Do you own a car and a bike?

DonDaddyD

As much as I'm loathe to admit it, after 28yrs of living I actually need a car to do stuff. This is what I get for moving in with a women.... Yeah I said it!!!

So I got to thinking, do you own a car as well as a bike? If so what car do you own?

Sewinman

Yes, although I never use the bloody thing, apart from occasional fishing trip. Merc C250 TD.

ince

Yep, I have a Citroen Xantia and due to getting on the bike it only did 2.5k last year. With only covering that sort of distance a year I could almost run a v8 .... not if I could just convince the boss I need a Rangerover. :twisted:

jamesco

Nope, owned a car once and once was more than enough. Motorcycles, on the other hand..

woodyonthebeach

Dont have a car or a license. But learnt to drive at the tender age of 13 when I lived in Wales and was brought up on a small holding.

Seem to manage without a car well enough. I do have friends help me out from time to time and just give them some petrol money.

God bless the home delivery drivers......

Eau Rouge

I only really started cycling to work because the new flat was too close to work to drive, all that driving when cold would be bad for the (already not 100%) car. This is another reason why I love my new flat. I would not be without a car.

'97 3-Series BMW. I drive like a BMW-driver anyway, it's only fair to warn people.

il_principe

Don't own a car. Given the choice between a cr@p car and a top end road bike I'd plump for the roadie any day. I use Streetcar if i need a vehicle in London and hire or borrow for trips out of town. Sometimes I wish I owned one but the reality is i don't need one and would get annoyed by all the ancillary costs. Plus parking where I live is a total nightmare - more permits than there are spaces!

prawny

I live in the sticks so yep I have a car, in fact 2 at the moment.

A 2004 Focus C-max and a 2006 Ford Ka.

The C-max is for family stuff the Ka is for sitting outside the house doing very little :?

May well get rid of the Ka soon, anyone fancy one?

Citizen Smith

Yes, Mini Cooper but only used at weekends and occasionally when I need to get to Reading for stupidly early hour.

shoulder_of_orion

Range Rover - only used for running over cyclists

Kieran_Burns

ince wrote:

Yep, I have a Citroen Xantia and due to getting on the bike it only did 2.5k last year. With only covering that sort of distance a year I could almost run a v8 .... not if I could just convince the boss I need a Rangerover. :twisted:

Oddly enough - I'm putting my house up for sale (for various reasons and to reduce the commute distance to about 10 miles which would lose the horrible first / last part of the journey)

It would basically mean that I would ONLY use the car at weekends and I reckon I could justify *cough* a V8 for weekend jollys

An affordable one would be something like the Monaro - big lazy V8 rear wheel drive torque monster.... mmmmmm......

roger_merriman

While buses and trains are good for into central any thing else I seem to want to do they suck mightly. So yes car. The jourey to my folks has just too many stops that at best by train it's 5hrs plus (and one still has the last 7 miles to do) while a car can do it in 3 hrs easy. Not far off 2 if one has a clear run. So I'm likely to always have a car.

Agent57

As a family, we own a car and a motorcycle. We used to have two cars, but I sold one of them a couple of years ago as I seldom used it once I'd started cycling to work.

The car is mostly used by my wife for driving herself and our kids around. While it'd be nice to be able to ditch the car, it's impractical (read "more hassle than we can be bothered with") to use public transport or have my wife and kids cycle everywhere.

It's a Fiat Bravo 1.4. I sold a Rover 620SLDi.

prawny

Kieran_Burns wrote:

ince wrote:

Yep, I have a Citroen Xantia and due to getting on the bike it only did 2.5k last year. With only covering that sort of distance a year I could almost run a v8 .... not if I could just convince the boss I need a Rangerover. :twisted:

Oddly enough - I'm putting my house up for sale (for various reasons and to reduce the commute distance to about 10 miles which would lose the horrible first / last part of the journey)

It would basically mean that I would ONLY use the car at weekends and I reckon I could justify *cough* a V8 for weekend jollys

An affordable one would be something like the Monaro - big lazy V8 rear wheel drive torque monster.... mmmmmm......

Mmmmm Monaro, me and the Mrs had a sit in one at the motorshow a few years back, lovely lovely (for a vauxhall) even the Mrs liked it, I want a VXR8 now though so I can pretend I'm a V8 Supercar driver 8)

Feltup

I have an estate which I could not live with out. How else would I get to the coast to go kitesurfing, get to the hills to go climbing etc etc ?

Fireblade96

Yes, but resisted for many, many years, getting by with an assortment of motorbikes and bicycles with occasional unhappy trials of public transport.

Last year I cracked because I needed a way of getting myself plus assorted toys (kayak, mountain bike,...) to remote places in the middle of winter and was fed up of always having to ask for lifts. So I opted for a Focus Estate which can carry everything inside in the dry.

Sometimes the car doesn't move for >1month, it sits outside the house looking dusty and unused.

After making the mistake of driving into town at the weekend to pick up a friend from the station - WHY does anyone EVER drive into town by choice ?!? Friend got returned to the station on the back of the motorbike ;-)

Finbar Saunders

Yes....Volvo S40 T4 Turbo....200 BHP! My MTB is a bit heavy so I need the power to get to the trails. It makes life with a wife and a 3 and half year old so much easier, although he does ride his balance bike to and from nursery about twice a week.....a mile each way. Boot space is rubbish so I have a Saris Bones carrier. Most of my rides start from home but it is nice to travel a bit further to start a ride.

Kieran_Burns

Oh forgot to mention: Golf V6 4Motion - 204BHP

bit of a step down in power from the modded Cally Turbo - 280BHP with 285 ft/lbs torque but a HELL of a lot more reliable.

I just don't use it much any more.

spen666

Who is going to confess to buying a 4x4 for the school run then? :twisted:

philbill1973

Just e-bayed my car, got a hundred quid for a wreck !

Now we're making do with an MX-5, just as impractical as my bike really.

Sfelt

spen666 wrote:

Who is going to confess to buying a 4x4 for the school run then? :twisted:

Big Gas guzzling Discovery with reinforced bullbars, I need one for the school run as I live in the centre of London, my wife cant see over the dashboard, and the school is 350mtrs away

woodyonthebeach

This has got me looking.

What is the perfect car for cyclist and general activity person

Rich158

I couldn't do without my car, how else could I transport two kids plus mountian bikes arround the country. I do reconcile myself with the fact that I only use it at most 2/3 times a week and my annual mileage is about 6K. It's a 6 year old Merc C220 TD coupe, so it's not far off having a better carbon footprint than a Prius due to it's age

Lycra Man

Like ince, I have a Citroen Xantia (actually my second, this one's a diesel). Ideal car as with the rear seats down, my bike can lie down inside, safe and dry and secure.

I also have a bike carrier for when we all (me + wife+ 9 yo daughter) go somewhere with our bikes (quite rare).

Lycra Man

il_principe

woodyonthebeach wrote:

This has not got my looking.

What is the perfect car for cyclist and general activity person

A Range Rover I'd imagine! Lots of room, superb on and off road etc. Bit pricey of course. The old mans just bought a Volvo XC90, reckon that'd do a good job, but it's a thirsty beast and I'd hate to drive it in the town/city! It's perfect for where he lives in the sticks though.

mudcovered

Well I own a Ford Focus but I don't exactly use it much. Last year I did more miles by bike than I did in the car

It is invaluable for the bulk shopping trips and long haul journeys so I wouldn't give it up. It is also occasionally nice to drive to work if the weather is truly hideous. My definition of hideous has changed over the last few years mind, it used to be the slightest bit of rain now it has to be a torrential downpour with no sign of let up on the horizon.

Mike

roger_merriman

A half decent small familly car? Surely would do better? Not as heavy as the suv's so less chance of getting stuck on wet grass... With bike rack should get one and mates plus bikes pritty much any where one wanted.

lost_in_thought

I have 2 cars too, both Saabs, an old m-reg 900se convertible that's only used in the summer, and an x-reg 9-5 hot aero estate that I use weekly.

I have to say, the estate is probably the ideal car for lugging stuff around, with the back seats down it's like a van, comfortably holds a whole bike, three if you aren't worried about scratches/dings, 2 with lots of padding if you are! Other things I have fitted in it include 5 large dogs, snowboarding kit incl. boards for 5 people (but not the people), a large wardrobe etc etc.

Much better to drive, less thirsty and much more comfortable in the back than a Range Rover. And yes, RR lovers, I've driven the supercharged V8 sport.

Or you could buy a TVR. Not mine, it's already gone.

woodyonthebeach

Having considered all these options. So for practicality it has got to be hatch back, have a bit of power and 4 wheel drive.

two possible solutions

Ford Escort Cosworth
Vauxhall Cavalier 4x4 Turbo

If I feel a little flush of course

Range Rover Sport (Over Finch)

Right Next to calls.

Bank manager then
Girl Friend
Then Parents asking to stay there for a couple night

MrChuck

Never owned one, but I do rent them as and when I need to and I'm lucky enough to know a few people to scab lifts off sometimes!

Bassjunkieuk

We have 2 cars, the family car is a Toyota Lucida Emina (the jap import version of the Estima) which is the one we use when we need to moblize the troops - all 7 of us, with 1 seat spare :-D
I also have my company car which is a Prius (chosen as I love gadgets and it was the cheapest to run privately and smallest tax burden.......)

The Lucida has swallowed many a bike and with the rear seats folded down makes for a semi comfortable double(ish) sized bed or a reasonable sized van! We used it on the last family holiday to take my MTB, the wifes hybrid, the trailer bike (ala ITB's Beast), 3 kids bikes and pretty much all the supplies and clothing on our last family holiday. I lead the way with 4 kids in the other car :-)

We also have a bike rack for when space is tight.......