Transporting fully assembled bikes in a van based car

daniel_b

Afternoon all,

hopefully fairly soon I will be acquiring a Ford Grand Tourneo Connect, after a kind forum member on here alerted me to them.
For the uninitiated this is what the rear load area can look like:


I probably will not run it like that though, and will have either the single or twin seats up at the rear.

There is plenty of depth (220cm) and height (110cm) to accomodate them, but now I need to figure out how to transport them securely and safely, and hopefully with not too much hassle, as that was the whole motivation of getting such a vehicle.

I have ordered a pair of these from Aldi, so could potentially use them at either end of the bikes, one of the three is a childs bike, but I can work that out ith straps etc:


I may also remove the rear two seats completely, which 'may' give me an option to bolt one of the racks down permanently, or find some way of quick fitting it with wing nuts or something.

The gap on the racks is clearly designed for mountain bikes, and whilst I will transport bigger tyred bikes now and then, it will be predominantly road bikes, so my thinking was to use some of the pipe lagging around the framework of the stand to reduce the width of the opening, and also give a nice soft padded home for the wheels to sit within.

There will also be mounting points on the side that I could use with bungee cords to secure the bikes to one side of the car, and then potentially to each other, as long as I can make this happen with no rubbing, or bending of wheels.

Anyone else carried out something akin to this, and have any suggestions?

Also, as the grab handles are too high, or might simply not be there, I had considered a couple of these:

On the side of the ar where the bikes will be, so give another fixing point - they are dirt cheap, and are meant to be pretty solid.
Decent idea?

Thanks

Dan

apreading

Just check your bikes in those racks. Once I stopped with a group at a hotel that had similar looking racks and if you put a road bike in them, it leant to the side and the rack held it up when the spokes rested on the rack. I chose not to use them but plenty did. Nobody had problems but personally I dont want that kind of pressure on my spokes from the side. Not sure they would be that stable in a car either.

I think something like this would be a much better, more stable option and only require removal of front wheel:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... sku=122187



Would also be real convenient to leave attached to the vehicle/seats.

paulbnix

When I used the Mallorca Cycle Shuttle last year they put the bikes in a trailer with a mattress between each bike and some bungees holding the whole lot securely together.

daniel_b

Thanks gents,

I do have some of those mouning things you pictured AP, and I take what you are saying, but the whole reason for this vehicle change (And it may be silly in the scheme of things) is to simply be able to whip out a fully assembled bike and ride.

I remove the front wheels (and saddles) for transporting bikes in the Volvo, but if I can find a suitable way of transporting them with no alterations in this, I'm very much for it.

I take what you are saying about the spokes, and would not want that, but I'm not keen either on removing the front wheels, especially with disc brakes now, and the possibility of a lever accidentally being pulled whilst putting it in\removing.

Like the mattress idea, but would take up too much room (Unless you can get some really cheap, thin crappy ones I guess), could potentially expand that idea with cardboard, roll matts or something.

This may take some work I think.

svetty

I wouldn't bother with the Aldi racking which adds nothing that having the bikes on their wheels (apart from perhaps slightly limiting fore-aft movement?) You don't really want the bikes swaying about with the spokes bracing them against the racking. Just use bungey cords and let the bikes sit on their wheels with a bit of old bedding or curtains for padding in between. Alternatively remove the front wheels and let the bikes rest on the fork ends and rear wheels - again with bungey restraint and padding. Job done.

imposter2.0

apreading wrote:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... sku=122187

Two or three of these bolted to a wooden plank - sorted.

paulbnix

Daniel B wrote:

Like the mattress idea, but would take up too much room (Unless you can get some really cheap, thin crappy ones I guess), could potentially expand that idea with cardboard, roll matts or something.

Thinking back mattress was the wrong description as I think they used something like folded duvets.

Vino'sGhost

Imposter wrote:

apreading wrote:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... sku=122187

Two or three of these bolted to a wooden plank - sorted.

exactly ive been thinking of some kind of adjustable base bar that is expandable to push against the sides of the car to be more stable. or in the ops use case perhaps a base that can be attached at the cargo loops?

photonic69

How about and expandable shower pole or two that can push against the side of the car such as this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/cooke-lewis- ... 00mm/6767x

One in front of the seat post below the saddles and one behind the headset. I'm sure some bungy cord or rubber O-rings could be sourced to make a suitable fixing. Add some rolls of foam rubber sheeting between bikes and job done.

Sounds like one Hell of a faff when taking front wheel off, adding a disc brake spacer and fastening to the device a few posts up would be a better solution.

svetty

Imposter wrote:

apreading wrote:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... sku=122187

Two or three of these bolted to a wooden plank - sorted.

Would need to be TA version of this but using these should work. Would need to arrange with some offset so that bars/saddles didn't clash but that's a detail.

daniel_b

Thanks guys, loads of good ideas :-)

Liking the extendable curtain pole idea, that could well have legs.

IF I can bolt\secure one of those racks to the area vacated when I remove the two rearmost seats that could end up being a good anchoring point for the whole bike, as I could easily bungee the frame to what is then an immovable object.
Then it would simply be a case of keeping the bars and front wheel straight, which is easy to do, and I have to currently when I hang them on my indoor rack simply using a bit of velcro.

Alternatively I could see if I could secure it to what would be the back of the wingle seat, so it is in the right position when it is folded down, then it could just be a permanent fixture, but not as much in the way as one secured more at the rear.
The downside with that is that ideally I think I would want the rear wheels in there, and if I do go that route, the oily bits will be facing passengers.

Another option for protection inbetween the bikes, is that you can get really cheap rectangular sleeping bags, that when unzipped would be about the right size - and would only need two, seem to be about £7 each - just have to watch the zipped bits I guess.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Would a pole across the width of the vehicle, to which you use rubber o-rings (or similar) to connect it to say the handlebar drops, help stability?

Or an adjustable width pole similar to those shower curtain rail poles, so you put the bikes in, then add this pole with cushioning under the top tubes?

daniel_b

NitrousOxide wrote:

Would a pole across the width of the vehicle, to which you use rubber o-rings (or similar) to connect it to say the handlebar drops, help stability?

Or an adjustable width pole similar to those shower curtain rail poles, so you put the bikes in, then add this pole with cushioning under the top tubes?

Yep that is pretty much what I was thinking (And I think what PhotoNic was alluding to), get the bikes in situ, and then whack some pipe lagging around the pole before installing, and then secure them to said pole to stop\reduce them swaying left and right whilst in transit.

Was thinking bungee cords, being dim here, how would o rings work?

Or would you need to use them in combination with a hook of some kind?

Could prove tricky with different cross bar heights etc, but I suspect for adult bikes, you could find a way to accommodate them, perhaps under one cross bar, and above another for example.

I won't get the racks until early next month, so will see how they pan out in terms of usefulness, or not, and can easily return them in store if no good.
They may prove useful in my garage too.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Daniel B wrote:

NitrousOxide wrote:

Would a pole across the width of the vehicle, to which you use rubber o-rings (or similar) to connect it to say the handlebar drops, help stability?

Or an adjustable width pole similar to those shower curtain rail poles, so you put the bikes in, then add this pole with cushioning under the top tubes?

Yep that is pretty much what I was thinking (And I think what PhotoNic was alluding to), get the bikes in situ, and then whack some pipe lagging around the pole before installing, and then secure them to said pole to stop\reduce them swaying left and right whilst in transit.

Was thinking bungee cords, being dim here, how would o rings work?

Or would you need to use them in combination with a hook of some kind?

Could prove tricky with different cross bar heights etc, but I suspect for adult bikes, you could find a way to accommodate them, perhaps under one cross bar, and above another for example.

I won't get the racks until early next month, so will see how they pan out in terms of usefulness, or not, and can easily return them in store if no good.
They may prove useful in my garage too.

I was thinking you would have o rings or similar on the pole that that you then persuade over the open end of the bar drops' tape.

daniel_b

NitrousOxide wrote:

I was thinking you would have o rings or similar on the pole that that you then persuade over the open end of the bar drops' tape.

Ah yes, sorry, managed to ignore that bit :roll:

Yes that could work as well, would make O rings work, but if I could find some hooks, then mid way down the bikes could work as well.
The issue with securing the drops, is that it would have to be at one extreme end of the car, which would either impact the passenger area for the 2 seats that are up, or the loading area nearer the tailgate.

Mid bike, could end up being just behind the two seats that are still up.

I might be able to get some custom hooks printed up, as I have raceware direct on my doorstep, if I can't find anything off the shelf.
Any recommendations for where to get o rings, never looked into them before.
orings.co.uk?

Not managed ot find anything yet, what I am thinking about is the way you might secure a fair few of the light mounting brackets onto your bars, ie the light or mount has two hooks, and then the o ring, just loops around either end thus making it secure.
As long as the cross pole was anchored nicely, I reckon that could work pretty smoothly.

My searches have turned up nothing remotely suitable so far though.

You could even have it so the hooks part was under the pole, furthest away from the bike, so the only contact with the bike was from the o ring, so hopefully minimal chance of damage.

Something akin to this is what i would be trying to recreate:


Wonder if I could make something out of Sugru?

photonic69

You could buy some spare parts for a Thule "Hang-On" bike rack. Thread the carriers (cradles) onto the extended pole (if they fit) and use the rubber strap around the seat post to secure.

https://roofracks.co.uk/Thule-Products/ ... uctID=9708

figbat

PhotoNic69 wrote:

You could buy some spare parts for a Thule "Hang-On" bike rack. Thread the carriers (cradles) onto the extended pole (if they fit) and use the rubber strap around the seat post to secure.

https://roofracks.co.uk/Thule-Products/ ... uctID=9708

This isn't a bad approach. Think of the tow-bar mounted bike racks, then imagine it turned through 90° and mounted in the back of the van. Rather than an expensive Swedish engineering solution though, all you really need is some U-section channels for the wheels to sit in and three clamping bars of increasing length to reach a top tube or seat post

daniel_b

figbat wrote:

PhotoNic69 wrote:

You could buy some spare parts for a Thule "Hang-On" bike rack. Thread the carriers (cradles) onto the extended pole (if they fit) and use the rubber strap around the seat post to secure.

https://roofracks.co.uk/Thule-Products/ ... uctID=9708

This isn't a bad approach. Think of the tow-bar mounted bike racks, then imagine it turned through 90° and mounted in the back of the van. Rather than an expensive Swedish engineering solution though, all you really need is some U-section channels for the wheels to sit in and three clamping bars of increasing length to reach a top tube or seat post

That's a neat solution, had not considered that, but looks not too pricey, and as long as the pole is within reach of what I need to secure against, should be all good - as you say though, if I utilised the seatposts, I have a lot more room for maneouvre, but I suppose I may well then end up with a discrepancy on fore and aft position.

The tricky bit with these I would wager, is that it looks like thy are designed in such a way that they are meant to slip over the tube, so it might be somewhat of a challenge to find a rail that is exactly the right diameter, too loose and it would serve no purpose, too tight and it might end up splitting.



Although, if I made sure they were bigger than the pole they were going to be attached to, I could then either sugru them either side to make them not move, or a bit of inner tube and cable tie either side might be more flexible, and give me more options.

Lots to be considering though, cheers chaps

cougie

Some cheap yoga mats to slip in between the bikes and some pipe lagging on the top tubes and bungee cords to loop round each roof handle. Also lash a bungee around all three to keep them together.

photonic69

Seems what you want has already been designed and produced by Thule!!!

https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-rac ... er-_-18344

Never even heard of this. Might be pricy in this country though.

photonic69

Or....

Even a few of these screwed down to a plank of wood across the back floor area:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-to ... prod155410

Whatever you decide you will need to ensure a good way of securing the bikes so that in the unfortunate event of a crash you don't have bits of bikes skewering your brain or kidneys.

cougie

I've seen people carrying bikes in estate cars like this. Big plank of wood across the back and a couple of these screwed in.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... 9NEALw_wcB

photonic69

cougie wrote:

I've seen people carrying bikes in estate cars like this. Big plank of wood across the back and a couple of these screwed in.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... 9NEALw_wcB

Yes yes yes... but the OP doesnt want to take his front wheel off coz he has disc brakes!

cougie

Okkkkkk

arlowood

How about something like this.



A few feet of plastic piping, bends and T-joints from B&Q or Screwfix and job's done

cougie

That's a plumber with too much time on his hands

daniel_b

PhotoNic69 wrote:

cougie wrote:

I've seen people carrying bikes in estate cars like this. Big plank of wood across the back and a couple of these screwed in.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Delta-Bike-Hit ... 9NEALw_wcB

Yes yes yes... but the OP doesnt want to take his front wheel off coz he has disc brakes!

That's not THE only reason!

Just looking for minimal hassle, and if I don't show I am using the vehicle as intended, I may get forced to change it out for a smaller one :-(

I also transport a track bike on occasion, so don't want to be mucking about getting the wheel off and back on with that one.

That Thule thing does not seem to be readily available here, but it's $180 in the US anyway :shock:

I do have one of those flat metal 'rails', complete with two of the the things for your forks to lock into pictured as above, but designed to fit into the rail, I did have a plan once, pre children, to fit it into the back of the Volvo, but never got around to it - I could still use it of course, will see how things pan out.
Didn't manage to go and see the car today, as they STILL don't have the bloomin car in, despite promises, and arranging time off and child minders etc on our part. Allegedly it is in tomorrow, so will go and view it and test drive either Sunday or Thursday.

@Arlowood - that pipe config is pretty special 8)

EDIT: It's a Saris set up I have sat boxed up in the garage, but iirc I only bought two of the mounts to sit in it:


IF I could leave the entire second row of seats up, and this enabled me to fit them in with the forks and bars up near the seats, that would be pretty cool, but I think the loss of a wheel does not reduce the length of the bike sufficiently to make that happen.
If it did, it would mean I could pretty much leave the rail and mounts in there permanently - would need to find a way to brace them left and right though, as I virtually certain that it does not widen enough to brace against either side of the boot.
Think I would not be popular if I mounted it permanently near the entrance to the boot, but watching the vids, seems like it is pretty solid just sat there, as it's quite hefty.

If I did go that route, I would feel duty bound to buy a couple of the wheel mounts too, shame they are £30 a pop :roll:

Although I could get them for just under £25 each.

cougie

How many bikes are you carrying and how often ,? And as for just taking the track bike I'd lay it down in the back.

Unless you're doing a lot of travel with bikes the car seems a bit overkill.

cambiker71

Have a look at this link, it's for transporting motorcross bikes, but the basic principle could well be used for cycles, i'd use the load strap and floor mounts and put the bikes in facing rearwards!

https://www.boltiton.com/product/sprint ... dirt-bike/

daniel_b

cougie wrote:

How many bikes are you carrying and how often ,? And as for just taking the track bike I'd lay it down in the back.

Unless you're doing a lot of travel with bikes the car seems a bit overkill.

Well that's an impossible question to answer really, but my hope is, that with a mode of transport that facilitates the easier transportation of bicycles, that we will do it more often, and go further afield.

My daughter is 5 now, very keen on cycling, attends fun cycling classes once a week, and already wants a 'curly barred' bike like mum and dad, so I am looking forward to be able to get all of us out together to interesting places that are nice and easy for her to cycle in, off the top of my head we are not too far from the New Forest, but there are plenty of places when we go to visit for the day, or go and stay with relatives, we could bung all the bikes in the car, and still have ample room for the 3 of us and luggage.

Also, I am super keen to drive down through Europe like we used to, in the previous estate cars pre parent era, it was easy to fit us in the front, two bikes in the rear, and whatever luggage we needed, now that is not possible, so we have not done it since, and flew and hired a car last time - works out no cheaper, and you can't have your bikes with you, and I am not entertaining the idea of trying to fly with 3 bikes.

My brother lives in northern Italy in the mountains, and although I was able to borrow his aging mountain bike to try some mountains, it didn't have anything on what trying it on a proper road bike I was familiar with and fitted me would have been like.

Other things on my bucket list are to visit the alps and the pyrenees and attempt to get up some of the famous climbs that I have watched since I was a boy. I fully anticipate this to be a more painful, but more exhilarating, version of when I first made it to Monaco and recognised all of the various parts of the F1 circuit that I had watched since being a wee small lad.

We also used to house sit in Lucca, and the roads there are glorious, I really want to get us all down there when my daughter is older and get some proper rides in.

I don't sell my cars often, and as this will be the newest car I will have ever bought by a big margin, if it is reliable, will be hanging on to it for 10 years easily, so I plan to get my moneys worth out of it.

And the wonder of it, is that it still has a smaller footprint than a hideously unnecessary Audi Q7.

I also think it is stunning vfm when you look at it objectively, it's way cheaper than a Galaxy, has just as good spec, an engine that purports to record 62mpg, but in reality is still a healthy 50mpg or so, and also is only £30 road tax a year.
Insurance is the same as my current Volvo, and servicing is not hugely different.

Anyway, I digress - to summarise, at this moment in time, as a family we do basically bugger all travelling with 3 bikes, but this vehicle will give us the option to do so as frequently as we like, and if I can fathom out a practical way of getting them in and out with minimal hassle, then it's game on

cambiker71 wrote:

Have a look at this link, it's for transporting motorcross bikes, but the basic principle could well be used for cycles, i'd use the load strap and floor mounts and put the bikes in facing rearwards!

https://www.boltiton.com/product/sprint ... dirt-bike/

That looks good, but I think is more apt for an out and out van, with a floor you can easily bolt stuff through, also it's designed for the full width, where as I need something a bit more flexible than than, and either for the 60% or 40% of the rear, dependent on what seat config I have.

My stands have already been despatched which is earlier than I thought, so will likely have them on Monday.
Allegedly the vehicle is at the dealers on Sunday, and they have offered to knock a bit off for the inconvenience of it not being there, and they have another more pricey one that is a year younger which I am also planning to view.

cambiker71

cambiker71 wrote:

Have a look at this link, it's for transporting motorcross bikes, but the basic principle could well be used for cycles, i'd use the load strap and floor mounts and put the bikes in facing rearwards!

https://www.boltiton.com/product/sprint ... dirt-bike/

That looks good, but I think is more apt for an out and out van, with a floor you can easily bolt stuff through, also it's designed for the full width, where as I need something a bit more flexible than than, and either for the 60% or 40% of the rear, dependent on what seat config I have.

My stands have already been despatched which is earlier than I thought, so will likely have them on Monday.
Allegedly the vehicle is at the dealers on Sunday, and they have offered to knock a bit off for the inconvenience of it not being there, and they have another more pricey one that is a year younger which I am also planning to view.

I didn't make it very clear there, what i was getting at was the actual process of tying them in place, this can be done without the expensive looking bar fitted, tie the handle bars diagonally to the ground inline with the rear wheel and from the seat post area to somewhere inline with the front wheel, they won't move and you can tie as many as you need across each other without anything more than a few tie down rings bolted to the floor (or the ones already fitted in some cases!)
hope this is a little clearer!