Can Your Bike Rack Carry an E-Bike?
Last Updated: 23 October 2026
E-bikes vary more than most people expect. Some weigh about what a road bike does, and some weigh more than plenty of racks are rated to carry. Whether yours can go on a particular rack comes down to a handful of checks, and it’s worth running all of them before you buy.
We’ve done some of the work for you. More on that at the end.
Start With What the Rack Maker Says.
Most rack makers don’t certify racks for e-bikes. They publish weight ratings, and some add a line about e-bikes on top. Look for it on the rack’s product page and in its instructions.
If the maker says the rack isn’t for e-bikes, that’s your answer, however strong the rack looks on paper.
If the maker says it suits e-bikes, that’s a good sign, but the approval only covers bikes within its weight ratings. Some approved racks are rated at about 18 kg per bike, which rules out plenty of e-bikes.
If the maker says nothing either way, the weight checks below decide.
Weigh Your Bike the Way It Will Travel.
"E-bike" doesn’t tell you a weight. Three sold in Australia show how far apart they can be. These are the manufacturers’ published weights for the sizes listed, checked in October 2026. The links go to each bike’s listing at DRIFT Bikes.
| Bike | Reference Size | Published Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp E5, SRAM Apex Eagle | 56 | 14.99 kg |
| Specialized Turbo Levo R Comp | S3 | 22.34 kg |
| Trek Allant+ 7 Lowstep Gen 2 | M | 25.90 kg |
Same label, nearly 11 kg apart. And published weights are only a guide. Frame size, model year, battery, parts and accessories all change the number.
So weigh your own bike, with everything that stays on it for the drive. A lock, bag, child seat or range extender all count if they stay attached. Your bike and rack instructions say what has to come off before you travel.
Taking out a removable battery lightens the load, if your bike’s instructions allow it. Some systems require it for transport. Others have batteries that aren’t meant to come out routinely, so check your manual rather than assume.
If you take the battery or anything else off, weigh the bike that way. Don’t take a guessed battery weight off a rough bike weight and hope it lands under the limit.
A lighter setup can bring a bike under a rack’s rating. It can’t raise the rating, and it doesn’t get around a maker’s "not for e-bikes".
Two Weight Limits, Two Separate Checks.
Most racks have two weight ratings. The per-bike limit is the most any one bike can weigh in its position. The total limit is the most all the bikes can weigh together. You have to stay under both.
Here’s how that plays out on a real rack with the bikes above. The Thule OutPace 3-bike towbar rack has three spaces, and Thule rates it at 25 kg per bike and 50 kg in total.
| Load on the OutPace 3-bike | Total | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Two Levo R Comps | 44.68 kg | Under both limits. A third Levo would take it to 67.02 kg, so this three-bike rack is a two-Levo rack. |
| One Allant+ Lowstep and one Creo | 40.89 kg | Over the per-bike limit. The Allant+ is 0.9 kg over 25 kg, and the light Creo doesn’t make up for it. |
| One Creo and two Levo R Comps | 59.67 kg | Each bike is under 25 kg, but together they’re 9.67 kg over the total. |
| Three Creos | 44.97 kg | Under both limits. Light enough e-bikes can fill all three spaces. |
Empty spaces don’t add capacity to the ones you use. A rack rated for 25 kg per bike is still a 25 kg rack with only one bike on it.
Check the instructions for your exact rack, and for any extension you add. Positions on the same rack can have different limits, and some manufacturers say where the heaviest bike has to go.
Check the Fit.
Once the weights add up, make sure the bike physically fits. Wheelbase, wheel and tyre size, how the rack holds the frame and the gap between bikes all matter. The OutPace 3-bike, for example, takes wheels from 16 to 32 inches, tyres up to 3 inches wide and a wheelbase up to 1250 mm. A bike can be light enough and still not fit.
Check Your Car Can Take It.
Your car and its towbar have to take the loaded rack, not just the bikes. The OutPace 3-bike weighs 18.6 kg on its own, and its 50 kg bike rating assumes a tow ball rated for at least 70 kg of vertical load. On a tow ball rated for 40 kg, Thule drops the bike load to 21.9 kg, which isn’t enough for a single Levo R Comp. Follow the vehicle, towbar and rack instructions for your carrying limit.
On the Roof, the Limit Is You.
On the roof, the bars and carriers count towards the roof load along with the bikes. But the limit that matters more is you. A roof rack can only carry what you’re comfortable lifting above your head and holding steady while you clamp it in. A 22 kg Levo is hard work up there, and almost no one is going to do it with a 30 kg bike, however much the rack is rated for. For most e-bikes, a towbar rack is the sensible choice.
Where Our Badge Comes In.
We’ve run the first checks on the racks we sell, and the ones that pass carry our e-bike compatible badge. A rack gets it when its maker approves it for e-bikes, or, where the maker says nothing, when it’s rated for at least 20 kg per bike and its total covers at least one 20 kg bike. A rack the maker rules out for e-bikes never gets it. The 20 kg line is ours, not an industry standard or certification.
If your bike weighs 20 kg or less ready to travel, look for the badge to start your shortlist. Then check your bike against that rack’s own per-bike and total limits on the product page. A few badged racks are maker-approved below 20 kg, and the total still decides how many e-bikes you can carry. If your bike is heavier, look past the badge to the per-bike rating itself.
No badge doesn’t always mean no. Sometimes we just don’t have a confirmed rating yet. Run the checks above, or ask us.
Browse our bike carriers, or bring us your bike models, their travel weights, how many bikes you carry and what you drive. Our bike rack supply and installation service will work through the limits and the fit with you.
