How do you transport your bike?
Comments
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I see far too many of those strap on bike racks that are not designed to carry heavy bikes.
I see them on the motorway carrying 3 MTBs. Eeeeek!
Towbar mounts are the only way of carrying them like this, the strap on ones are just not strong enough.
Roof rack ones are fine, but I don't like the idea of not being able to see the bike coming loose.
Inside the car is so much better.......
Me? I bought an L200 to transport mine!
But part of that is because mine and the girlfriends cars are just not able to transport them. Craig Rogers0 -
i cant get a mountain bike in my car even if it it is stripped down to just a frame. the joy of 2 seat sports car. (honda crx del-sol)
i cant fit a bike rack cause of the shape of the boot and the fact it's a targa top (roof come off)
i did not want to have a tow bar welded to it..
we ended up getting a peugeot partner escerpade combi van come mini mpv it will take 2 complete bikes and all the luggage you could need.
or 3 bikes and 3 people if you remove the front wheels and luggage,,, bikes are in side van has tinted privercy glass so no one can see your bikes in side so bikes are not on display, and yes salford is only a stone throw away from me..
fuel wise it does around 52mpg so it not that bad on long road trips.....
i had no other option there was no way the sol would take a bike so i had to either change the car (not an option) or get a second one....www.bearbackbiking.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDelcol#play/uploads
hd vids
http://www.youtube.com/user/topasassin#play/uploads
http://www.vimeo.com/user2514116/videos0 -
Get a Volvo V70, they're great.
I can get all my bikes, all my mate's bikes, a picnic hamper, Snap-On tool chest, a small wardrobe, dining table and chairs, bale of hay, skis, and a 25kg sack of dog biscuits in mine.
Just not all at the same time obviously...0 -
I use a Pendle rear rack - well engineered and solid as a rock even carrying two bikes0
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I already had a tow bar on my car, so got a Thule ride on tow bar carrier. Carries 3 bikes and leaves the rest of the car for luggage an bodies :-) Got mine from Halfords for about £100. Fantastic bit of kit, comes on and off the towbar in two minutes. Has a lightboard with connections included, and you loosen two levers and the whole thing tilts back so you can still get into the tailgate. Its been great0
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We use a halfords bike rack for our 2 bikes, it stays put but we do crank it on tight.
The is on a Daewoo Matiz as well !
Caz xxx0 -
x-isle wrote:I see far too many of those strap on bike racks that are not designed to carry heavy bikes.
Roof rack ones are fine, but I don't like the idea of not being able to see the bike coming loose.
I agree on the first point, I often come across people carriers with three bikes strapped on to a budget rear mounted bike rack.
As for the "not being able to see the bike coming loose" well as someone who carries up to four bikes on Thule 591 bike carriers, the chances of a bike ever coming loose is negligible. Yes I always ensure the bikes are correctly mounted and the jaw/wheel straps are tight AND locked
The only instance I've read (heard) of a bike coming loose from roof mounts was with one of those budget (spring and wingnut) Halfords type roof carriers.
However I've heard first hand and read many a story about bikes coming loose from rear mounted carriers.
Like all things in life you get what you pay for, but even if a bike were to come loose on a towbar / rear window type mount on a motorway, would you notice it at first? Remember most people are quite complacent with their bike carrying arrangement and take it for granted all is well back there.
My dedicated bike hauler is a Land Rover Discovery [V8] and I sometimes do carry bikes inside, but usually when they're clean and en route to the LBS for indexing etc.
Of all the options out there I still swear by [good quality] roof mounts and I can opt for loading bikes inside, towbar, rear window or spare wheel mount.
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On the roof rack on 591 carriers (x2) - brilliantly designed and very easy to use. I used to have "box" bars but now have aero bars - the carriers are MUCH easier to fit to aero bars.
The car JUST about copes with the extra weight (Stumpy - 23lbs, Rockhopper - 27lbs, Allex Elite - 18lbs)
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Surf-Matt wrote:On the roof rack on 591 carriers (x2) - brilliantly designed and very easy to use. I used to have "box" bars but now have aero bars - the carriers are MUCH easier to fit to aero bars.
The car JUST about copes with the extra weight (Stumpy - 23lbs, Rockhopper - 27lbs, Allex Elite - 18lbs)
You just wanted to show off your car I do like them, and a strong contender for my next spend! Niner Air 9 Rigid
Whyte 129S 29er.0 -
Something you gotta think about here...
Theives. I know it's already been covered, but some / alot of you won't have thought about this...
So, you got your bike/s strapped to the roof, or the back of your car, and you are driving home after a great day's MTBing. You unload, wash down, and pack all of your kit away.
All is fine, untill a week later, your bike has wheeled itself off someplace... It's been stolen! :evil:
Reason I don't transport my bikes on the outside of my car, is that theives can spot the bikes miles away. Then follow you home - or close anyway - they'll make a mental note of your car and registration, so drive around your village / estate untill the recognise the number plate. So know they know where you live, and you have at least 1 expensive bike...
Which is why mine live on the inside of my car
Boo-yah mofo
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke0 -
But people with small cars don't have the luxury of putting them in the car. You have to be on your guard but you dont want to have some insane case of paranoya thinking that everyone wants to nick your bike every time you go out.
There are some loonys out there that will follow you around, I know a story of a bloke I know being followed by blokes in a car while he rode home on his bike, they blatantly followed him down side streets and where he thought he had lost them they turned up again. In the end I think he hid in a bush at a supermarket and waited for them to give up!
My bike is either being ridden, locked on the roofrack or in the house, never leaves my sight.Niner Air 9 Rigid
Whyte 129S 29er.0 -
If I only take the front wheel off i can get 3 bikes in my car by folding the rear seats down, but there's only enough space for 2 people.
I can however take both wheels off two bikes and fit them both in the boot along with riding gear and then the car looks like there's nothing in it.
Great for post ride cafe/pub stops.
BTW my car has a rather large boot, it's a Mondeo Hatch 0 -
scale20 wrote:Surf-Matt wrote:On the roof rack on 591 carriers (x2) - brilliantly designed and very easy to use. I used to have "box" bars but now have aero bars - the carriers are MUCH easier to fit to aero bars.
The car JUST about copes with the extra weight (Stumpy - 23lbs, Rockhopper - 27lbs, Allex Elite - 18lbs)
You just wanted to show off your car I do like them, and a strong contender for my next spend
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There are plenty of people who would find that T25 much more impressive than a Beemer Estate! 8)0
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Yep, pretty much everyone ;-)0
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Mostly use my mum's Renault Clio or My girlfriend's Fiesta ST :oops: (people joke about spending more on there bikes than cars...but I don't even have a car!) Both can swallow my not-very-small wolfridge in the boot with only 2 of the 3 rear seats folded down, I then cover it in a blanket and you'd honestly had be hard pushed to know there was a bike in there if you were the thieving scumbag type.Santa Cruz Chameleon
Orange Alpine 1600 -
Raymondavalon wrote:My dedicated bike hauler is a Land Rover Discovery [V8]
Forgive me, but with such a petrol guzzling, carbon monoxide producing, environmentally unfriendly car - can you truly call yourself a biker without being a little hypocritical?
Apologies if this offends, perhaps it's one for another topic. 0 -
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well, you know what they say BMW stands for.... Big Mouthed Wan****
Only kidding 0 -
Haven't you heard? Audi have now stolen BMWs crown for pillock mobiles.
I drove from Plymouth back to Truro and saw FOUR different BMWs (all quite old) being driven VERY badly. I hung my head in shame.
Still, some of us do crazy stuff like:
Use our indicators
Don't cover our cars in pointless M badges
Don't drive IN people's boots
Overtake when there's a gap, not just randomly
Are able to allow someone to pass without feeling threatened.
TBH if the badge hadn't been so off putting, I would have got one years ago. Splendid mode of transport 8) 0 -
Meh, I'm not knocking it. If i could afford it, I'd be very tempted by a 3-series. I've driven one before, and was very impressed by the ride quality, the handling and the build quality of it.
What annoys me is that you have to pay extra for virtually everything.
Oh, the wheels are extra.
You want a windscreen? That'll be extra.
Oh, you want it PAINTED? That'tll be extra.
Seats? You're taking the pi**, of course that's extra.
Seatbelts are an optional (cost) extra.
I know it's not THAT bad, but you must know what I mean, hehe!0 -
Totally agree.
I had a 318d M Sport saloon courtesy car the other day - only 145bhp but I totted up the costs - over £30k!!!!!! :shock: :shock:
The specs are a bit better now (dad had a new E20 323i in the old days - a few essential extras doubled the cost of it) but still a bit stingey.
Much better to buy nearly new where extras cost no more (or very little extra).
Most comedy extra? On the saloon you have to pay £400 for:
Folding rear seats :shock:0 -
The bikes go in the car. Always.
I bought my car so it'd fit bikes in the back. If you love your bike, you'll bring it in from the cold and the thieves.0 -
LMAO at "folding rear seats"!
At least you'e getting seats AND folding ones at that I guess! they're not actually making you pay just for the prviledge of HAVING rear seats 0 -
They do manage to be generous enough to provide rear seats as part of the list price...
I went to stick my (6ft) surfboard in the saloon - tried for ages to find the folding button then realised there wasn't one - in a £30k car that's aimed at small families!! Then found out the folding bit is extra.
Luckily they "allow" folding ones in the Touring (and Coupe) as standard.
Oh and I went for very rare option in any BMW.
Indicators.0 -
Did you get the bulbs for them though?0 -
I did - £100 each though. The dealer was astonished - "not sold these for years mate. What you gonna use them for?" he exclaimed.0
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hehe!
I remember getting annoyed when i found out that a certain hydraulic coupler for the brakes on aPeugeot 306 was a peculiar size, that nobody stocked, except of course, a Peugeot dealership. Needed to get a mortgage for something that should have only cost a quid or so.
I reckon I would have gone postal if I was trying to buy a BMW from a dealer 0 -
Stick it in the back of my Golf.0
