Atera Strada Dl3

[Captain Backfire]

Towbar bike rack arrived yesterday from the Roofbox company...
Did a test ft of it this morning. Alothough it slides and tilts away from the tailgate I still can’t open it fully. Firstly the bike clamp locking nuts get in the way (I can get around this by ever so slightly forcing the bike rack a few mm further away) but the other problem being my bike handle bars seem to be ridiculously wide!

Anyone else had issues of the same?

I could obviously loosen the steering on the bike to turn the handle bars out the way but I wanted a hassle free experience!

 

[Duncan Mowlem]

im after one of these, missed out on one on ebay last weekend.... does it work with the bike with widest bars on the carrier furthest away from the tailgate?

thanks,

 

[Captain Backfire]

im after one of these, missed out on one on ebay last weekend.... does it work with the bike with widest bars on the carrier furthest away from the tailgate?

thanks,

Yes it works when my bike is on the holder furthest away from the van. I’ll just load the kids bikes on first.

How much did the one on eBay go for in the end?

 

[Duncan Mowlem]

At least they can go on then.. sold for 335 with the 4th adapter.. I missed it with a bid of 325...

 

[Captain Backfire]

At least they can go on then.. sold for 335 with the 4th adapter.. I missed it with a bid of 325...

about £100 saving off a brand new one. Would have been a good deal.

 

[dandan88]

Guys am I being stupid, but my new Atera Dl3 the boot won’t open it hits the pedal

 

[Gavinda]

Of course it won't open, there's a bloody bike in the way!

 

[Mike23864]

Have you activated the sliding mechanism. Can’t tell from that pic. If you have try mounting bike with inner pedal at 6 o’clock

 

[dandan88]

Of course it won't open, there's a bloody bike in the way!

I thought the whole point of a strada dl3 with the sliding technique was the fact that you could open the tail gate, cheers @Gavinda

 

[RunDSG]

Have you definitely slid it back the whole way? It’s definitely tight on mine, but I can do it. Though I put my bike with wide bars in the second position and my wife’s narrower bike in the first position.

 

[dubber36]

Surely the crank needs rotating through 180° so that the pedal is out of the way?

 

[dandan88]

Thanks guys appreciate your responses! Sussed it you were right, but still a Long winded process loading and strapping all the bikes on. Takes a lot longer than I thought it would.

 

[Mike23864]

When you do manage to get the bikes on and thread the arms through - take a photo as a reminder so it’s easier to replicate

 

[RunDSG]

When you do manage to get the bikes on and thread the arms through - take a photo as a reminder so it’s easier to replicate

Good tip. Super quick with a little bit of practice.

 

[ThreeBridgeT6]

I take photos every time with mine but I always struggle to replicate it quickly. Still a great bike rack though.

 

[Ayjay]

I’ve only got a 2 bike rack (Thule Easyfold XT2) but even that took a bit of testing to get the right configuration. However, once I got it cracked, it’s now quick to load up. As mentioned above, I also took a picture for reference - it’s printed on A4 and sits permanently in the van with other paperwork.

 

[dandan88]

When you do manage to get the bikes on and thread the arms through - take a photo as a reminder so it’s easier to replicate

Good idea, I e done that now, so hopefully it wouldn’t be so Bad next time

 

[Broadside]

I’ve only got a 2 bike rack (Thule Easyfold XT2) but even that took a bit of testing to get the right configuration. However, once I got it cracked, it’s now quick to load up. As mentioned above, I also took a picture for reference - it’s printed on A4 and sits permanently in the van with other paperwork.

I hit a new level of boring and even surprised myself! I have actually written down the loading steps for mine; remove left pedal, rotate crank arm, twist handle bars etc for each bike that gets loaded and keep it on a laminated card by the jack. Loading bikes is often the last thing to do when packing up camp and I was fed up with the stress and delay of working it out each time with the family in the van looking at their watches It’s now pretty easy and less hassle.

 

[Mike23864]

Thread your removed pedal into the crank arm from the opposite side then you don’t forget it

 

[Ayjay]

I must have it easy. As I said, I need to do a bit of work to get there but I can get both the bikes on without taking any pedals off, twisting handlebars or anything else - we can just take them off the rack, stick the saddlebags on and ride.