help with transporting bike

liveforever1982

hi guys,hope you can help,fairly newish to this mountain biking lark,having bought myself a giant terrago disc last may. the trouble i have is i used to transport my bike around in my pick up truck,until i sold it last oct and bought myself a 3 door polo. now the problem i have is that bought some roof bars and bike carrier for it at great expense,but the bike just didn't seam secure if enough for me,and had horrid visions of my bike flying through the air when i went round a corner or braked har.so i put the lot on ebay,and got myself a second hand rack for the rear,but agin it does just not seam secure enough,so much so that i haven't even attempted it yet. i've also tried to take my front whell off and put it inside the car,as this would be the cheapest method,but i couldn't get it to fit. so can anyone else help me,as i've run out of ideas and money! :oops:
sorry for the long winded message

geordiefreerider

alright mate, dont worry about long messages we all do it thats what its about, i have a bike carrier from halfords and it go's on the back of my golf, or rather it did but i sold the car last week and never had any trouble even with some b road motorsport antics on the way home ha ha, do you worry about the whole rack and bike coming off or just the bike coming off the rack coz u can always lock your bike to the rack, just make sure your straps are as tight as you can get them, dont be shy you wont break anything (hopefully ) failing that take both your wheels off i used to do that with a 306 i was running at the time and had no bike rack hope this all helps....

Andy B

I carry upwards of £3.5k of bikes on the roof of my car (mine & mates bikes)



Seat roof bars & 2 Thule Proride 591 carriers (~£300 for the lot)

Have travelled at motorway speeds for hours with no problems, lobbed the car round the tight & twisties on A roads too with no problems.

I do place an extra strap between the two bikes top tubes as an extra safety measure, but you don't have to, I just like making triple sure they're not going anywhere they shouldn't

Roof mounted or towbar mounted are the best options for carrying bikes outside the car

liveforever1982

cheers for replys guys,i guess i should of kept my roor bars,and invested in a decent roof mounted carrier,i was just worried about my mpg as i do a lot of miles during week,and i was too lazy to take roof bars off. as for the rear mounted carrier i just felt like the straps wouldn't tighten up enough. after swearing and cursing all afternoon,i've managed to get my bike inside the car,which i suppose is best way,to seams such a hassle tho,wish i'd kept my truck now :oops:

Andy B

With just the bars & carriers on the roof the fuel economy drops from ~55mpg (on a good run) to ~48mpg

With the bikes on the roof it drops a little more, ~42 to ~48mpg

It all depends on how late I am for a ride :oops:

liveforever1982

i've been driving like a demon of late :oops: so think only way at the mo is gonna be inside the car with an old bed sheet to stop the mud! i've been hearing a lot of good things about the tow bar mounted rack,but i don't have a tow bar so that would be more expense. i guess it just depends how serious i get with my biking whther i can justify the cost.

Northwind

Roof racks are VERY secure though, when used right, I think you're mainly being paranoid tbh. You can add a ratchet strap if you want, but it's overkill.

sniper68

I've used Thule Barracuda roof carriers for years and was oblivious to the MPG thing until i got this car with the computer thing.Stats are 2.0ltr dti vectra
Motorway driving:
a).car,no roof rails @80ish mph 50-52mpg
b)car with roof bars etc no bikes@80ish mph 45-48mpg.
c)car with 2 bikes@80ish mph 38-40mpg :shock:
These figures are frightening for everyday use as the
b)car with roof bars etc no bikes figure drops to 35-38mpg :shock: for just commuting/town driving.
The car is an estate so if i'm just transporting my bike i drop the back seats and chuck the bike in the back.
Worked out that on a drive to Scotland(Newton Stewart) from Sheffield with the bikes on the roof i used about 3 gallons more with the bikes than without.
I used to leave the bars on the car(4 years)but don't anymore.

batch78

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The best mpg I've ever got is 30mpg. Thats a car with no roof rack or rear carrier.

Think you guys all want to stop worrying so much!

All carriers, if used correctly, are very secure from other peoples experience. Make sure all straps are secure and you'll be fine. 99% of issues occur when people forget about height restrictions or reverse into walls.

Do you all drive diesels?

sniper68

batch78 wrote:

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The best mpg I've ever got is 30mpg. Thats a car with no roof rack or rear carrier.

Think you guys all want to stop worrying so much!

All carriers, if used correctly, are very secure from other peoples experience. Make sure all straps are secure and you'll be fine. 99% of issues occur when people forget about height restrictions or reverse into walls.

Do you all drive diesels?

Yes,and since April last year(when i bought the car)i've done just under 19000 miles,which is why i now remove the roof bars/carrier 8)
19000 divided by 50mpg =380 gallons
19000 divided by 35mpg=542 gallons.
Thats 162 gallons per year more on average @£4.50ish a gallon=£730 That adds up to a couple of weekends away a year.
My eyes are wide open 8)

batch78

Scary figures! :shock:

I only drive my car at weekends which is a blessing as it means I can have pretty much what I want, V6 petrols are my thing for the last two cars, my annual mileage is only about 3000 though.

I even tried to be grown up and sensible this time round, I ended up with a 3.2 litre V6 Mercedes estate, the bike fits in the boot without folding the seats though, honestly its sensible, I promise. :oops:

xtremedash

Personally I have mine on the roof, Thule roof bars and 591 carriers. Very secure, the key to improving MPG with bikes on the roof is just to keep your speed down. Allow yourself an extra 15 minutes to get to your destination and do 65 instead of 75 and there'll be little difference in fuel costs.

cee

Andy_B wrote:

Seat roof bars & 2 Thule Proride 591 carriers (~£300 for the lot)

My car cost £500 3 years ago. My rear seats are split, so I can fold down either the drivers side, or the passenger side and middle. In this combination I regularly carry 3 bikes and 3 blokes (including myself) inside the car.

At £500 who cares about mud.

Kiwi Kranker

ibbo68 wrote:

batch78 wrote:

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The best mpg I've ever got is 30mpg. Thats a car with no roof rack or rear carrier.

Think you guys all want to stop worrying so much!

All carriers, if used correctly, are very secure from other peoples experience. Make sure all straps are secure and you'll be fine. 99% of issues occur when people forget about height restrictions or reverse into walls.

Do you all drive diesels?

Yes,and since April last year(when i bought the car)i've done just under 19000 miles,which is why i now remove the roof bars/carrier 8)
19000 divided by 50mpg =380 gallons
19000 divided by 35mpg=542 gallons.
Thats 162 gallons per year more on average @£4.50ish a gallon=£730 That adds up to a couple of weekends away a year.
My eyes are wide open 8)

Holy cr@p!

I generally have four bikes on the roof of my car....thinking now my cheap workhorse of a car wasnt such a good idea. I had no idea how much I am potentially getting owned by those racks. :shock:

Anyone want to buy 2000 2.8 Audi estate? Will consider a swap for a diesel version

Mind you sharing with 4 people helps on those fuel bills.

(naturally I cant bring myself to put the bikes on the back, they look loads cooler on the roof!)

llamafarmer

Andy_B wrote:

I carry upwards of £3.5k of bikes on the roof of my car (mine & mates bikes)

Seat roof bars & 2 Thule Proride 591 carriers (~£300 for the lot)

Have travelled at motorway speeds for hours with no problems, lobbed the car round the tight & twisties on A roads too with no problems.

I do place an extra strap between the two bikes top tubes as an extra safety measure, but you don't have to, I just like making triple sure they're not going anywhere they shouldn't

Roof mounted or towbar mounted are the best options for carrying bikes outside the car

I've got the exact same car mate, so that's pretty useful info for me. How do you find it effects your MPG when you have 2 bikes on the roof? And does it take long to get it all fixed to the car?

paul_284

liveforever1982 wrote:

cheers for replys guys,i guess i should of kept my roor bars,and invested in a decent roof mounted carrier,i was just worried about my mpg as i do a lot of miles during week,and i was too lazy to take roof bars off. as for the rear mounted carrier i just felt like the straps wouldn't tighten up enough. after swearing and cursing all afternoon,i've managed to get my bike inside the car,which i suppose is best way,to seams such a hassle tho,wish i'd kept my truck now :oops:

the rear one will be fine they jst take practice to get them on quickly and securely. just check the straps after the first ten miles, then whenever you stop and you'll have to problem.

i only have to slow down down when the head winds to strong and they move abit but they wont go anywhere. id get something to put between the bikes though if you have more than one on there as i have got scratches from them moving about.

ragged1100

Buy a van



Ragged

PS: That's not mine! This is...

Northwind

Ooh, lovely. Plus, if you get fed up of all that awesome air-cooled power, you can always tow it behind your bike

Wish I could afford a bus I suppose I could just about stretch to a rusty brick...