Superdelite Bike Carrier (Thule Towbar?)

R

RMSDivine

Active Member
Hello everyone,
this is my first post in this community!

Recently I have bought a RM Superdelite and I am looking for a bike carrier. The bike vendor suggested a Towbar Thule carrier, and I thought about the XT 2 however I am a bit concerned about clamps as they look very unflexible with regards to their position and also the SD has a very thick frame.

Any experience with this bike & carriers?
 
I've just ordered a bike rack for my superdelite from https://paulchensystem.net/en/ These were the only racks that seemed strong enough, have a low loader and fit my stupid Toyota IQ.

All other racks seem to have bars that you hand the bikes on. However, the frame on the Superdelite isn't like any other bike. If your car has a tow hitch then there are many options for a heavier bike.
 
I recently installed a tow hitch on my RAV4, anticipating the delivery of my Superdelite. I did some online searching and found a Thule rack highly recommended for 65lb e-bike: https://www.rei.com/product/130411/thule-easyfold-xt-2-bike-hitch-rack. One of the features is that the rack includes a ramp to circumvent the problem of getting the heavy bike up and on the rack (getting on in years with a back that sometimes complains). Don't know about whether Squaxor's concern about unique features applies to the SD on the Thule. I have the Thule rack on backorder (but I see that now REI lists the rack as unavailable -- unclear whether this will apply to my backorder). I just looked at the Hollywood rack and worry about getting the SD on the rack. Tried to look at the paulchesystem, but the link seems to be broken. I did think of the hack of quickly building a portable wooden ramp that might help with getting the bike up and on the rack, but not the ideal solution. Any thoughts would be appreciated...
 
REI has a great return policy, so if the frame presents a problem, I'll return the rack (assuming that the back order comes through). If/when the Thule rack arrives, and when I receive the Superdelite (hopefully in a week or two), I'll post an evaluation. In the meantime, if others have better solutions, I'd appreciate them.
 
I
RMSDivine said:
Hello everyone,
this is my first post in this community!

Recently I have bought a RM Superdelite and I am looking for a bike carrier. The bike vendor suggested a Towbar Thule carrier, and I thought about the XT 2 however I am a bit concerned about clamps as they look very unflexible with regards to their position and also the SD has a very thick frame.

Any experience with this bike & carriers?
Click to expand...

I have just purchased a Buzzrack double ebike carrier. Folds up when not in use, has an optional ramp and locks to secure carrier and bikes. Rated at 60kg.

buzzrack.com

e-SCORPION 2 • BuzzRack

[masterslider alias=”e-SCORPION-2″] [masterslider alias=”e-SCORPION-2-gallery”] [masterslider alias=”e-SCORPION-2-features”] OVERVIEW When it comes to transport of heavy bikes such as MTB or E-bikes, the e-SCORPION 2 would be the supreme choice. High load capacity, fully foldable, easy-to-use...
buzzrack.com buzzrack.com

As others have indicated indicated I expect any rack may have an issue with clamping the top rail of a superdelite.

I did have a Thule two bike carrier for standard bikes but happy to change brands.

Cheers Stephen
 
Hi, Unfortunately, the e-Sorpion 2 BuzzRack isn't available in the USA (no BuzzRacks are). Any others who use a rack that works with their Superdelites?
 
I have a Superdelite, as does my wife. I initially bought the Thule Easy-fold XT bike rack (rated at 65 lbs/bike if I recall correctly) which is an interesting design that folds up nicely when removed from the hitch. It also has a ramp to assist loading the bikes. However, it seemed to sway quite a bit and seemed less rigid and sturdy, prompting me to look elsewhere. I finally bought a Super Duty bike rack from 1UP, a company out of Wisconsin which is incredibly well engineered and sturdy, made of anodized aluminum. It is rated for 85 lbs/bike, lists for $599-649 which is actually a little less expensive than the Thule rack. (https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-heavy-duty-double-bike-rack/,) I had to purchase the optional EZ Pull handle to facilitate raising or lowering the rack on the car and the optional SD ramp which makes the all in price higher. The "arms" are adjustable and hold the wheels in place, similar (I believe) to the Thule Helium design. The only other trick I had to implement, courtesy of Chris Nolte from Propel Bikes, is to put a small piece of foam between tire and rear fender when securing the rear arm over the rear wheel/fender to avoid damaging the rear fender. I have been very happy with the rack which I have been using now for about 2 months.
 
Thanks very much for this post. I've done a good deal of 'googling' and this company/rack never appeared in my searches. In fact, the rack in your description and the documentation on the site (which is impressive) looks perfect for my needs. I didn't see the ramp/handle that you referred to and simply searched the site for it on the company's site: https://www.1up-usa.com/product/super-duty-ramp/. Unfortunately, the site indicates that all of all of their racks and accessories are unavailable until late August -- hope that they're not going out of business. In my searches, I've noted that racks in general are in short supply (perhaps linked to the pandemic (?)).
 
Have been using Thule EasyFold 931 / 932 2 Bike Rack for a year now with 2 bosch powered ebikes. Never had issue with swaying, make sure clamp is adjusted correctly for towball. I normally remove batteries for long trips. Considering slightly longer 2nd arm as clearance isn't great with two of our bikes. When tightening up arm clamp go alway till it clicks you can't over tighten, failed to do it once and bike ended up being dragged along road. Wheel straps held, only damage slightly short handlebar on one side, luckily it was my hag manual bike. Another time I didn't click rack home after tilting to access trunk. Rack dropped into tilt position while driving, surprised it did break with weight of 2 ebikes,no harm done. Make sure test it is clicked home by pulling on it. Expensive rack but worth every cent, makes loading and unloading bikes a breeze and locks keep them secure during short stops. I'd recommend better security if left for extended period. Being able to fold rack up for storage at home or in trunk of car is big plus.
 
Nephman said:
Sorry....This is actually the correct link: https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-super-duty-double-bike-rack/
Click to expand...
I have been using the 1UPUSA bike carriers (I have two) for five years and I really like them. They are so fast to load and unload and hold the bikes securely. The trouble in the UK is that you cannot have removable tow balls using the 1.5 and 2" receivers. The 1UPUSA all need the tow hitch receiver and not a tow ball. I brought a tow hitch kit back from the US in my checked luggage in a ski bag as a piece of sports equipment.

I seem to recall that a couple of years ago the original designer and owner was forced out of the company and he relaunched an improved version, I will try and dig it out.
 
Hello everyone

Few months ago I was in need of a tow bar bike carrier for my Superdelite and thanks to the COVID lockdown I was unable to visit any physical stores so I had to limit myself to Internet reviews. I read many positive reviews for the Thule 933100 EasyFold XT and I bought it...

Well... not ideal ...
First of all, quality is not that great, already noticing some wear and tear signs..
But the major issue is that it is not really suited for the superdelite, with quite some effort and by adjusting it to the exact mm I found just one position that I could attach my bike to the seat stay..
The wheel straps should have been longer as well . Fortunately my other bike is a conventional one but certainly it will be very difficult to mount a second RM on that carrier.
And that will be my case soon (wife is jealous of my ebike) so I am searching for alternatives....

I live in Europe so I am interested in tow-bar models and the one I believe will work better than the Thule is the Atera product line...
https://www.atera.de/en/atera-strada-bike-carrier-for-the-tow-bar.html , especially the
STRADA E-BIKE ML or Genio-PRO , and the reason that is that it is the only one carrier I have found with an arm usings a strap instead of a clamp,as you can see here:



I don't know if any of you have already purchased these products or if you have found others with a strap instead of clamp arms?
 
Divine, I suspect that my Thule Velospace carrier is similar to the one that you are considering. There is a problem: the carrier rotates on the tow ball and has to be held in place with additional straps. It might be different with the one you are considering but it is worth checking.

Of course, this is unrelated to your concern about the clamps that hold the ebike in place.
…David
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello David,
the Velocompact was a last minute purchase, just in between this discussion.
For now I'll keep this model. No concern on clamps as I have luckily found a way to firmly clamp both bikes: superdelite below the seat collar and the delite on the frame top tube. I was initially worried by the bike carrier flexibility, but now that I have removed batteries when travelling, this has improved a lot
 
Nova Haibike said:
I do not have any experience with it, but the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE Hitch Bike Rack for Electric Bikes claims to hold bikes up to 80 lbs, and uses a single clamp that engages the frame.
Click to expand...
I use a Hollywood Racks Sport Rider for two Superdelites. The rack is very sturdy. The hooks that slide down on the frame fit down on the frame okay. I recommend locking the suspension and removing the batteries and lock. The only drawback is that it does not have a ramp.
 
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