Transporting a bike (without getting the car messy!)

dru
dru Posts: 1,341
edited June 2010 in Road beginners
Hi people,

Looking for some advice for taking a bike with me.
I want to be able to transport it without the seats going down in the back of the car. The frame would fit in there with the wheels removed, but then that leaves an oily old chain flapping about.
I've managed to get a set of wheel bags but is there anythnig I can do for the actuall drive mechanisn of the bike rather than just wrap it in bin liners

Anyone got any tips and suggestions for getting over this problem

Cheers,

Dru

Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    You can get a chainguard type of bag that covers the mechanism. Or just get an old sheet and wrap the bike in that ?

    Degreasing and cleaning the mech, chainring and chain would cut down on mess as well.
  • Lillywhite
    Lillywhite Posts: 742
    Dru wrote:

    Anyone got any tips and suggestions for getting over this problem

    You can purchase a dummy rear axle which you put in the rear drop out where your can keep the chain under tension. Many folk use these when transporting a bike by air using a bike bag.
  • anto164
    anto164 Posts: 3,500
    Put it in the big ring at the rear, and the small at the front, and put the bike chainset up in the car?


    I've never had a problem with oily chains marking anything ever, and that's with me having to put a downhill bike in the back of my ford focus (Forks and wheels off with tent + gear on top of it) and never had any problems with oily chains. If you're real paranoid about oily chains, then wrap it up, but i'v enever had the issue as long as you stack everything correctly.

    Oh, and i always use a boot liner when putting the bikes in the car. (thick plastic sheet that could cover the car twiceover, but goes in the boot instead to protect the inside from muck)
  • andyrr
    andyrr Posts: 1,823
    PBK sell a lightweight nylon cover that I use - covers the front with/out the wheel in place and the rear wheel too, covering the lower 1/2 or so of the bike, single velrco closure keeps it from opening and has a drawstring to tighten it. Works really well, takes a few seconds to go from rideable bike to bike into car. Sure it's easy enough to use an old sheet or something similar but this does the trick for me.
  • surreyxc
    surreyxc Posts: 293
    buy a bike bag, you can probably get one for £75, it is so much easeir to put the whole bike in a bag, no danger of oil going any where. no matter how hard you try eventually the bike will mess the car and vice versa with sheets etc.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I get huge thick polybags at work, that a bike can fit in very easily. Where do you live ?
  • Crapaud
    Crapaud Posts: 2,483
    anto164 wrote:
    Put it in the big ring at the rear, and the small at the front, and put the bike chainset up in the car?


    I've never had a problem with oily chains marking anything ever, and that's with me having to put a downhill bike in the back of my ford focus (Forks and wheels off with tent + gear on top of it) and never had any problems with oily chains. If you're real paranoid about oily chains, then wrap it up, but i'v enever had the issue as long as you stack everything correctly.

    Oh, and i always use a boot liner when putting the bikes in the car. (thick plastic sheet that could cover the car twiceover, but goes in the boot instead to protect the inside from muck)
    +1

    I get a couple of cardboard boxes (eg. crisp cartons) from the a local shop and use them for boot liners. Never had a prob.
    A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject - Churchill
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Get a KMC quick link and whip the chain off so you can pop it in a bag. Then you can just put small plastic bags around the mech and chainrings. Job's a goodun.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    wouldnt it be easier to throw a dust sheet down before loading the bike. thats how i bought mine home.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Bike rack?

    Checked twice and you didn't say "other than a bike rack" at any point. It does seem too obvious an answer though... :D
  • dru
    dru Posts: 1,341
    Cheers guys for all the different ideas and suggestions :)

    I'll have fun over the next few months seeing which is the best way around it.

    I think I'l not going to go down the bike rack or bike bag front, only becuase of cost.

    The bike might even have a quick link ( :oops: ) so might try that out as well as getting some old cardboard or rags to cover the boot up.

    Cheers guys,

    Dru.
  • Scrumple
    Scrumple Posts: 2,665
    scicon rear bike cover does me
    no need to pop off the wheel

    http://www.scicon.it/bikeprotection.htm
  • slowlanejane
    slowlanejane Posts: 312
    Dru wrote:

    I think I'l not going to go down the bike rack or bike bag front, only becuase of cost.

    Got mine off ebay for £40, top brand virtually unused. Do some research, find the one you'd buy if you had the choice, pop it as a wanted on here in case someone has one pgathering dust, and check ebay fortnightly. It'll come up. See them a fair bit in my local paper too.

    MTB goes on the rack or in the car (old blanket to protect seats), Roadie always travels in the warm (doesn't fit on the rack and wouldn't oput it there if it did anyway)

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