This is something I have laboured long and hard over. Having spent a tidy sum on your dream bike you realise that at some point you will need to transport it somewhere else.
That moment may come sooner than later if you have bought it from a LBS that is not “local” as I have done on more that one occasion. Or, as in my particular case, the desire to to do an epic ride in it whilst on holiday abroad in France.
So the question is how exactly am I going to transport my bike the 900 miles or so to the south of France?
Now this current dilemma was never going to be a major issue. After all at this point in my life I have acquired a large estate car. (Previously I have carried bikes on the back of a 2 seater sports car and that is more of a challenge. Some day I will write a blog about that experience too . . . ) But none the less I needed a solution that would get my wife, my road bike, all our kit and caboodle down to the south of France in safety and with some security.
I also decided that if I was going to invest significant cash on some kind of rack it was also going to have to get my mountain bike and those of a few mates to Wales for our regular trips to Afan Forest and BPW. So what to do . . . . well these were the options I could see;
The Roof top rack.
Without exception my cycling friends all have roof top racks. They can get up to 4 bikes on the roof without compromising the luggage carrying capabilities of the car itself. They hold the bikes rigidly and reasonably securely if you choose one with a built in locks. These type of locks will not defeat a determined thief but in my view they are certainly good enough for a stop at a motorway service station.
Downsides? Well if you are like me and a little “challenged” in the height department then getting a bike, especially a heavy mountain bike on the roof can be a bit of a struggle. If you have a SUV then it is impossible even for an above average size human without something to step on. I would also always be concerned about the risk of messing it up and leaving a ding on the roof of you car.
Then there are the very real issues with fuel consumption, a significant issue for that summer trip to the south of France. And the fact that your chain will arrrive without ant oil after a 70(ish) mph blow dry.
Finally it is easy to forget the additional height. It may cause a problem with your ferry or Euro tunnel booking. You may also have problems at some woodland car parks if the entrance is protected by a metal height barrier. The internet is full of stories of people who have smashed their bikes on roof mounted racks.
But none of these issues are insurmountable.
The reason why many people opt for this type of rack is quite simply the cost. Short of a strap-on boot (trunk) mounted rack it is generally the cheapest way to carry a bunch of bikes. Hence the reason it appears to be the default option for all of my mates.
The Tow Bar Rack.
The tow bar rack gets over a number of key drawbacks of the roof top style rack. It is easier to load your bikes, there is no risk of you dropping them and damaging your car roof, it will not cost you extra for a ferry ticket, there is no risk of you smashing your bike on a height barrier and the impact on fuel economy is minimal.
However . . .the main draw back is cost.
The rack itself is generally more expensive and on top of that you need a tow bar and a light board. The cheaper racks also limit access to the boot (trunk) of your car so you really need to invest in the even more expensive versions that tilt. Otherwise you have to take all of the bikes off before you can open the back of the car. This is a seriously worthwhile consideration.
By the time you have invested in that little lot you are going to need to go on a whole bunch of cycling holidays to make the cost worth while. My view was that given the amount of times I would actually use the full set up it might actually be cheaper to hire bikes at your destination instead.
External Racks General.
The main benefit of external bike racks is that they don’t compromise the interior space of your car. If you are travelling with a family and luggage it is the only option. However I do have one note of caution. If you are just using your car to transport you and a friend to a local bike park or race meeting then beware of the risk of thieves. It is well known for bike thieves to follow people home who have expensive bikes on racks on their cars to then steal them from the owners home a few days later. Having your bike inside your car eliminates this risk. . . .
The “no rack” Solution.
So what if it just you, taking your bike tow bike park or race meet or sportive. Well the cheapest solution is just to take the wheels off and put it carefully in the back of your car. No expensive rack, totally secure. There is the issue of getting the nice clean interior of your car covered in mud and oil. Well there are a host of companies that will supply custom and semi custom load liners for your make and model of car. They are not cheap but compare well to the price of a roof rack. And you can also use them to protect your car when you are taking rubbish to the tip or bringing home cement, compost, turf or anything else mucky from the diy store or garden center.
Of course the really super cheap method is just to by a large plastic sheet from a DIY store. It will do the job almost as well for just a few pounds. Get the heavy duty ones, the lighter ones are really only for protecting furniture from dust and paint and will tear easily.
My Solution.
1. Mountain Bike Trips to the bike park.
This is typically for a friend and I to go to a local bike park. All you need is a plastic sheet, some polyurethane pipe insulation and some luggage straps. The plastic sheet protects the inside of the car from mud and oil, use one that is large enough to cover the sides and seat backs.
To prepare the bikes take off the front wheel and the pedals, turn the handle bar sideways and slide the first bike in.
Sections of the pipe insulation can then be used to cover espoused parts of thee frame on the bikes. Then prepare the second bike in the same way and lay it on top of the first. You should be able to arrange them with out risk of damage.
Then use the luggage straps to secure the bikes in place. You don’t want the bike to shif as you take corners and more importantly slide forward if you are forced to brake suddenly.
The wheels can then be placed on top, i use a wheel bag to help protect everything. Don’t forget to tie the wheels down as well. Your kit bags can then get placed in between the gaps.
QED.
2. Road bike on holiday.
I have another solution for taking my bike on holiday. The problem with just laying a bike or two in the back of the car is that it takes up all of the available load space. The alternative solution is an internal rack. For this to work you do need a large estate or MPV. The internal rack allows you to clamp the forks of your bike to the floor of the car keeping it upright and taking up less usable luggage space.
With this arrangement my wife and I can easily get luggage for a two week holiday and my bike I the back of the car.
I bought the proprietary BMW rack (which as you can imagine is reassuringly expensive) but now I have worked out the design I would be tempted to make my own.
There are a number of problems with the BMW rack. Firstly is that the fork mounts are designed for road bike quick release axel fittings. They do not fit mountain bike through axels ( hence I have resorted to just laying my mountain bike down in the back). BMW do not sell separate mounts for mountain bikes and so far I have been unsuccessful in finding any that are suitable. If you do please let me know!
To secure the rear of the bike BMW provide some ratchet straps. These are completely over engineered and I would be concerned that it is easily possible to over stress a carbon road bike frame with them. They are also heavy themselves and installing them risks damaging the frame. I replaced them with some simple Thule luggage straps which do the job, are easier to install with far les risk of frame damage. They do not need to be done up as tight as a bow, they just need to be nipped up enough to stop the frame from swinging from side to side and putting in due stress on the fork mounting. And no more.
For a neat installation without lots of troublesome spare strap flapping around I cut my straps to the required length and sealed the end with the heat from a cigarette lighter (be careful not to burn the strap) .!!!
To avoid the need to put a plastic sheet down in the car I use a scicion rear bike cover. This keeps the muck from the rear weel and drive train off the car. The the front wheel goes in a wheel bag.
So Conclusions then.
Well with both of my solutions I am limited to taking 1 passenger and 2 bikes in my car. This is obviously no good you have a family to transport but for me it has worked out by far the cheapest and most convenient way. For trips out with more mates we just have to take another car. And additional tank of fuel occasionally is nothing compared to the cost of a full external rack set up.
The internal rack solution is perfect for longer trips away. The bike is totally secure and there is still plenty of space for luggage.
PS If you like this post check back later, I will add some photos.
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