We’ve made a handful of mods to our VW Transporter T6 campervan project thus far. It started with converting a bog-standard passenger minivan into a fully-fledged camper for that top-tier #vanlife experience. Granted, we didn’t do that ourselves, as we thought a pro would manage it better; shout out to Big Wave Campers. After that, we even remapped the ECU for a bit more power and improved fuel economy over the factory spec, and we’re not even done yet with all these mods. But, given that I quite enjoy cycling, there’s one thing missing… A bike rack. Specifically, a good bike rack, and this is where this Atera GENIO PRO Advanced comes in.
Sold by The Roof Box Company if you’re buying one here in the UK, the GENIO PRO Advanced by Atera is one of the more compelling bike racks that I’ve seen while shopping for one. It promises to not only be very easy to install and mount a bike onto, but it has a pretty significant load capacity, and it appears very versatile; we’ll see how well that holds true once we test it. Crucially, given that we’re fitting this onto the VW Transporter T6, the Atera GENIO Pro Advanced tilts the most of any bike carrier I’ve seen in its class, which is vital since the VW Transporter has barn-style doors. But, before we discuss the bike carrier, we need to talk about the tow bar.
Right, about that tow bar… Our Volkswagen Transporter T6 didn’t have one, so we had to get one installed. It’s the single most consequential thing about your car before installing any tow bar-mounted bike rack. Now, there are many ways to mount a bike carrier onto your car. You could mount it on the roof, or attach it onto the tailgate, boot, or hatchback of your car, and then there are tow bar options. With how heavy bike carriers are – the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced, without any bikes on it, weighs 21.4kg – and especially if you’re carrying two chunky bikes at a time (more on that later), you absolutely need a tow bar or a tow ball.
A Good Tow Bar Makes All The Difference
A tow bar or tow ball is the most secure mounting option for a bike rack, I’d say, given that some rear-mounted bike racks can sometimes cause bodywork or paintwork damage to your car. And, as we’ll discuss later, once you need to carry two (or more) heavy bicycles back there, this combination of a robust tow bar-mounted bike rack is way more secure and confidence-inspiring than bolting it onto the rear tailgate, door, or hatch. The tow bar that we’ve opted to fit onto our campervan project is from Tow Trust. Specifically, it’s a detachable vertical swan neck-style tow bar – model number TVW9VK – compatible with the T6 Transporter model years 2015 to 2019.
In short, it’s a very good tow bar, which is installed without needing to add additional bumper supports, or forcing you to cut into your bumper. Granted, as with most tow bars on a lot of cars, installing it will still require you to have to remove your bumper and spare tyre, or anything else that might get in the way. Bear in mind, that the only secure mounting point for a tow bar is the chassis of your car. And, it’s rather easy to detach the swan neck. and move it out of the way when you’re not using it. The tow ball swan neck even comes with a lock and key to prevent it from being removed and stolen from your car. On paper, this Tow Trust tow bar seems like a match made in heaven.
With a vertical load of up to 120kg and a maximum towing capacity of 2,800kg, this Tow Trust tow bar is more than capable enough to accommodate the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike carrier. You can see here, next to the tow bar, there’s a tiny little plug for running electrics to the bike rack. With the tow bar installation, the Transporter T6 came with a 7-pin module that folds out of the way and under your van when it’s not needed. However, once you wire it in and have it plugged into the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike carrier, it provides electricity. This allows you to power and run the bike rack’s fog lights, brake lights, and indicators, as well as the reversing lights (if you are using 13-pin electrics on your van).
Taking Stock Of Dimensions And Proper Installation
By default, the electrical connector that we have on the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced is a 13-pin, but thankfully, Atera provides a free 13-pin to 7-pin adapter to make it compatible with our Transporter. Note, since we plug a 13-pin into a 7-pin module (via an adapter), this does mean that we’re not able to power the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced’s reversing lights. On the VW Transporter T6, even with larger bicycles atop the bike carrier, it doesn’t block the reversing lights, so that should be fine. As far as wiring in the 7-pin tow bar electrics is concerned, it’s not too hard to manage on the Transporter… It might be different on your car though, so bear that in mind.
Now, onto one of the more unique aspects of the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced, it could fold down and tilt away from the back of your vehicle. This allows you easy and unimpeded access to your tailgate, rear hatch, and boot space. That rotational folding system is also pretty innovative in the folding bike rack segment. It’s clearly not something I’ve seen outside of Atera, and there are some handy benefits that come with this. For starters, the way it folds out ensures that it can protect your lights from any damage. It’s by far the most vulnerable part of any tow bar carrier. On top of that, when the entire bike rack is folded out fully, you’re only interacting with the clean side of the mounting platform.
This is because the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced keeps the dirty underside of the bike rack out of the way. Hopefully, this should prevent you from needing to clean off grease, muck, dirt, and road salt from your clothes or boot space, as you’re fiddling around with the mounting rack. Albeit, how much access you get also depends on many factors. These include the shape and size of the bikes that you’re ferrying along in the rear. Crucially, you also have to take into account the tow bar. If you could find a tow bar that extends far enough back from your vehicle, you’ll have more room to work with. This was one of the slight quirks that we had to work around when installing that tow bar onto the Transporter.
One example of that aforementioned clearance problem was immediately noticed when we tried to open the rear barn-style doors on the Transporter. I’d reckon that a tow bar where the ball extends about 25cm or more from the back of the van, would allow me to open the rear doors all the way through, instead of part of the way. You could even see here, that the right-side rear door of the Transporter can’t be opened fully. Although, to be clear, this has nothing to do with the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike carrier or the tow bar, but with how it fits our van. So, let this be a reminder to ensure that you have adequate clearance when choosing and installing a tow bar.
Not One, Nor Two, But Up To Three Bikes
Nonetheless, thanks to how the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced has been designed, and the way it tilts back when you need to access your boot, it’ll still easily clear a tailgate without issues. Even with barn-style doors like our campervan here, I could effortlessly get into the boot, more so if we could find and fit in a longer tow bar. This further highlights the importance of both finding the right tow bar and then installing it onto your vehicle. So, how about the bike rack; is it a fitting companion to my on-the-go cycling excursions? TL;DR, it’s a very highly capable and versatile bike carrier, and with that optional rail, I can even fit and carry around a third bike on it.
This optional rail just mounts onto the end of the existing rails, pushing it through two holes and screwing it on the other side. Then, you could clip a double-locking mechanism onto the second bike – you’ll need to mount it onto the frame of the other bike, where ever fits best which you can then secure the third bike onto. For context, the two bikes that we’re testing with the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced are the Samebike LO26-II folding e-bike and a Carrera Subway mountain bike.
Speaking of clearances between the rear of your vehicle and the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike rack, on the side, you might be able to spot a metal bracket and a tension cable. This allows you to adjust how much throw you’d have with the bike rack, and be able to angle it further back, should you need to. Adjusting this, I’ve found that the middle position is the most ideal for me, giving me that tiny bit more clearance when opening the T6 Transporter’s rear doors. Depending on how far your car’s tailgate opens out to, you might want to fiddle with it a bit. Still, even in its lowest position, my bike’s handlebars weren’t touching the ground, so that’s nice.
An Impressive Degree Of Versatility And Ease Of Use
When it comes to using the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced, to bring it down and open it up for the bikes, there’s a small handle that you need to push down, sort of like a handbrake. Just make sure that you brace and support the bike rack by hand as it’s being lowered, which thankfully, isn’t too heavy. If you need to fit a bicycle or two on there, you’ll need to press a small white switch, which then drops down both the rails on either side. Thus, opening up the bike carrier, and you could then plop down a bicycle on it.
Between the ratchet straps and your bike(s), as well as between the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike rack and your vehicle, there are numerous locks to prevent thieves from running off with it. For those of you concerned with adjustability (more on that a bit later), the ratchet straps are super easy to do and undo. And, you could even move the frame ratchet straps around to better accommodate different types of bikes, including varying wheel and frame designs. It’s made to be as versatile as possible, so you’d have no problems carrying diverse types of bikes with you. Whether it’s a mountain bike, e-bike, or even a small children’s bike, it’ll fit like a glove.
Once the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced bike rack is firmly mounted onto the tow bar, and with a couple of bikes on the rear, this entire package is superbly robust and rock solid. There’s not even a small bit of play or looseness, nor does it stress out the structure. It’s worth remembering that those two aforementioned bikes that I’m now testing the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced with aren’t lightweight, either. One is a standard mountain bike, weighing around 15kg. Beside it, there’s an even heavier electric bike, weighing around 25kg. Yet, the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced doesn’t showcase any flex or bending. Just make sure you’re wary of the maximum load capacity.
An Incredibly Capable And Multi-Purpose Bike Rack
As noted by Atera, the GENIO PRO Advanced has a max load capacity – not including the bike carrier itself – of 60kg. Or, 66kg, if you add that additional rail extension to fit a third bike. As such, I’d highly recommend that you pay close attention to how much your bike weighs, before you mount it onto the bike rack. Another measurement that you ought to take into account is the maximum wheelbase of the bikes that you want to carry back there. For the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced, that’s a sizeable 1,300mm. Check out the specific measurements here.
In particular, make sure that the bike frames are between 25 to 80mm in size, to guarantee a snug fit in the holders. Generally, I was surprised by just how flexible the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced is. The folding mountain bike that I’ve got here, as you can see, features a very unconventional frame shape and size. Not to mention, there are those mountain bike tyres that the straps need to wrap around and secure. Note, the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced fits up to 3.8-inch bike wheels. Although, they do have an optional, longer strap for larger wheels. If your bike has a wider and larger frame though, Atera sells optional straps to better accommodate and secure it.
But what if you’re not using the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced? Well, good news there, as it can neatly fold into a rather compact package. And, it’s just as easy to remove it from the back of your car, courtesy of Atera’s quick-release system. If you think you might need it on the go, you might even be able to fit the entire bike rack inside your boot. For £549.95 at The Roof Box Company (that’s for the silver variant, while the black colourway will cost you £574.95), the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced is one of the best, most capable, and most versatile bike carriers money can buy. It’s dead simple to use, and just as straightforward to install it onto your car. If you like cycling as much as I do, I can’t recommend the Atera GENIO PRO Advanced enough.
