Advice needed. Travelling with bikes

oreiarias

Hello

First of all, I'm a rookie rider from the north of Spain. Recently, I acquired a Cube Agree SL in alloy as my first road bike. I have spent over 30 hours ridding it and I'm really pleased with its performance. I'd like to ask two questions:

* As I really am a newbie and any trips above 100km or including long climbs are out of my reach, I don't plan to make any upgrades in the bike. However, I hope my skills will get better so I'll be able to climb most of the climbs in my area (some of them are really tough and are well known for its appearance in La Vuelta). For that reason, I plan to upgrade the component which I think is the most weak: the wheels. My Cube is equipped with a pair of DT Swiss CSW RA 2.0. I couldn't find much info over the net because they are a custom model make for Cube, but the weight is around 1800gr. People tell me that I'd better get a pair of Zonda or even Shamal, which are relatively affordable. What do you think?¿

* On the other hand, I'm looking for a car travel system. I don't want to use external ones (because of the weather, the fact you spend more gas and also that I know I won't drive relaxed knowing I've weight over or below the car), so the interior racks are my option. I considered the Thule 592 but I'm afraid is not suitable for my car (a Seat Leon). I've found this website: http://www.bikeinside.de. They offer a rack that seems to be well-made and safe, enabling you to move two bikes for under 140€, which would be useful in my case (I also ride a Cube mtb). Any thoughts?¿

Thanks in advance and goodbye

oreiarias

nobody?¿

Careca

Can you not just put the bike in the back of the car and spend no money?

If you insist on taking both bikes then just pack them carefully in the back of the car or buy a couple of soft bike bags and store them in there.

oreiarias

I really appreciate your answers.
As a matter fact I do rather the inside rack, so the Gran Fondo is not for me.

On the other hand, I don't know if I'll nedd a thru axle adapter. How can I be sure if I need one or not?
The bikes I intend to transport are the mtb Acid and the Agree Road. What should I mesure in order to know?

nferrar

On the MTB does the front wheel release look the same as on the road bike? The road bike will definitely be normal quick-release. If it looks different on the MTB and you have to completely remove the bolt to remove the front wheel then it will be either a 15mm or 20mm bolt-through axle (if you give the fork model or year exact model name/number of the MTB we can probably figure it out).

I always just have the back seats down and lie the bike flat in the back though, can't really see the need for an internal upright rack as there's plenty of room to fit luggage around a bike laid flat

cougie

Take off the wheels of the bikes and lay them flat in the back of the car. Put an old blanket between them or cardboard or whatever you have. Simples.

oreiarias

Hello

The fork model is a RockShox Recon TK 100mm Air from the Cube Acid 2012. Should I need adapter?

Thanks

Careca

cougie wrote:

Take off the wheels of the bikes and lay them flat in the back of the car. Put an old blanket between them or cardboard or whatever you have. Simples.

And very, very cheap!

oreiarias

And what about the wheels?¿
Any thoughts about that potential upgrade?¿

oreiarias

Any more info on the wheels / adapter for the fork?¿