Carrying bikes on a Honda Civic

cmm303

How do you carry your bike(s) on a Honda Civic?

Just bought a Honda Civic. Book said something about not putting bike carriers on tail gate, did not take a lot of notice as I already have 3 Thule 530 freeride roof bar carriers. Off to Thule dealer for roof bars, problem, mine has glass roof and Thule do not do bars for this.

Now comes the expensive bit ... Honda roof bars £200, gave up trying to fit them myself (yes really), so paid another £30 for Honda to cut bits out of my lovely car.

Now the really expensive it .... Honda roof bars have a massive profile, 65mm wide (horizontal), 30mm high (vertical) and the clamps on a Thule 530 carrier don't go near this, like trying to hug an elephant (not that I have ever tried). According to the Honda website their bike carriers START at £85. That would push the total cost of carrying 3 bikes to £500 which is more than I paid for my bike (I am a beginner).

Anybody know of any oversized brackets for the Thule rack?
Anybody happy with a rack on the tail gate, if so which one?
Anybody know of any other racks that fit the Honda roof bars?

Just to think, with what I am spending here I could have traded up a whole level of bike.

Doombrain

which civic?

onlyonearrow

Might be worth calling one the good on-line roof bar/cycle carrier retailers. This company have been helpful in the past:
http://www.skidrive.co.uk/

Also try the Thule website for rear mounts - they have a compatibility listing. although to be honest I couldn't see anything when I looked.
http://basilicon.ipapercms.dk/Thule/rmsguidethule/eng/

I've just changed my car and did look at a used Civic, but when I realised my choice was going to be limited to a 5-door without glass roof, I backed away. I didn't even consider checking if Honda offered a solution.
I went for a Seat Leon in the end, but even then still had to buy longer bars and different fittings than I had used on my previous car (Saab) :roll: .

butcher of bakersfield

Doombrain wrote:

which civic?

+1

They come in every shape under the sun - hatchback, saloon, estate, etc, and have changed a lot through the years in all these models

thecrofter

I work in a Honda dealership, my company car is a Civic without the glass roof, I don't like carrying my bike on the Civic at all. I never relax and always drive with one eye on the mirror. I've got a tailgate carrier which has six straps, 2 top, 2 bottom,2 side. whenever I stop I always check the straps, there is always one needing tightening or needs re-seated. I much prefer carrying the bike on my own car, a Honda Jazz. Unofficially, the Civic is my least favourite Honda ever, all style no substance. Can't wait until they change it. Honda Accessories are expensive but so are everyone else's. Thule stuff is not cheap either but they do at least have good quality, unlike most of the really cheap stuff you can get from some major high street retailers, I think we all know who I mean without me mentioning names. The Skidrive people mentioned earlier know their stuff, but at the end of the day it comes down to what you can reasonably justify spending.

I'm just pondering how to effectively carry four bikes on the Jazz without spending a fortune, it looks like I'll have to go for two on top and two on the back. EEEKK!!!!

acidstrato

i have a ep3 type r (bread van shape)

apparantly you cant fit a tailgate carrier, tow bar style one and no roofrails either i believe

so it goes in the back in bits

cmm303

Doombrain wrote:

which civic?

5 dr, 57 plate (so current shape), with Glass roof.

Radioactiveman

You could sell it and buy something else. After several cars I have finally got one that fits all my requirements.

Bit of a pita and cost to sell it but you sometimes have to choose between practicality and looks. I had a 20th anniversary edition type- r until recently(2nd car) and we swapped it for a car that fitted our requirements better. Still miss it but it wasn't getting used as designed

cmm303

onlyonearrow wrote:

Might be worth calling one the good on-line roof bar/cycle carrier retailers. This company have been helpful in the past:
http://www.skidrive.co.uk/.

Thank you. I will give these guys a go in addition to the hare I have already sent running at the place I bought the carriers from originally (not a well known high st. store)

cmm303

Radioactiveman wrote:

You could sell it and buy something else.

Ouch, only had it 2 months after a very torrid 10 months with a Ford Focus. And quite happy in other respects

lm_trek

I thought the back seats went back and up?? as i know i can get a bike in length ways, just won't be offering a lift to any mates for a while!

MarkLG

Fit a tow bar.
Just bought a Nissan Xtrail with a towbar fitted by the previous owner. Got a 2 bike rack from CRC for 40 on special offer. It fits to the tow ball in seconds and is totally solid with no straps to damage the car's paintwork.

onlyonearrow

@cmm303:

Do the Honda bars have tracks on the top similar to Thule aerobars? If so then it would be possible to use the thule-type pin and slot mechanism (e.g. Thule rack 591) rather than looping around the entire bar.

Also looking at the Honda website, one of the bike carrier options looks like a rebadged Mont Blanc carrier. I have a mate that uses on of these with his Thule aerobars.

So might be worth looking at Mont Blanc carriers. See one of the fitting options in these instructions:
http://www.montblancuk.co.uk/support/inst/scott.pdf
The Thule system is the same.

Either way there should be cheaper options than the Honda badged versions.

Radioactiveman

MarkLG wrote:

Fit a tow bar.
Just bought a Nissan Xtrail with a towbar fitted by the previous owner. Got a 2 bike rack from CRC for 40 on special offer. It fits to the tow ball in seconds and is totally solid with no straps to damage the car's paintwork.

Pretty sure the type r cant take a towbar tbh

anjs

There is a surprising amount of room in the back. I have fitted 2 bikes 3 people and all the kit for a weekend away in the car with no problems.

tricky_dicky

grrr! im glad i found this thread - looking at getting a new car to replace my 3 series and wanted a 5 door hatch. Basically has come down to 1 series or the 2.2 civic. I know my old mont blanc rack will fit the 1 series, but i have no idea how id fit stuff to the civic. i know the 1 series will be a better drive but the civic is teeming with kit and space. back to the drawing board!

nwmlarge

my mates breadvan with thule rack using 530 mount

Radioactiveman

anjs wrote:

There is a surprising amount of room in the back. I have fitted 2 bikes 3 people and all the kit for a weekend away in the car with no problems.

I don't suppose your car is blue and your name "The Doctor"

Hercule Q

get a bmw 335d touring with dog guard, best car ever :twisted:

cmm303

I am so appreciative of everyone's interest.

My Civic does have the back seats that fold UP, as well as DOWN. glad to hear that I can fit a bike in but I would be limited to one bike and I prefer to keep the muck and grime outside the car as much as possible! Nevertheless, it gives me time not to rush into an exterior solution. I agree that the Civic is deceptively tardis like. I moved from large estates to a Focus hatchback. Having fallen out with Ford big time I chose the Civic when I realised that inspite of its smaller exterior dimensions it has more usable interior space. The unusually high boot line contributes to the useful boot space.

I am sure I have seen a Civic like mine with a towbar so maybe it is the whizzy versions which can't take towbars. Mine is the 2.2 diesel.

The Honda roof rack has tracks and the guys I bought the Thule 530 carriers from are investigating if the Thule track adapters would fit. Everything crossed! Otherwise the Montblanc looks worthy of investigation, thanks for pointing that one out.

acidstrato

nwmlarge wrote:

my mates breadvan with thule rack using 530 mount

nice one fella, know how easy to fit they were? i notice the mounts go inside the top of the door?

i was told that roof bars on the ctr were a no go

cmm303

cmm303 wrote:

The Honda roof rack has tracks and the guys I bought the Thule 530 carriers from are investigating if the Thule track adapters would fit.

Supplier advises that Thule adapters will fit but they are on a 3 week delivery time.

cmm303

cmm303 wrote:

Supplier advises that Thule adapters will fit but they are on a 3 week delivery time.

Thule 889 T Track adapter

nwmlarge

acidstrato wrote:

nice one fella, know how easy to fit they were? i notice the mounts go inside the top of the door?

i was told that roof bars on the ctr were a no go

they were pretty simple a little fiddly as you have to get the parralel bars running straight but once its all locked in the first time its much simpler to do the next time.

for the record these cars do not have the option of tow bars, certainly not in 3 door, thats from the manual not hearsay.

cmm303

To conclude.
Thule T-track adapters (889-2) arrived today and they fit the Honda bars. Only thing, for 3 bolts with flat square heads, £11'ish is a lot to pay but cheaper than new bike carriers. It also suggests that Thule track mount carriers would fit out of the box.

I have nothing but praise for Tony at http://www.fasteronline.com who suggested the solution, took the time to check out my photos and measurements of the Honda bars and finally chased and chased an apparently uncaring Thule for delivery.