Icon: enlarge
Take your bike piggyback: Stiftung Warentest has tested bike racks
Photo: Petra Schneider-Schmelzer / imago images
Quickly charge the bikes, get out of town and enjoy a nice bike tour in the mountains or on the banks of a river: bike racks for the trailer hitch make this possible with little effort - and could also become more popular in view of the bike boom.
But which models are not only practical but also safe?
Stiftung Warentest has now investigated this question and has tested eight models.
The bikes were easy to charge and take with you on all of them.
But in a simulated frontal collision at 30 km / h only four of them performed well.
The others turned out to be a possible danger to other road users.
They then no longer properly encompassed the trailer hitch, small parts flew off or the carriers came off completely - even though all the models tested cost at least 430 euros.
The Thule EasyFold XT 2 was the most expensive carrier in the test (665 euros) - but by far the best.
He convinced in the safety tests.
The fasteners are more robust than those of the competition.
The Thule model also shone with the best handling, assembly is easy according to Stiftung Warentest and the carrier is easy to store.
Overall, the model received a grade of 1.9.
Two models achieved a grade of 2.5 and thus became the price-performance winners: Both the Eufab Premium II Plus and the Oris Traveler II received this grade.
They cost 450 euros each.
In terms of safety, both scored satisfactory, and good in the categories of handling and durability.
In both cases, however, the taillights turned out to be susceptible, one each broke off in the test.
The full results of the test can be found here.
According to Stiftung Warentest, anyone who decides on a carrier for the trailer coupling should pay particular attention to the support load of the trailer coupling.
This must be balanced against the weight of the carrier and the bikes.
more on the subject
Tips from the pedelec tester: What cyclists should look out for when buying an e-bikeAn interview by Stefan Weißenborn
If the wheels or the carrier cover the license plate or the third brake light, the driver must make improvements - with a second license plate or a brake light that is attached to the top of the bike.
In addition, the carriers for the rear of the vehicle have a general disadvantage: They become very dirty while driving and should therefore be cleaned before storage.
Icon: The mirror
ene