hauling bikes with cars?

I am trying to work out the pros and cons of different ways of transporting bikes.. yes, i know, bikes are transport but for some they still need to be moved

i have been using a thule clip on rack for a while... it is great rack that clips onto the hatch of the car... it is only a pain because you generally take it off when not in use...

does anyone use roof rack/bike adaptors?

any opinions before i get a roof mounted syle?

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

Why don't you want to keep using the clip on rack?

We have one for our car and the beauty of it is that using it requires absolutely no modification to your vehicle.

Except for the guy that totalled his bike after, parking his car in the garage forgetting his bike was still up there. So i imagine you'll have to keep an eye out for overhead obstructions.

I have always fancied them.

I have however got a towbar-mounted rack that can take 4 bikes. It has the advantage that we can load the bikes without mounting the bracket, the night before early rides, and then we just lift onto the carrier, secure it and were away.

When need be the bracket tilts to allow access to the rear of the veicle, without having to remove the bikes.

The best solution is personal and everyone's circumstances are different. For me - I have a Suzuki Swift - forget towbar mounted, no one will even fit a towbar onto a Swift - I think the installers assume that all customers are complete idiots who will go out and haul a 30ft caravan behind a 700kg car
I can't use a hatch mounted rack because the bicycle is longer than the width of the car and there would be too much risk of wiping out the front/rear wheels in skinny parking spots or cleaning up pedestrians and motorcyclists.
Roof mounted works for me - easy - the roof is almost low enough to use as a seat and putting the bike on is a snip.
Now, if you had a tank like a Landcruiser or a high roof van, then you'd need a ladder to get you bike onto a roof mount. Not very practical.
On the roof - bike stays clean (cleaner if it rains). Bike gets wiped out when you drive into the garage/shopping centre carpark and forget it is there. Car roof gets wiped out too - verrrry expensive.
On the back, bike gets dirty (dirtier if it rains). Bike gets wiped out in rear end shunt - verrrry expensive. Driver gets booked if lights/number plate obscured (also expensive).
Most of my club mates buy monster trucks (sorry, 4wd's) and put their bikes inside. All problems solved if you can afford to feed the beasts

__________________
"Live today as if it is your last, plan for tomorrow as if you will live forever"

As long as you are prepared to drop the wheels, you can get a bike into something smaller than a urban assault vehicle. We can transport two bikes with wheels removed in the back of our car (with the back seat down)

With a little practice, you can put the wheels back on and reconnect the brakes in less than 60seconds. If you factor in the removal from the vehicle time, it takes about 3 minutes max.

+1
I see heaps of blokes at the club bring their bikes in smallish cars - seats down, wheels off.

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"I think the only rule is that if someone is a big fat bastard its fairly safe to assume they aren't going to be pwning anyone on a climb" ~ classic1

thanks for the replies

my car is a 02 golf hatch

the thule clip on rack works a treat, the only hassle is clipping it on and off all the time... once to twice a week i use the rack to take my bike home after dinner with my parents and in laws

with a roof mount, it is always there.... no clipping on and off.. only thinking of getting one mount...

$300 for the racks and currently on special $50 for the bicycle mount without any wheel removal

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

We use the same one as you do now. Simply because the car I have is small and can't be fitted with a tow bar. It suits us perfectly for that. I did however attach a couple of handles to the bumber over the metal chasis supports to make it easy to take on and off. I can put it on securely now in less than a minute. About 3-4 minutes and the two bikes are on and we are ready to roll. So for me this style of carrier is best.

With the road bike I just take the front wheel off and put it in the back seat but I see lots of guys in small cars that take both wheels off and put the bike in the boot area with the rear seats forward.

I use the beak from time to time with the MTB but the road bike is fairly new so you have to be carfull how you transport them because you don't know where the thin/weak parts of the frame are.

I've used the roof mounted racks but you have to be careful about where you drive. Once I forgot that the MTB was up top and drove slowly into the garage. Luckily the bike poped out of the clamp and fell onto the roof, the bike was not damaged but the car roof has a hole in it from where the pedal landed, it's an old car so it does not matter that much. You have to watch out for trees and low overhead cables as well. A mate got his bike caught up in low overhead cables in a caravan park once.

my last car was a small SUV so I used to remove the front tire and pop it in the back. When I got my new SUV I purposly got one with a trailer hitch set-up so I can load the bike on and off with ease. Inexpensive bike racks are hard to find (in stock), so I bought mine from amazon.com.
Russ B

personally i prefer the clip on boot racks. Just dont reverse park...

Although if you change cars, some of these bike racks don't really fit unto 4wds especially those with the rear wheels.

__________________
Old World Monkeys, Lesser Apes & Cyclists.

Common trait? ~Ischial Callosities~ !!??!

ah, didn't think of other dangers except for carparks... didn't think of trees

also, i live in unit, and my garage and area to stop is underneath... again, i would have to unload the bike in an inconvient place

thanks for the feedback, i'll give the roof mount a miss....

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD