily into boot if you want it to."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Value for Money - I like things to be as cheap as possible
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 2
Which Store did you visit? ASHBOURNE.
0points
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Review 3 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Very Good (once fitted!!),
May 07, 2013
By DaveM456
from Surrey
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: well made, easy to store, bikes are easy to load
Cons: fitting instructions, fairly heavy
"Like many others I found this carrier tricky to fit and set up first time around. The instructions included are a waste of paper so watch the video, although the spacers in the film are not included in the unit we purchased.
When set up it holds the bikes securely. The carrier seems to be very good value for money.
Note: 1 - if you have a tow bar that goes through the bumper put a cloth over the bumper as the carrier is bulky and can damage the paint work.
2 - the drop down is not easy to operate when fully loaded."
2 - the drop down is not easy to operate when fully loaded."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 45 - 54
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 2
Which Store did you visit? EPSOM
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Review 4 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Good item but fitting needs care,
April 26, 2013
By Amax
from Yorkshire
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
5
out of
5
Performance
3
out of
5
Pros: 4 bikes, good value, good once set up, video support on line
Cons: not that easy to construct, instructions useless
"This is the mottex product manufactured for Halfords. Once fitted it takes 4 bikes really well and I was impressed by the compact storage it needs when the arms are folded up.
Like others, fitting it was a longer process than I had expected. Being a european item it really is designed for a swan neck tow bar. The no words Euro instructions make as much sense as an Ikea flat pack so watch the video. First thing is that there must be some trickery on the young lady who seemingly strolls up and lifts the rack onto the tow bar. It's not that heavy but even the box says 'two man lift'!
When fitting it was not clear that you had to remove some buts in the ball end fitting area, which are a bit of a fiddle without a long handled allen key. i replaced the nuts with nylocks because I felt these would jiggle and fall off on the road - probably a sign of meting a price point.
The adjustment of the clamp is also tricky requiring adjustment without any weight on the rack. Then it says that you need to create a resistance of 70 newtons - how on earth do you know what this is - basically it need to be strong enough not to come undone.
The vertical support are OK but need a degree of 'fettling' to get the bolts in and again the dome nuts seemed wrong for the job.
Bikes on were easy and then were were off!"
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 45 - 54
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Value for Money - I like things to be as cheap as possible
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 2
Which Store did you visit? HARROGATE
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Bike Rack,
April 22, 2013
By Douglas19
from Elgin
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
"Good value for money.Only issue being instructions beeing very poor."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 2
Which Store did you visit? ELGIN
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Good but takes a bit of time to set up,
April 15, 2013
By Ratty25
Quality
5
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
"A solid well built Nike carrier. Set up takes a bit of time and not helped by the sparse instructions. However feels safe and secure and performed well on its first trip out."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Does the job,
April 13, 2013
By Lingo
from Leigh on sea
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
3
out of
5
Pros: design
Cons: instructions
"The product does the job and good value if you can purchase it when on offer. As others have said the instructions lack words. Sometimes the pictures are fine but had to spend time working out how to adjust the bolts. However once I worked this out am pleased with the purchase."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 45 - 54
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 1
Which Store did you visit? SOUTHEND
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Bad Manual,
April 08, 2013
By Chris1963
from Cork, Ireland
Quality
3
out of
5
Value
3
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: foldadable system, clamp to tow bar system, holds 4 bikes securely
Cons: heavy & fiddly to fit & set, manual
"This is an ok product once all the screws etc are adjusted right. The manual is totally misleading with the brackets for tow bar. Went back to Halfords with product & they found manual confusing & misleading too. Took 3 attempts to get it fitted right then ended up doing it myself as the video shows a different set up from manual.Forget manual just follow video .Halfords staff had never fitted one before so i was basically a guinea pig. You have to laugh at video , the light weight girl who carries the rack .Once rack was fitted discovered the lights didn't work properly, opened the unit up & found 3 wires not screwed in . It does the job though once fitted & quite solid but very fiddly. Halfords staff were very helpful & there customer service is excellent, just need to train there staff on some of there products a little more."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 45 - 54
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 1
Which Store did you visit? CORK
0points
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Review 9 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Great Product,
January 08, 2013
By Grumps60
from Essex
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: the robustness of the product
Cons: the locking pins
"A bit fiddly to customise the locking mechanism to close-couple to car tow ball but once done the carrier fixes/unfixes in seconds.
The locking pins in the hinged wheel carriers are a bit of a pain to depress fully in order to fold back - but the top of a biro works wonders.
The simplicity of fit indicated in the Halfords product video will amuse all those who have gone on to buy this product."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 55 - 64
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - No Children
How many cars: 2
+1point
2out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Good piece of kit.,
October 11, 2012
By familyof5
from East Anglia.
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: transports 4 bikes., foldable and tilting., easy to mount., good price.
Cons: not exactly the same product as video., can be complex & fiddly to set up and adjust., seems to be heavier than the stated 18.5kgs., poor instruction manual.
"Researched for a few months to find a suitable carrier for 4 bikes - need to transport 5 bikes for my family. Did not want to put all on the roof as had previous experience with a different vehicle (4X4) and it was cumbersome lifting them all up there, plus height restrictions had to be watched. Did not like the idea of using a 'clip-on' version that hangs on the rear hatch - also previously used with scratches resulting from brake levers etc. - even with using protectors.
So having set a budget and found similar items decide on the Advanced Foldable Tow bar Cycle Carrier found here. Reasons - #1. Local shop; if had a problem or did not fit would be easy to sort. #2. Price; taking delivery charges or transportation for similar products into consideration, was comparable, or cheaper. Found an identical product on an auction website - after reading their small print found they were customer returns. #3. Reputation of Halfords. #4.Lots of positive recommendations.
So having set a budget and found similar items decide on the Advanced Foldable Tow bar Cycle Carrier found here. Reasons - #1. Local shop; if had a problem or did not fit would be easy to sort. #2. Price; taking delivery charges or transportation for similar products into consideration, was comparable, or cheaper. Found an identical product on an auction website - after reading their small print found they were customer returns. #3. Reputation of Halfords. #4.Lots of positive recommendations.
Received text message on mobile and phone call on land-line to inform me of arrival at store - 2 hours earlier than the estimated time on the order confirmation e-mail - excellant service.
Box was larger than anticipated and help was offered to put into my car.
It took 2 hours to adjust and eventually fit onto the car, after being careful with each adjustment. Now easy to mount in seconds. Hatch opens without obstructions - car is a Toyota Verso, with a factory fitted swan neck tow bar."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 1
+12points
12out of 12found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Fantastic product,
October 03, 2012
By Alan1753
from Essex
Quality
5
out of
5
Value
5
out of
5
Performance
5
out of
5
Pros: easy to mount., easy to load up (with bikes)., tipping mechanism., easy to drive with.
Cons: very difficult to fit first time., not all the supplied bolts fit., rocks side to side with each pot hole.
"Once you have gone through the pain of the setting up, this bike rack is a dream to use. Simply lift the unit onto your tow ball, depress the handle, connect the electrics and load the bikes. At my second attempt it look me less then 12 minutes to rig two adult bikes. Driving with it was very easy too (I have a Ford Galaxy).
The fitting was a painful experience. Even with the help of a Halford's staff member it took over an hour. This was because the manual was very badly written and primarily written for a swan neck not a flange bar. Some of the bolts for the uprights were too short and I had to supply my own!
Having said all this, now that its all set up, I love it."
The fitting was a painful experience. Even with the help of a Halford's staff member it took over an hour. This was because the manual was very badly written and primarily written for a swan neck not a flange bar. Some of the bolts for the uprights were too short and I had to supply my own!
Having said all this, now that its all set up, I love it."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
Family: I'm Living with Partner/Spouse - With Children
How many cars: 1
+5points
6out of 7found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Good with reservations,
July 09, 2012
By miketimeaid
Quality
3
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
"This bike carrier is great if you need to carry 3 or 4 bikes on your car in a safe manner – no rocking and rolling about. You feel that your load is secure with 5 straps and a sturdy frame supporting each bike.
However, the setting up of the carrier is no easy matter. The wordless instruction book is difficult to follow and I would not have managed without the video help on the Halford’s website. Although helpful, this video gives a misleading impression about how easy the process is. 1) It shows a slender woman effortlessly lifting the carrier onto the car – there must have been some hidden wires helping her. I’m no weight lifter but I’m not a weakling either and I struggle doing it. 2) It shows her just leaning over and touching the tilt control knob to remove it – in practice it is a more difficult job, especially when loaded with a few bikes, because they prevent you from getting good access. Having said that, the tilting mechanism works a treat on my estate car and clears the opening rear door easily.
The two upright supports require a bit of effort to slacken off when you want to fold them – it isn’t just a question of pulling a lever. When loading and unloading 4 bikes you have to spend a fair time with the straps which secure them. The bottom wheel straps can be tricky and you have to learn how to set them properly. Don’t expect to be able to easily remove one of the ‘middle’ bikes without removing others first – there isn’t room to do this, so think about the order in which you stack them.
On delivery my pack was short of some large washers which were required to adjust the hitch. I had to go out and buy these, together with longer screws for the uprights because the ones supplied were too short to do the job properly. Also, one of the uprights is very slightly bent and the bolt hole will need to be drilled to a larger size to make it fold more easily.
The hitch adjustment is not a simple process when it is all new to you and you don’t understand fully how it fits. If you are not very practical or don’t have suitable tools it’s probably better to pay Halfords to set it up for you.
All in all a good buy, but it requires a lot of effort – only 3 stars are because of this, but the item itself deserves 4 stars."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 65 & Over
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
+9points
9out of 9found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Setup,
May 15, 2012
By woodycutter
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
Pros: solid
Cons: manual is poor
"Easy to assemble but it does have some washers and screws that the manual refers to missing, simple to find in my garage but not everyones, apart from that its solid and value for money. There is a video on the halfords site that makes setup much easier than the (no words) manual."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
4 cycle carrier,
April 21, 2012
By Rab81t
from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Quality
5
out of
5
Value
5
out of
5
Performance
5
out of
5
Pros: easy to use, folds for storage
Cons: need space on tow ball, no number plate included price
"The halfords 4 cycle carrier is a cheaper option to the Thule carrier, took me just over an hour to set up on the tow bar. In the instructions it says you need a minimum of 30mm clearance to the centre of the tow ball but in reality you need a minimum of 65mm for the clamp to work, once setup the ease to put on and take off is simple(has to be for me!). The tilt mechanism works easily and is well balanced with the bikes on, I have this fitted to a volvo estate and can only fit 3 bikes legally which is good has 4bikes would not allow my boot to open."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Does what it says on the tin,
February 09, 2012
By Mikey87
from Wakefield, England
Quality
4
out of
5
Value
5
out of
5
Performance
5
out of
5
Pros: nice and sturdy
Cons: a little heavy
"I bought this as it seemed to be the best all rounder at a reasonable price.
It does exactly what it should. I found that the bolts which angle the rack needed to come out completely to sit right on the car, but now it does.
I found that it wasn't tight enough on the tow ball either and had to wind a couple of nuts right in.
The only other thing i'm not thrilled about is the upright posts do fold slightly, which is needd to get it into my boot. So that feature is great. Unfortunately, the way that it achieves that leaves some play in the upright support. It's never going to come loose, but the bikes to wobble a fair amount pulling and pushing on the upright. I'm going to choose to replace the bolts it came with using my own, which means i'm going to need a spanner or a socket to fold it, rather than just my hands. But I'd rather than and have it all absolutely tight, seeing it move in the rear view just makes me nervous - even though it's perfectly safe.
That's the bad bits out of the way.
The good bits are, once you've put it together which only takes a few minutes, and secured your number place, it's easy.
The good bits are, once you've put it together which only takes a few minutes, and secured your number place, it's easy.
I can lift it onto the tow bar on my own, secure it, put the bikes on it and strap it all up within 5 minutes. I can get it down just as quick too.
It is fairly heavy, I'm not a big bloke biceps wise but I can manage it. The missus can't though, so bear that in mind when purchasing, it might need two of you to put it on the car and take it off depending on your strength.
I chose to drill out the holes that were provided for the number plate too so I could bolt it on. I've used hex head bolts and nylocks through the plate into the rack, so that's not going to fall off, and to take it off you'd need a 10mm spanner and the right size key so it's not oging to get kicked off / stolen either.
All in all, a very good product, does what i should, I'm happy with it, the adjustments I've made are because I'm just a little bit pedantic like that. But atleast these things are all things I could sort easily and cheaply - there's nothing inherantly wrong with the design :)
Oh - it's used with an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Cloverleaf, with an aftermarket Westfalia detachable tow bar."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: Under 25
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
+2points
6out of 10found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
perfect for the family,
May 20, 2011
By jwalker88
from winchester
Quality
5
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Performance
4
out of
5
"finally managed to find a cycle carrier which lets your carry 4 bikes. The features on this are really great and because it folds its ideal for storing. Setting it up on the towbar was a little tricky to start with but now it's set it's so easy to put on and off.
I would definitely recommend this to family who like going cycling together"
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes
Age Group: 35 - 44
Gender: Male
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
+12points
14out of 16found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Halfords Advanced Foldable 4 Bike Tow Bar Cycle Carrier
Overall Rating
Square holes, round bolts...,
May 04, 2011
By Thryn
Quality
1
out of
5
Value
1
out of
5
Performance
1
out of
5
Pros: cheap
Cons: wrong sized bolts in box, tilt mechanism not sufficient to open boot, bad design
"We purchased this item with the intention of having the bikes but being able to let the dog out of the boot. The tilt is insufficient to open the boot of our estate. The release to allow tilting is very rudimentary - requiring a hammer and molegrips to free and (so far) we are unable to get it back together - a square hole for a very tight fitting round bolt which if you did manage to get it back through repeated use would damage the thread in no time at all. You would need to pack a tool kit if planning to use the tilt mechanism, not the smooth easy operation we've seen with other models belong to friends and family.
Other bolts supplied with this were the wrong size requiring replacement to build in the first place.
We bought this as the cheap solution but it is not fit for purpose and will returned asap."
Other bolts supplied with this were the wrong size requiring replacement to build in the first place.
We bought this as the cheap solution but it is not fit for purpose and will returned asap."
Would you recommend this product to a friend? No
Age Group: 25 - 34
Gender: Female
Attitude to Shopping: Quality Seeker - I'd rather spend a little extra on something if I know its going to last
+28points
34out of 40found this review helpful.
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