J
John Riley
Guest
I am a big city/small car kind of guy. I also like the security of transporting the bike inside
the vehilce. But I have never been wild about the idea of using a 4000+ lb. minivan to transport
myself and a 35
lb. bike. (My wife is not into this, so it is just me and my bike. Otherwise the van would be the
way to go.)
I have managed to get a Stratus in the back of a Focus wagon with wheels and seat off.
After a look at the NIAS, I am thinking my choices are only going to get better in the future. There
is a trend to making the right front seat fold forward until it is flat. Combined with common
folding rear seats, this makes it possible to accomodate something that is 8 feet long. Like a LWB
recumbent frame. The Matrix/Vibe and Saturn Vue already have this folding seat. The Vue's sibling,
the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox will have this feature. The upcoming 2004 Chev Malibu will have it as
well, but that won't be as interesting as a hatch back version of the Malibu to follow a year or two
later. If GM does it, I predict others will follow.
I was anxious to see the Honda Element. This is not as big as a minivan, but certainly bigger than a
Focus wagon or a Matrix. But it looks like it might be fairly easy to put a LWB bike in there with
wheels and seat on. Unfortunately all the grey plastic inside and out on this vehicle looks more
cheap and cheesy than rough and ready. I will give it a closer look when these hit Canadian dealers.
Now we just have to convince RANS to make a folding handlebar optional on their LWB bikes, something
like Cletus did on his Stratus.
John Riley
the vehilce. But I have never been wild about the idea of using a 4000+ lb. minivan to transport
myself and a 35
lb. bike. (My wife is not into this, so it is just me and my bike. Otherwise the van would be the
way to go.)
I have managed to get a Stratus in the back of a Focus wagon with wheels and seat off.
After a look at the NIAS, I am thinking my choices are only going to get better in the future. There
is a trend to making the right front seat fold forward until it is flat. Combined with common
folding rear seats, this makes it possible to accomodate something that is 8 feet long. Like a LWB
recumbent frame. The Matrix/Vibe and Saturn Vue already have this folding seat. The Vue's sibling,
the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox will have this feature. The upcoming 2004 Chev Malibu will have it as
well, but that won't be as interesting as a hatch back version of the Malibu to follow a year or two
later. If GM does it, I predict others will follow.
I was anxious to see the Honda Element. This is not as big as a minivan, but certainly bigger than a
Focus wagon or a Matrix. But it looks like it might be fairly easy to put a LWB bike in there with
wheels and seat on. Unfortunately all the grey plastic inside and out on this vehicle looks more
cheap and cheesy than rough and ready. I will give it a closer look when these hit Canadian dealers.
Now we just have to convince RANS to make a folding handlebar optional on their LWB bikes, something
like Cletus did on his Stratus.
John Riley