BUZZ RACK 'Moose' 4 bike tow ball carrier no....

Moose, a big strong fellow, solid and reliable, just what you need from a tow bar bike carrier. Maybe "Good looking" is pushing this metaphor a bit far but the bike carrier Moose really is a decent looking piece of kit as well as being the best designed and most user friendly bike carrier of its type at this price.

We've been using one of these in our test pool since last autumn and, having established that it's in a completely different league from its competitors have now discontinued all of these except the MAXXRAXX carriers; these are also superb but are fundamentally very different.

Please note that if your vehicle has a rear mounted spare wheel this Moose rack is not suitable; you'll need a MAXXRAXX carrier.

So what's the big deal about Moose? It's down to better design, better quality, better safety, overall ease of use. Consider the following:

• These carriers are supplied ready to go; no assembly work is required.
• The patented conical tow ball clamp fits onto all 50mm diameter tow balls, even the ones which don't meet BS standards with e.g. rough casting around the tow ball neck.
• Fitting is a matter of spinning a hand-turning wheel, a really quick, easy and ergonomically satisfactory thing to do. Turn the key in the tightening wheel and the carrier is then locked to the tow ball. Additional tensioning of a Nyloc nut is sometimes required (spanner supplied), depending on the tow ball, to make sure the carrier is firm.
• It's fine engineering, and strong - the Moose has been TÜV approved for 4 bikes to the proposed ISO standard R18-904-4, a standard some way tougher than current requirements.
• Tilting is a safe single-handed operation, even with the bikes fitted; the carrier tilts far enough for use even on vehicles with vertical tailgates.
• The bike frame holders need to be adjusted on the support arms first time out - distances between bikes may vary - before being tightened in place (tool supplied). They have properly padded cradles and easily adjusted rubber straps.
• The support arms are 28cm apart, centre to centre, a distance which will suit the majority of modern frames; we supply a telescopic cross bar for use with non standard frames - see below.
• There's a Velcro-fastened sleeve on the upright to protect the first bike, incorporating a tough closed-cell foam pad.
• Two top quality 300cm safety straps are also provided (buckles sewn not crimped). One of these should be threaded through all the bike wheels to prevent swaying and friction damage - it's up to you to provide any extra protection required - and the other should be passed through all the bike frames and then looped around the carrier.
• The bike holder arms should be moved from the horizontal to the vertical for storage, or when the vehicle is parked up.
• Dimensions = 84.5cm high from the centre of the ball and 67.0cm deep from ball centre.
• Weight = 11.1kg.
• A lighting board will be needed - see below. We also list an electrical adapter which will be needed if you buy our standard 7 pin lighting board and also have a 13 pin electrical system.
• The build quality - tube bending, welding, rust proofing, painting, component quality - is exemplary.

Exchange scheme: Tow bar carriers are part of our 90 day exchange scheme - click on the link below for details - so you can order without financial risk. All current tow bar carriers from all the brands we stock are available for exchange, including Pendle and Thule, even if they are no longer part of our standard stock range.

BUZZ RACK is manufactured by King Rack of Taiwan, a specialist bike sector engineering company since 1996. Their factory is state of the art, with much of their production being tube bending, specialist welding and finishing for well known brands.

Technical specifications at a glance:

Max number of bikes: 4

Fits bolt on tow ball: yes

Fits swan neck / detachable tow ball: yes

Dimensions: 84.5cm (height) x 67cm (depth), from centre of tow ball

Weight: 11.1kg

Max load capacity: 60kg

Max weight per bike: 15kg

Tilting: yes

Integral lighting board: no (available separately; shown below)

Bike carrier to tow ball lock: yes

Bike carrier to bike lock: no

Possible to tow when in use: no

Fits with a spare wheel: no

Guarantee: 3 years

Useful information:

The maximum permitted load you can carry is also determined by your nose weight; you will need to check you don’t exceed this before using any tow ball mounted bike carrier.

Requires 65mm clearance from centre of tow ball to rear of vehicle.

We offer our existing customers a full "Next Day if possible" spares service, and will cannibalise new stock as required to find you the parts you need.

To find the spare parts you need, please click here or on the pdf symbol below, identify the product codes, then choose them from the list below. If you need more than 1 of any item, change the quantities in the Shopping Basket.

Deciding which bike carriers to buy is not always easy, especially as you may not have had experience of using bike carriers before. We hope that our buying guides provide useful guidance about which bike carrier 'strategy' will be most appropriate for your circumstances, as well as highlighting the best features of particular models. We also have troubleshooting FAQs - for example, some customers struggle at first to fit four bikes onto a tow ball carrier, and wonder whether a different carrier would allow the bikes to be spaced wider apart. (It won't, but we have some good tips which make bike fitting much easier.)

Our bike carriers Exchange Scheme covers roof mounting and tow ball mounting bike carriers only. Rear door mounting / strap on carriers are not included, and nor are roof bars. It allows you to exchange within 90 days of invoice date. Most exchanges are for roof mounting upgrades, or are tow ball carriers with very basic tilting systems being exchanged for easy to use sliding / tilting carriers.

These are the rules of the bike carriers Exchange Scheme:

• You are allowed one exchange only.
• The original equipment must be in "as new" condition, subject only to fair wear and tear.
• The replacement items must be different models from the originals.
• The replacement items must not be part of a package deal or be from our Bargains section.
• Roof bars are never part of the Exchange Scheme.

This is how the exchange scheme works:

• We charge in full for the replacement items, including the appropriate carriage charge and a charge for any packaging needed for the return of the originals.
• We pay the return carriage costs.
• When the originals arrive back here we refund you for their invoice value, but you won't get back more than the invoice value of the replacements. In other words, if the replacements are cheaper than the originals we won't be giving you "extra cash back".

Delivery charges and arrangements:

We charge a contribution towards delivery costs, depending on what you order, where you live, and how quickly you want the goods.

For most UK addresses, the charge for our two to three day service is £5.50 (£9.50 for orders including a roof box) and our charge for Next Working Day deliveries is £8.50 (£12.50 for orders involving a roof box). AutoSock, and small spare parts, are charged £3.95 (1st Class post) or £5.50 (express courier, usually Next Working Day).

There are different charges for any delivery including a sea crossing, and deliveries to Skye - we will contact you with a quote on receipt of order.

Orders for Next Working Day delivery need to be received by 4.00pm.

There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays. Next Working Day orders placed on a Friday will be delivered on the Monday, Next Working Day orders placed on a Saturday will be delivered on the Tuesday.

We are very flexible with our deliveries and will aim to deliver on a day and at an address which suits you. Goods can usually be left without signature - we prefer this with roof boxes. There's a "Special Delivery Instructions" box in the checkout area where we'll ask you to choose a typical instruction and then amend it to suit your particular requirements.

No retailer or courier company can ever "guarantee" a Next Working Day delivery. All courier companies occasionally have the same transport problems as can happen to everyone else, including snow blocked roads, closed roads, traffic jams, mechanical breakdown, an inability to find the delivery address, or to gain access to it if, for example, it's in a block of flats. We work with some of the best couriers in the business, and overall they provide an outstanding service.