Carrying Bikes in Car

6 watchers

Pompey Paul Jan 2019 3:41pm, 23 Jan 2019 5,891 posts	0 Pompey Paul Having tried all 3 systems over the years (back of car rack, roof rack, inside the car) my opinion is: 1. Back of car rack - easy to hook them on to the rack, risk of car scratches, bit of a faff fitting the rack, you spend the entire journey worrying they are going to fly off down the motorway or get nicked when you stop for a break 2. Roof rack - Up out of the way, boot can be opened, if your bikes are heavy you need to be tall and capable of lifting them above your head, you spend the entire journey worrying they are going to fly off down the motorway or get nicked when you stop for a break 3. Inside the car - more secure from theft, much quicker and easier to load than either rack system, obviously takes up a lot of space but creative packing helps, not great if more than one bike for bike scratches as they can bounce around on the journey
Pompey Paul Jan 2019 3:43pm, 23 Jan 2019 5,892 posts	0 Pompey Paul Another disadvantage of inside the car - after a mud fest ride on an MTB, you need to protect the inside of your car from all that mud
eL Bee! Jan 2019 3:47pm, 23 Jan 2019 20,452 posts	0 eL Bee! PP - Large dust sheet from Wickes. Cheap as chips and dos a decent job of catching all the crud!!
jdarun Jan 2019 3:58pm, 23 Jan 2019 3,691 posts	0 jdarun Having tried all options, the solution is to bin the car, get a van and put the bikes inside
um Jan 2019 4:11pm, 23 Jan 2019 746 posts	0 um Or a Grand Espace. Just wheel the bikes in.
richmac Jan 2019 5:22pm, 23 Jan 2019 11,484 posts	0 richmac Drop the front wheel out, stick it on the back seat (covered in a blanket obvs). this works even in a C1, you may have to undo the steerer enough to swing the bars.
richmac Jan 2019 5:23pm, 23 Jan 2019 11,485 posts	0 richmac Oh and mech out of course
Hanneke Jan 2019 6:11pm, 23 Jan 2019 70,260 posts	0 Hanneke In the car! Even in a small car, it isn't that bad. Had a C3 once, easily fitted 3 bikes and two passengers and luggage in by taking the wheels off, putting the bikes upside down, bit of cardboard in between them, wheels diddled in between the frames, keep upright with bags of kit... I have also had vans to just wheel them into but only once did I have a bike on the back, well the ex hb did. It fell off and ended up causing an incident on the M25 I have also seen people forgetting bikes are on the roof, a LOT! Inside any time: safe, clean, easy! You can always use old blankets/sleeping bags and a tarp to keep them from scratching each other and the boot from getting muddy. When I raced, I always just put them on top of each other into my Pug 307... If more than 3, wheels off, upside down.
LazyDaisy Jan 2019 9:15pm, 23 Jan 2019 25,411 posts	0 LazyDaisy Inside, every time. We have a rear mounted rack and I hate it. I never trust it, as PP says, I used to be constantly checking that the bikes were still there. Luckily now we don't have to fit children inside the car as well And I have several friends who have driven under height restriction barriers forgetting that they were carrying bikes up top
larkim Jan 2019 7:31am, 24 Jan 2019 6,647 posts	0 larkim It all depends how many bikes too of course - there are six of us so holiday taking with bikes needs at least four on a tow bar carrier and two (sometimes three) on the roof. Different situation if there's just two people, two bikes and a decent sized car. If you're packing bikes with hydraulic brakes inside with wheels off, make sure you've got some brake spacers so accidental presses of the brake lever don't result in being unable to get the wheel back in when you arrive at your destination.