Tesla Model 3: Tow Ball vs. Roof Bars For Carrying Bikes - What You NEED To Know

If you want to carry your mountain or road bikes on your Tesla Model 3 you are probably weighing up using a tow ball mounted carrier vs. the roof bars with cycle carriers. After scrutinising the user guide I found an important rule relating to the center of gravity when using a tow ball mounted cycle carrier. Most people just see the 55kg limit and think they will be fine. Unfortunately that is not the only limit on the tow ball when using a cycle carrier.

After doing some sums I can’t see how it can ever be possible to use a bike carrier for over 2 bikes and stay within the limit. At least not with normal weight bikes! You can play with this spreadsheet to do the calculations yourself too: http://benvallack.com/downloads/cog.xlsx

In this video I explore using roof bar mounted cycle carriers as a better option for carrying bikes on your Tesla Model 3. I do a sound test with a binaural microphone to show the impact on noise when using no bars, just the bars, the bars with empty carriers and then 3 bikes on the carriers as well. I also show the energy consumption over these tests too.

Please see this video for more detail on fitting the Tesla Model 3 roof bars where I look at the torques as well as explore the risk around damaging the glass roof.    • Tesla Model 3 Roof Bars − Review, Fitting,...  

Check out 14 ways the Tesla Model 3 transforms your life:    • 14 Ways Tesla Model 3 TRANSFORMS Your Life!  

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Contents:
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00:00 Intro
00:16 Center of gravity limit when using tow ball and why roof bars are the best option.
01:30 How to calculate the center of gravity of your cycle carrier
02:18 How easy is it to take the roof bars and carriers on and off?
03:27 Is there a risk to damaging the glass roof?
03:46 Sound test introduction
04:27 Range test introduction
04:57 What about using a supercharger?
05:20 How many bikes can you carry on the roof?
06:23 Binaural sound test comparison
07:02 Range test results


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