Witter Towbars ZX304 clamp-on 4 bike towbar mounted cycle carrier – Maximum load 60 kg – 2in1 electric plug for 7-pin and 13-pin sockets

The instructions aren’t great and be warned it took around 3 hours to build, you also need a hammer and soft surface to bang in the plastic bungs, we did have a few tea breaks though, but mum and son put it together with a fair amount of ease.It is solid!! Cannot feel it when driving and it did not budge. Easily tilted which is brilliant as this means we can still get both dogs in the boot with the 4 kids. Easily stored by folding flat and ratcheting to the garage rafters. Worth every penny in our book.

This review is for the clamp-fitting (not bolt-on) 4 bike carrier. I have previously had an older model Witter 4 bike carrier that had a bunch of fittings wear over many years of use, which was obsolete so I scrapped it and went for a replacement. Initially I purchased the Halfords own brand 4 bike carrier, but found it didn't accommodate the wheelbase of my 29er so I returned it and bought this Witter one instead for about a fiver more. I will compare this one to my previous Witter and the Halfords one.The good:It's solid and well made. More sturdy than the Halfords one and on a par with the old Witter in terms of build quality and finish. The lights (on a 13 pin connector) work flawlessly. I had no parts missing and no damage to anything in the box. It comes with one pair of wheel tray extensions which I have used to fit my bike on the platform, the rest of the family have smaller bikes so no issues with mounting any of them. I like that they include a bracket to secure your electric connector when not in use, stops it flopping around and banging into things when you're carrying the rack. Likewise the lights fold in to protect the lenses when being carted around or stored. The clamp fitting to the tow ball is easy to use, better than the older Witter and easier than the Halfords one which requires you to tighten and loosen a bolt every time you're mounting/removing their rack, and unfolding and stowing it are both easy tasks. The tilt function works well and gives me plenty of clearance to get to the boot, I can get to the dog crate in the boot easily without having to remove any bikes so taking the whole family on holiday (2 adults 2 kids and the hound) plus all our bikes is manageable.The bad:Take these for what you will, some might matter to you, some not so much...No adjustment on the wheel trays to suit varying wheelbases. They just fold out, and you only get one pair of extensions in the box. Works for me but I'm the only one wth a large frame bike in my family. The lights are all incandescent bulbs, I would expect LEDs in this day and age. You would also expect locking clamps based on the photo on this listing that literally shows a key-lock frame clamp: WRONG. They're an optional extra, so if you're going to leave bikes on the rack for any length of time and are concerned about them getting nicked you might want to bear that in mind. I'm quite miffed about this but it's not a deal breaker when I consider I don't leave my bikes on the rack when we're on holiday; I take D-locks and steel cables to secure them to something other than my car. You do get a cheapo cable lock but let's be honest a pair of bolt cutters off the local market will go straight through that so it's a token gesture towards security at best. The clamps on the older Witter had a quick release mechanism to detach them from the mounting frame, these ones rely on the undoing the knob to loosen the parts that clip around the frame. Unlike both the old Witter and the Halfords racks, this one uses a pair of securing straps with plastic coated hooks that hook around the edge of your boot lid. This means that it's not just a one-click release to tilt the rack, you have to let both straps off first. A very minor inconvenience to be fair, but worth noting.The ugly:The instructions. My god, the instructions. They're awful. It didn't take me anything like the 3+ hours other reviewers have mentioned (closer to an hour I'd say) but maybe I'm lucky to have spent more time than most messing around with these things. Hands down the worst element of this rack, Witter have really let themselves down on the one thing they actually use to engage with their customers when you've got the product home. This alone loses it a star in my view.Overall:This one actually will carry my bike along with the others, which is what I bought it for. It's simple enough to build despite the truly crap instructions and better made than the Halfords one, and while lacking some of the features of the older model Witter (e.g. locking clamps as standard), will still meet all my needs for the foreseeable future. Thule does make one that's sort of comparable, but at half as much again for their largest 3-bike rack, plus another £160 for the adaptor for a 4th bike, this one wins hands down for me in terms of features, build quality and price point.Final Bonus Top tip: (AKA learn from my mistake) if you have flat pedals like Burgtecs with the lethally grippy pins, REMOVE THEM before you put the bike on the rack. You WILL gouge the daylights out of the neighbouring bike frame at some point.

Wish I had read the reviews before I ordered. Lights missing and parts missing so could not complete the assembly. The bags look like they had been opened and re closed several times as there were several staple holes. Not a good product

Just tested this out on a long camping weekend! It’s great!

Great stability, would have gone for the lever lock instead of bolt lock if had the choice over again

Some aspects of the assembly instructions were vague, there also seems to be varied screws (some with and without land for same purpose which led to confusion during assembly)Extremely strong, sturdy when assembled and very very happy with it.Would buy again

Although I am happy with the product the packaging needs to be better. The 1st one I ordered one of the plastic parts was smashed. The 2nd one also had damage but not major. Also on the ad in the 4th images shows it has a locking knob the description does not say these are extras from Witter for an extra £50. So the image show is very misleading.

I bought the bike rack from Amazon as it was £380 compared with closer to £500 from Witter direct.I had read the reviews beforehand about missing parts and poor instructions, yet took the risk based on the cost saving!The bike rack itself is sound - it appears to be sturdy and well made, and the drop down function to access the boot is helpful.The package i received had missing nuts and washers, meaning that the bars to secure the bikes in place could not be assembled. As someone who hasn't owned a bike rack like this before, the terrible instructions meant it was unclear how to assemble and use these securing bars, even if i had all of the correct parts. Perhaps this would be easy for someone who has used something similar in the past.I contacted Witter to obtain the missing parts and for some improved instructions or advice on installation, and their customer service is poor at best - weeks later i am still trying to get hold of the parts, meaning the bike rack is not useable. I have given it 2 stars as the rack appears to be robust and well made, but it came with missing parts, poor instructions and terrible after sales. Shame.