SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum banner

Euro bike rack on American v90

15K views 45 replies 20 participants last post by  FRANKIBOY27 
#1 ·
Has anyone tried the Volvo (or thule or any other ) European bike rack that clamps on a tow ball, on an American 2 inch tow ball?

These racks look great but I hate to import one if it won’t work.

Does anybody have any first hand experience?

I have a v90 with the retractable 2 inch Towbar so I can’t use a receiver bike rack.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#2 · (Edited)
I did it! Bought a bosal off of amazon.de.

I was hoping/ thinking it was the new version with the bosal patented mount clip mechanism that our America V90's with the factory hitch seem to already have.

Sadly, it was not, and it did not work out of the box. The ball area is not the issue, but rather the shank. There is a difference between an ISO 50mm ball and a US 2" ball, and that difference is 98% in the shaft...

I was able to do about 20-30 minutes of grinding/modification with a dremel on the bike rack clamp and now it works perfectly. Also, there's still enough meat/clamping metal left that I feel it's perfectly safe.

Jon

PS: The European license plate is funny (at least a bad dad joke), but will likely get me in trouble some day... also, there's pros and cons to the trailer wiring. I had to modify it to work with the US 7-pin, and Europe has amber turns while the use only has stop/turn combined for trailers. The solution was a Sylvania ZEVO LED red bulb and it worked perfectly. However, when the rack is plugged in and hooked up the car thinks there's a trailer on the car and BLIS and pilot assist are deactivated. PITA for long trips...









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#3 · (Edited)
Updates on EU Bike Rack for Tow Ball v90

Hi Dunlapjc,

I am very impressed by your setup. I'm on my second V90 CC, a 2020 after my 2018 lease expired. I just had my local Volvo dealer install the foldable towbar "tow ball" hitch, with intentions of installing a platform bicycle carrier. Photos linked.

Unfortunately it appears I made a very expensive mistake, as I have now discovered that there are no bike carriers in the US market designed for tow ball mount. I have been reaching out to multiple manufacturers and even Volvo UK awaiting responses.

Your statement: "I was hoping/ thinking it was the new version with the bosal patented mount clip mechanism that our America V90's with the factory hitch seem to already have." -- Do you have a direct link to this "new" version with a mount clip mechanism or can you better describe it?

I am determined to solve this problem and update this forum on the results!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VtCrZnJ1wcz8MTVtLvN3lblsHIETa5yC
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WfP7irAQbEFBJ5POhRArUnJbUegAPICZ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1njsZxCDM8jPqF2PeFXgsW8juiQN3NChp
 
#6 ·
If you have the foldable towball from Volvo, there isn't a US-style receiver--only the towball. While we liked the idea of the foldable hitch, it's inability to use hitch-mounted accessories is why we installed a Stealth Hitch on V90CC.
 
#14 ·
Third for the stealth hitch. I use it all the time with a three bike rack from 1upusa and it works like a charm. I have it down so I can install or remove the square hitch receiver in about 30 seconds without even getting on the ground, and of course the 1upusa rack is probably the best rack out there. Also have towed a heavy boat for a 4 hour drive over mountains and was solid as a rock. Sorry you went with the volvo retractable ball. Might be worth having it removed and put the stealth hitch with all the trouble you have to go through just to get a decent bike rack on there.
 
#19 ·
So the Oris Traveler iii FixMatic arrived from the UK, and unfortunately it does not fit right out of the box. The Volvo US towball is indeed a bit too large, 50.3mm vs 50 mm.

I'll be doing what Dunlapjc did at the beginning of this thread - grinding the tow ball cavity down a few milimeters to get it to fit.

Will update with results.
 
#23 ·
Man I fell in this trap too! I'm not sure what route to go now. So the carriers that Volvo sells work but are not great...? I wonder if the v60 version would work to swap
Out the ball part.
 
#24 · (Edited)
After much grinding and burning through metal grinding drill bits, the traveller iii still does not completely fit. I've been able to get it to fit over the 2" ball and lateral pins, however the keyed locking function does not fully depress and lock on. I will still be working on it through the rest of this summer.

Update: In the interim, I succumbed to my desperation and bought the OEM Volvo Bicycle rack for the v90 CC. $220 w/o shipping. I'm not a fan of mast-style racks, but for now it can hold my bike and 2 kids bikes. It cannot hold our 2 adult Faraday e-bikes (40 lbs each) as the weight limit is 61 lbs.

I don't understand why Volvo went through all the trouble of designing an EU-style towball (without confirming to EU specifications), and a specialized, limited-use bicycle rack for this towball. The bike rack has a large sticker that states "ONLY FOR THE V90 CC." Essentially shutting the V90s out of the North American tow hitch market.
 
#30 ·
After much grinding and burning through metal grinding drill bits, the traveller iii still does not completely fit. I've been able to get it to fit over the 2" ball and lateral pins, however the keyed locking function does not fully depress and lock on. I will still be working on it through the rest of this summer.

Update: In the interim, I succumbed to my desperation and bought the OEM Volvo Bicycle rack for the v90 CC. $220 w/o shipping. I'm not a fan of mast-style racks, but for now it can hold my bike and 2 kids bikes. It cannot hold our 2 adult Faraday e-bikes (40 lbs each) as the weight limit is 61 lbs.

I don't understand why Volvo went through all the trouble of designing an EU-style towball (without confirming to EU specifications), and a specialized, limited-use bicycle rack for this towball. The bike rack has a large sticker that states "ONLY FOR THE V90 CC." Essentially shutting the V90s out of the North American tow hitch market.
UPDATE - IT WORKS!!!! EU Bike Rack on US V90 CC TowBall

We got it to work! We finished grinding the interior cavity of the Bosal traveller iii and it fits perfectly on the v90 CC towball. It holds the bikes just fine with plenty support.

For the tail light conversion, I bought this CARROFIX US to EU Trailer Light Converter 4-Way Flat Connector (US Vehicle) to 7-Way Round Plug (European Trailer) and everything works. Reverse lights are a bit dim though.

I'll post photos if anyone is interested.
 
#26 ·
Bringing this post back.

Volvo USA carries one of the European style bike racks, and shows that it's compatible with the V90 hideaway tow-ball.

Here's a video of it (European video, but same part):

And the part number is: 31454865

Anyone else have or tried this one in the US?
 
#31 ·
Thanks for sharing this! This will be very helpful to current or future v90 owners looking for this. Looks like the US dealers want to charge a premium on these; I paid $780 for the 3-bike capacity from the EU including shipping.

Links for anyone looking for these EU-style bike racks in the US:

2 Bikes: Volvo V90 Bicycle Carrier. Bicycle Holder Tow Bar Mounted, 2 Bicycles - 31454865 - Genuine Volvo Part

3 Bikes: 31454867 - Bicycle Carrier. Bicycle Holder Tow Bar Mounted, 3 Bicycles. 13 Pole - Genuine Volvo Part
 
#27 · (Edited)
Hello all foldable tow-ball owners!

I have a 2017 V90 CC and I have been battling with the whole hitch bike rack issue that many of you have. I purchased a Thule 933300 Easyfold XT 2-Bike Towbar Carrier, Black/Silver from Amazon which I thought would fit on the towball installed on my foldable hitch. Of course, it did not. As the rack cost me almost $800 and would cost $300 to ship back to Europe, I had to figure out a way to make it fit my current set up.

I toyed with many different options, like grinding out the part that fit over the towball or removing the hitch all together and having a stealth hitch put on instead. At the end of the day, I had a machine shop/mechanic/welder cut off the 2 inch towball and replace it with a 50mm towball that I purchased from Amazon (CURT 40099 Chrome European Trailer Hitch Ball, 1,600 kg, 50mm Diameter, 3/4-Inch x 50mm Shank). The shop cut the existing ball off, drilled a hole in the hitch for the new ball to sit in, then welded on the new ball. It took them 2 hours and cost me $150. The rack fits PERFECTLY on the 50mm towball, because that's what it was designed for.

I also ordered a converter (CARROFIX US Vehicle 7-Way Blade Connector to European 13-Pin Round Trailer Light Converter - Plug and Play Design) for the lights on the back of the rack to plug into the hitch to finalize the project.

If you have any questions, feel free to reply!
Automotive tire Automotive exterior Bumper Grille Vehicle door
122177
122178
122179
122180
 
#28 ·
Hello all foldable tow-ball owners!

I have a 2017 V90 CC and I have been battling with the whole hitch bike rack issue that many of you have. I purchased a Thule 933300 Easyfold XT 2-Bike Towbar Carrier, Black/Silver from Amazon which I thought would fit on the towball installed on my foldable hitch. Of course, it did not. As the rack cost me almost $800 and would cost $300 to ship back to Europe, I had to figure out a way to make it fit my current set up.

I toyed with many different options, like grinding out the part that fit over the towball or removing the hitch all together and having a stealth hitch put on instead. At the end of the day, I had a machine shop/mechanic/welder cut off the 2 inch towball and replace it with a 50mm towball that I purchased from Amazon (CURT 40099 Chrome European Trailer Hitch Ball, 1,600 kg, 50mm Diameter, 3/4-Inch x 50mm Shank). The shop cut the existing ball off, drilled a hole in the hitch for the new ball to sit in, then welded on the new ball. It took them 2 hours and cost me $150. The rack fits PERFECTLY on the 50mm towball, because that's what it was designed for.

I also ordered a converter (CARROFIX US Vehicle 7-Way Blade Connector to European 13-Pin Round Trailer Light Converter - Plug and Play Design) for the lights on the back of the rack to plug into the hitch to finalize the project.

If you have any questions, feel free to reply!

-Scott
Woh....I'm not sure I'd have gone that route. Probably okay for a bike rack, but not sure I'd actually tow anything having done that.

The second post in this thread explained doing a little grinding on the rack receiver to get it to sit on the 2-inch ball no problem.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Hi everyone, first post here and I need your help. I stumbled upon this thread researching about the foldable tow hitch. We are getting it in our 2021 XC60 and the ball part actually comes off from the hitch with a pin.


Does that mean these EU style bike carriers would would work by just replacing the ball with a 50mm sized one?

Reason I'm even going this route is because the foldable hitch on the XC60 is 1.25" and most platform 3-4 bike racks are for a 2" hitch. So I thought using this 3 bike platform ball mounted rack
from Volvo would be perfect.

 
#40 ·
Hi everyone, first post here and I need your help. I stumbled upon this thread researching about the foldable tow hitch. We are getting it in our 2021 XC60 and the ball part actually comes off from the hitch with a pin.


Does that mean these EU style bike carriers would would work by just replacing the ball with a 50mm sized one?

Reason I'm even going this route is because the foldable hitch on the XC60 is 1.25" and most platform 3-4 bike racks are for a 2" hitch. So I thought using this 3 bike platform ball mounted rack
from Volvo would be perfect.

Why don't you just go with the Thule rack? It states that it fits both 1.25" and 2"
 
#34 ·
Correct, you can just purchase a 50mm towball to insert into your 1.25 in. receiver and set the rack on top of it.

However, I recommend going with a 1up, Thule or Yakima that has a 1.25 inch connector instead of paying for the international rack. Especially with the wear and tear on bike racks, getting replacement parts or a warranty replacement (from Europe) will be a hassle.
 
#35 ·
Thanks for the reply. Good point on the replacement and warranty, my dealer mentioned there's one of these in the US (I'm from Canada) the other day, but when I asked again yesterday they backpedaled and said it is in fact a European market only and they wouldn't be able to get it in.

Back to searching I guess, looks like we will be forced to use hanging style bike racks as I haven't seen any 1.25" platform carriers for at least 3 bikes.
 
#37 ·
If anyone that got a European rack to fit would mind adding some more info on where they ended up grinding or had some pictures that would be appreciated. Been working on mine for the past few days and still cannot get it to fit. Very difficult to tell what needs more grinding given the lack of visibility. Thanks!
 
#39 · (Edited)
Hi,

Originally we were using a metal grinder attachment on a cordless drill. We were grinding the interior cavity of the bike trailer. It took forever. We finally changed to a corded drill, and that did the trick - way more power than the cordless.

We also burned through a ton of metal grinding drill bits.

One additional thing that helped is the use of marking chalk on the towball, then fitting the bike rack on top. This told us the areas of the cavity that still needed more excavation.

Good luck!
 
#46 ·
Buuuuumping,

These rack fits on our cars, direct bolt on.


If you're from Montreal you can call these guys, they have 2-3 models in stock ITAL E CONCEPTS: Bikes & Racks · 294 Labrosse Ave, Pointe-Claire, Quebec H9R 5L8, Canada

You can say that Francis the guy with the Volvo reccomended you !

Not sure if they ship, but you can also look for other reseller of this brand in your area, the model i got was the Alcor 2, you also need an 7 pin EU to 7 pin US trailer adapter which was in stockon Amazon (i've yet to try)

Wheel Tire Sky Car Cloud


I'll probably remove the roof rack this summer to regain some fuel efficiency and keep the look sleeker.

Bonus: i'll also be ordering one of these custom stamped in Quebec EU plates to complete the look. https://europlaque.ca/en/
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top