Atera Strada Evo

[rippers]

Looking at a four bike towbar cycle carrier and fancy the Atera Strada Evo 3 with 4th bike adapter.

Has anyone got one or experienced it on the cali? tailgate clearance ok etc?

Thanks in advance

 

[yeti575]

Hi I don't have the Evo3 but have the DL3 +1 and that works a treat, on my T5. They are a good solid carrier and will carry 4 mountain bikes without too much hassle.

 

[rippers]

I ended up buying the Strada Evo 3+1 only used it on my Mini Countryman to get it home without bikes on and the mounting to the towball was a lot easier then the Westfalia Portilo. The slide feature makes the carrier tilt out loads so I'd be very surprised if the Cali's tailgate doesn't clear. When the Cali arrives I'll take some pics.

 

[WelshGas]

When I got my Altera Strata DL3 my research showed that although it would carry 3 bikes, you could only have 2 bikes in the outermost carriers if you wanted to open the tailgate easily. If you wanted to carry 3 and open the tailgate then the innermost bike had to have the handlebars turned in-line. Carrying a 4th bike with the addon carrier was ok as that fitted close to the light board.

 

[rippers]

I'll let you know how the Evo3 clears as the bikes sit at a different position to the DL3. I have to carry four bikes, two adults and two childrens bikes.

 

[WelshGas]

I would put the 2 childrens bikes on the inside, smallest closest to the tailgate.

 

[rippers]

Thats what I thinking

I read the Spacing between the bikes is greater on the Evo but I'd imagine the rear bike will probably till be as close as the DL. Can't wait till the Cali arrives to test it out

 

[pjm-84]

Why doesnt my Strada DL3 clear the tail gate .... very frustating.

 

[WelshGas]

pjm-84. Which towbar have you got fitted. Is it a VW one or aftermarket?

If it is aftermarket I would compare it with a VW one, I have the detachable VW one and no problems. But they do say you shouldn't fit a full size bicycle on the inner point in order to open the tailgate.
If it is an aftermarket towbar maybe you could fit a spacer?

 

[pjm-84]

VW one. That's odd. The tailgate doesn't clear and thats without any bike fitted. Catches by about a cm. if I bend it it clears!

 

[WelshGas]

Ok, next question, is it the fixed or detachable tow hitch. If it is the fixed then you can get a spacer to fit between the hitch and the towbar.

Or has it been knocked at any time?

 

[pjm-84]

Detachable. Brand new and it hits. Its annoying. Will have another look at lunchtime!

 

[pjm-84]

Nope clashes. If I leave the upright a tad loose I can pull the upright back and it clears.

 

[WelshGas]

It would seem then that your bike rack does not slide back as far as mine does. Could there be anything stopping it sliding far enough?

 

[pjm-84]

Nope it hits the stops. I was thinking about doing a modification on these!

 

[WelshGas]

That would seem to be the best option. I would also suggest if you see a California with the same bike rack then some examination/comparison might be in order. Sorry I couldn't help any more.

 

[pjm-84]

Sorted.

No allowance in the stops and I didn't fancy drilling the pop rivets out so gave that a miss.

Went with a slight Dremmel "cleaning" on the bottom "U" (support for resting and locating the bike rack), and a bit of force, and this has given me a sufficient drop at the other end to clear the tailgate. Rack seem more level as well.

Toyed also with rerouting the electrics through the subframe as it was clashing with the wall mount. Ended up re-fixing the cable tie at the mid point and now its hangs on the wall as well.

 

[Splitrich]

Just looking at one of these myself. Any chance of a picture showing how much clearance there is or even a video?

 

[WelshGas]

This is the D3.

 

[Splitrich]

This is the D3.

Thank you. I'll order one

Richard

 

[pjm-84]

Studied that video and more so when it went clunk! I now have about a cm of clearance which will be more when you add the weight of the bikes. Will be curious to see any difference when the correct van arrives

 

[rippers]

I'll post up a vid of the Evo as soon as my Cali arrives

 

[MKRW]

This looks so simple..... I've got the VW 4 bike rack which is great.

However I have recently found a couple of problems. On a wider full suspension downhill mtb, I can only fit 2 bikes on the rack...even playing with different combinations. (Can you lock all of the bikes on this rack, securely?)
Do you think a really wide set of handle bars would still work?
Anyone have any experience of these racks with 4 bikes, will they still move out as far and allow for clearance of the tail gate?

Also all of the carparks close to us have 2m barriers so its a problem when you have bikes on the higher rack as they are over the barrier height, so a lower rack would be really useful.

 

[maui2512]

here is my review of our Strada 3+1 http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/atera-strada-dl-3-1.6044/

 

[Alex Kemp]

pjm-84 Do you have any pictures on how you modified it.

I had a look at mine today but couldn't figure where you dremeled?

Thanks