Bike rack for defender

I’ve got this universal bike rack from Halfords that I had gathering dust in the garage. I have a swing away spare tyre holder, Will this be okay to take the weight of my bike plus 2 kids. ?? Anyone done the same, don’t want to have to spend £££ on new one if don’t need to.

Don't know. How heavy are the 2 kids?

Hahah not very, sorry meant 2 kids bikes

I used similar bike rack to carry two adult bikes with no problems. I altered the fastenings so it lashed to the spare wheel not the door

I did the same on my 90. Worked fine. Taking the spare off the door and stowing it inside helps a bit too.

I've been using something similar for years, without any bother. I did add a couple of extra straps for good measure - just to give me complete confidence. Compared to the weight of the wheel and tyre, bikes are light.

jimwyllie said:

I used similar bike rack to carry two adult bikes with no problems. I altered the fastenings so it lashed to the spare wheel not the door

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Yeah that’s what I thought as the top straps do flex the door slightly. I’ll attach those to the wheel carrier. Was just worried about my nice bike flying off down the road

zeaphod said:

I've been using something similar for years, without any bother. I did add a couple of extra straps for good measure - just to give me complete confidence. Compared to the weight of the wheel and tyre, bikes are light.

Click to expand...

Have you took your wheel off or left it on when using the rack ?

Wheel on, my carrier needs it for the top bar to rest on. After a bit of practice, it only takes 5 mins to get the carrier on/off. I also have a bit of chain through the carrier and wheel to prevent the carrier being nicked, and use a cable lock through everything when the bikes are on.
on.

Thanks that’s great saved me £££ on buying a new one.

Just a thought, if you remove the large knurled plastic caps on the bolts (the ones that allow you to adjust the angle of the top bar) it will also make it harder to dismantle and nick the carrier.