Mk1 Leon and towbar

[Mrski1]

Hi

I have been looking at options for me to carry bikes on my 2004 Leon Cupra, I have been using a tail mounted rack (Saris Bones) on my Alfa which was fairly secure but left scratches on the tailgate, however with the spoiler on the Cupra I do not want to use this rack.

My other options are a Thule roof rack, or a towbar mounted rack, but I do not know an awful lot about towbars, are they easy to fit? Would the bumper have to be cut to accomodate the towbar?

 

[OFI]

When I bought my Cupra it looked as though a bike rack has been used. The boot was worn to bare metal near the badge :-(

My towbar was fitted by the previous owner who told me it could just be removed without leaving any evidence behind. On further inspection a hole had been hacked out of the rear bumper.

There is a specific guide in the manual regarding fitting tow bars, it might be worth a look as perhaps it specifies a tow bar you can buy which wont wreck it

 

[ginger prince]

i was thinking about the same thing today, my boot rack (hollywood 3 bike) didn't seem as stable on my cupra as it was on my pugeot 306, kinda want to get a towbar but kinda don't if you know what i mean!

keep us posted on any news

 

[JamesL]

take the bike apart and put it in the car instead

 

[ginger prince]

done that spent along time with a hoover

 

[Mrski1]

Haha, yes i did the same for a while but with the mountain bikes i ended up with mud and grease everywhere! It becomes a right pain in the ass

Will have a look at the manual and also try to contact local towbar fitters.

 

[Had]

I've just fitted a towbar for the same reason, i wanted to carry my bmx and DH mtb. My old car, a mk4 ibiza got wrecked due to me throwing the bmx in every day. Couldnt have the same thing happen to my new pre-facelift cupra so decided to go with the towbar/bike rack idea. As far as i'm aware with every towbar your are gonna have to cut a hole in the bumper.

I fitted the tow bar myself, there are two main types, a permanent and a detatchable. On the detatchable the ball arm of the towbar comes of allowing you to place a cover where the hole is left. I've never really worked on cars and it took me about a day all in all to fit. The time was taken up mostly by me not being able to get the trim inside the boot out, and then once getting the whole thing back together having to take it apart again as i forgot to wire the number plate lights back up. Idiot.

The towbar i used was this one.

I would take pics but its exactly the same as this one recently posted:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=172192

This is a guide for bumper removal on a pre-facelift cupra:

http://fallenangelxsi.piczo.com/?preview=y&g=24212843&cr=2&rfm=y

If you do a search in the forums you will find a lot of threads on this. Though not many of them are very usefull. The best one i find had this link in:

http://www.simonranson.com/SeatLeonFR_towbar.htm

Very usefull if you do decide to fit the towbar yourself. It also shows a detatchable tow bar.

The bike rack i bought was the thule 9403:

http://www.bikerackshop.co.uk/thule-9403-ride-on-bike-carrier-racks.htm

Can pick em up for a £100 if you scour the tinternet. Thats for the 3 bike one mind.

I can get some pics of the car with the bike rack on if you wanna see what it looks like.

chainreactioncycles.com also have a few other recomended towbar mounted racks. The thule was the cheapest option really and i had heard good reviews of them.

Hope some of this helps

 

[MarkWales]

http://www.simonranson.com/SeatLeonFR_towbar.htm

handy this

 

[heatfan8]

I am thinking the same. Want to lug my bike around and tbh I am just going to get a roof mounted one. That way you can take the bars off the roof and have no evidence of anything left over. Towbars look pants IMO!

 

[ArosaRacer]

I fitted a tow bar to my pre face lift cupra to tow my caravan, its a simple job, but make sure you order the towing electrics from seat as they are plug and play

 

[heatfan8]

make sure you order the towing electrics from seat as they are plug and play

Not all are. Depends on the year of the car. I'm not sure which years have and which don't, but not all are as simple as that.

 

[ArosaRacer]

funny the kit i had covered all mk1 leon's

 

[jonnibgood]

I recommend the Saris bones with a little bit of modification - insulation tape and pipe insulation where it might come into contact with the body work. No bother with the spoiler either. I've made sure that I haven't picked up any scratches to the car this way.

 

[andy_lang]

Take the rear seats out - they are overrated anyways, then slide a custom cut bita waterproof plastic down, front wheel off and work it in and around the rear strut brace (if you have one), no mess, no hassle and also works well for when you go surfing (if you do).
All in all works well, but equally lobbing it on the roof with a thurle bike rack works wonders (if you hadnt of sold the roof racks).

For sale 1x thurle bike carrier! HAHAHAHA!

Mate has the removable tow bar - and just a bita plastic to cover it over. I used to tow, now just steal a car when I need to. Can be done very smartly if you have the time and patience.

 

[yellowyellow]

Got a Thule roof mouted one for my Leon, roofbox.co.uk were the cheapest at the time. Rock solid, no cutting yer bumper up, no messing about with lighting board, can take it all off and put it in car when you get where you're going, sorted.

 

[KEEPitSTUPID]

Its not ideal throwing a downhill rig on the roof after a session in the woods all day, its a shame the seat leon mk1s are so well finished im refusing to spoil that for a towbar :-(

 

[Cupra_225]

I got a Brink detachable towbar. If I were to fit one again, i'd get a fixed towbar. It hasn't been off since I fitted it. The bits of plastic to cover the hole when removed aren't great.
Towbar mounted bike carriers are the way forward though.

 

[big rich]

There's a red Leon on eBay breaking for parts with a brand new witter towbar

 

[KEEPitSTUPID]

Thanks! Il have a look but doesnt solve the cutting bumper for fitting

 

[big rich]

Thanks! Il have a look but doesnt solve the cutting bumper for fitting

You only have to cut a small square in the lower valance part if the bumper, its not as hard as it sounds to DIY it.