I have a witter bicycle carrier and a limitation on the towball of 100kgs.
The witter stand and 2 bicycles (minus saddles, saddle stems and pedals) weighs 33 kgs leaving 67 kgs for the noseweight which I find acceptable. Removing the pedals and turniong the handlebars 90 degrees makes the bikes much slimmer - only a 5 minute job.
We had a Thule Rear Mounted Bike Rack ( 973 ) fitted to a Vauxhall Zafira, we then changed car for a SORENTO and found that the 973 also fitted the Sorento just needed to purchase the fitting kit 17.
This weekend we went away with 3 bikes towing a pastiche whilst it appeared to be very secure I was concerned about the weight especially with 2 adult bikes & 1 childs bike, would prefer a rack that fits to the towball but still have reservations about the weight....only other choice is to use the roof kit but then lifting the bike onto the roof of a Sorento i guess is not that easy and i'm 6ft plus....Now considering putting the bikes into the caravan but don't really want to do this as the caravan is brand new and scared of ruining the furniture etc etc...but we still need the rack to transport bikes to alternative locations when out and about.
i had all your worries 3 years ago when we got our first new van. on the first 4 trips we had the bikes on the rack, but lost 5mpg. we now carry them in the van with no problems,two of us do it 1 in the van 1 outside slowly passing them in (3 bikes). we use sleeping bags for padding,and the rack on the floor to help stop any movement.
all the best.
------------- no day you learn something,is wasted
I used a witter tow bar mounted carrier when I had my Sorento.As mentioned previously I also removed the bikes before reversing onto a tight pitch just in case the handle bars or a pedal went through the front of the van.I think the max load on the tow bar was about 120kgs,more than enough for most peoples requirements.I wish I still had the Sorrie except for the crippling mpg.
I use a Maxraxx cycle rack which attaches to the towbar on my sorrento, or it can be fitted to a swan neck which I had on the 4x4 before I bought the Kia, easy to fit, cbikes can be dropped down to get into the boot when caravan not attached, with a noseweight of 120kg on the Sorrento causes no problem with carrying to bikes.
Don't trhink I would want to lift bikes onto our Sorrento, I'm tall but would still need a step. I'd be worried about damaging the car!
A small set of aluminium steps weighs next to nothing and folds flat. It comes in handy on site when setting up the awning, too - especially if you're a short arse like me!
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...