For anyone heading on vacation from Wiesbaden or the Rheingau with bikes, the same question comes up: do the bikes go on the roof or on the tow bar? The answer depends on three things: how many bikes, whether they're E-bikes, and what your vehicle can handle.

The basic difference

A roof bike rack sits on top of a roof rack system and carries the bikes upright on top of the car. Typically one bike per rack, up to four on larger vehicles.

A tow bar bike rack mounts – as the name says – on the tow bar. The bikes then sit at the rear. Depending on the model, two, three, or four bikes fit.

When a roof rack makes sense

Roof racks work well when:

You're transporting one bike only
You don't have a tow bar and don't want to retrofit one
The bike is not an E-bike – roof racks max out at 20 kg per bike
You want to keep the rear free (e.g. for a roof box or rear box)

Practical point: lifting a bike onto the roof gets tricky beyond a certain height, especially with station wagons and SUVs. Shorter people or anyone with back issues notices this on the second installation.

When a tow bar rack is the better choice

The tow bar rack is almost always the more comfortable solution, particularly in these cases:

Multiple bikes (2, 3 or 4) – on the roof this gets unwieldy
E-bikes – these often weigh 25–30 kg, which roof racks can't handle. Tow bar racks manage up to 30 kg per bike.
Less impact on speed – rear wind resistance is lower than roof
Easier loading – no lifting, just stand the bike up and secure

What many don't know: the duplicate license plate

As with a rear box: if the bike rack covers the original plate, you need a duplicate plate. Without it, it's not legal – a check can easily cost €50 and a driving record penalty. We include the duplicate plate as an add-on to the rental.

Country-specific rules exist too: Italy and Spain require a warning sign on the bike rack. We have those in stock and can add them to your booking.

E-bike or not?

This is the single most important question. Roughly:

Regular city, trekking or mountain bike (10–18 kg): roof or tow bar, either works
Pedelec / E-bike (22–30 kg): tow bar only. Roof racks aren't certified for E-bikes, even if you can physically lift them up.

A special case: E-bikes with removable batteries. With the battery off, weight sometimes drops into roof-rack territory. But: the frame geometry of many E-bikes (thicker down tubes, wider tires) makes roof-rack attachment problematic anyway.

Our rules of thumb

1 regular bike + no tow bar: roof rack (Thule ProRide)
2 bikes or 2 E-bikes + tow bar available: 2-bike tow bar rack (e.g. Thule EasyFold XT 2, Uebler I21 Z90)
3–4 bikes + tow bar: 3- or 4-bike tow bar rack (e.g. Thule Velo Compact, EasyFold XT 3, Epos)
Combination of roof box + 1 bike: roof box plus roof rack for the one bike

For questions, give us a call – we check whether your vehicle has the right specs (roof load, tow bar load) and which rack fits exactly. From Wiesbaden, our pickup location in Darmstadt is about 45 minutes away via the A66.