# Bike transportation



## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

How do you transport your bike to your riding spot?  Those of you that are lucky enough to ride right from home need not reply. 

I use a roof mounted system, where I don't have to take the front wheel off..  Works fine for me as long as I remember not to drive into any more low overhangs.


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## o3jeff (Jul 27, 2009)

I either throw it in the back of the Pacifica wagon(no rack required) or I got a Thule T2 for the back of the Jeep. It is a really nice rack, don't have to remove the tires and have had 20" bmx bikes on it with no problems.


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

Sometimes I also take the wheels off and put the bike in the back of my car.

When I had a pickup I had a fork mount in the bed, taking the wheel on and off every time was a pain though.


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## RootDKJ (Jul 27, 2009)

I keep the rear seats of my Escape folded down 90% of the year. I take off the front tire and throw the bike in the back (chain side up). 

My friend told me he has a 2-point hitch I can have so I've been thinking about getting a bike mount for it. I'd never tow anything with the Escape, so it seems like a good idea. Just a matter of meeting up getting it from him.


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## severine (Jul 27, 2009)

When I transport my bike, it's in the same type of rack that Brian has. Except I have to use a milk crate to reach it.  I can put it in the back of the Blazer if I remove the front wheel, but it only just barely fits (can't put the seats down with the kids' carseats installed in there--too time consuming to keep taking them out and putting them back in again).


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## andyzee (Jul 27, 2009)

I've used numerous systems. Presently I use a hitch with the hang type rack for my hybrids. However, for my road bike I presently put it in the car. Reason being, it's carbon fiber and you should not use any thing that will put pressure on the frame with these.


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## sLoPeS (Jul 27, 2009)

i use this...







only thing ive found that i dont like is how it doesnt work with all bikes.  that clamp on the rack doesnt fit every bike, but it works for my HT so whatever.  also, because of the clamp/pivot piece, that part that hooks to the bars is kinda wide.  i wanted to move my bike racks to the outside so that i could have my box in the middle but that doesnt work.  if i had a fork mounted tray i could do that, but then id have to throw the wheel inside.  pluses and minuses to them both.


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## mondeo (Jul 27, 2009)

When I do have to transport my bike, it goes in the car. Only 3-4 times a year, not a big deal.

When I get a MTB, I'll get a rack.


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

sLoPeS said:


> i use this...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's what I use too.  The older version of that rack had a metal plate in the rear, so that the mount to the bar was off to the side.  With that configuration you were able to straddle the tower with the front mount so that you could put the rack further outboard.


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## gmcunni (Jul 27, 2009)

depends which car i'm driving.  I have a hitch attached bike rack that holds 4 bikes that i use on our CRV.  I have a trunk "strap on" that i use when i take my car.  I've had up to 4 bikes on the trunk mount but i try to keep it to 2 bikes for fear of denting the trunk with all the weight.


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## Trekchick (Jul 27, 2009)

If I go alone, I'll just throw the bike in the back of the Yukon.  No need to take the tire off like in my Jeep.
If I go with anyone else, I use the Hitch mount 4 place bike rack.  Its a cheapo rack but I liked how the bikes fit on it better than the Yakima.
If I have to buy a new one in the future, I'll get a Thule.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 27, 2009)

BITD I had a trunk rack for transporting the bike.  I really can't understand how anyone under 6 feet would choose a roof rack for a car or anyone under 6'4 for a truck or SUV.  

I like the design of the racks that mount on trailer hitches.


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## severine (Jul 27, 2009)

deadheadskier said:


> BITD I had a trunk rack for transporting the bike.  I really can't understand how anyone under 6 feet would choose a roof rack for a car or anyone under 6'4 for a truck or SUV.
> 
> I like the design of the racks that mount on trailer hitches.


Hence my milk crate. :lol:

I don't have a hitch on my Blazer and I couldn't find a rack that was approved to work with the hatch. There might be something out there I didn't find but I'm not looking to spend more money when I have something that works. Not really much choice then, KWIM?


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## wa-loaf (Jul 27, 2009)

Got a hitchmount that carries 4 bikes. I wouldn't mind picking up one roof tray for when it's just me. Can't fold seats right now cause of kids seats.


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

deadheadskier said:


> BITD I had a trunk rack for transporting the bike.  I really can't understand how anyone under 6 feet would choose a roof rack for a car or anyone under 6'4 for a truck or SUV.
> 
> I like the design of the racks that mount on trailer hitches.





severine said:


> Hence my milk crate. :lol:
> 
> I don't have a hitch on my Blazer and I couldn't find a rack that was approved to work with the hatch. There might be something out there I didn't find but I'm not looking to spend more money when I have something that works. Not really much choice then, KWIM?



That, and I am 6'4".  The assumption when we got the roof rack was that I would be there most of the time to load and remove the bikes.  Plus we already had the roof rack system for other stuff so all we had to buy was a ~$100 carrier for the roof, my dad 'lent' me the second one.  It would have cost ~$300+ to get a decent hitch mount rack (that would have still allowed us access to the rear hatch), plus the cost of getting a hitch.


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

wa-loaf said:


> Got a hitchmount that carries 4 bikes. I wouldn't mind picking up one roof tray for when it's just me. Can't fold seats right now cause of kids seats.



That's our issue too, I'd probably throw the bike in the car (wagon) more often if I didn't have to remove the kids seats to fold down my rear seats.  Luckily our daughter is big enough now that she can use a booster seat, which doesn't need to be installed, so I can fold down part of the rear seat.


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## o3jeff (Jul 27, 2009)

wa-loaf said:


> Got a hitchmount that carries 4 bikes. I wouldn't mind picking up one roof tray for when it's just me. Can't fold seats right now cause of kids seats.





bvibert said:


> That's our issue too, I'd probably throw the bike in the car (wagon) more often if I didn't have to remove the kids seats to fold down my rear seats.  Luckily our daughter is big enough now that she can use a booster seat, which doesn't need to be installed, so I can fold down part of the rear seat.



Throwing it in the back with the seats folded down makes a big mess of the car especially on muddy rides.


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

o3jeff said:


> Throwing it in the back with the seats folded down makes a big mess of the car especially on muddy rides.



I'm not all that concerned with the inside of my car these days, but on muddy days I could always resort to throwing it on the roof post ride if it was too dirty.


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## dmc (Jul 27, 2009)

Fits in my VW Tiguan but I do have racks too...

But usually I just ride my bike to where I'm going to ride...


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## wa-loaf (Jul 27, 2009)

o3jeff said:


> Throwing it in the back with the seats folded down makes a big mess of the car especially on muddy rides.



Got a rubber tray in the back.


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## WoodCore (Jul 27, 2009)

I've got two Yakima King Cobras on the Outback! Like this rack a lot!


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## bvibert (Jul 27, 2009)

WoodCore said:


> I've got two Yakima King Cobras on the Outback! Like this rack a lot!



If I have to get new racks for some reason, those are near the top of my list.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 27, 2009)

I voted Roof..nonfork mount for stoke!!!!


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## luv2ride (Jul 28, 2009)

Get Thule SideArms if you are putting bikes on the roof.  WAY better design and quailty then Yakima.  I have 3 on my Pathfinder and they rule.  So easy to use.  My friend has the King Cobras, and they suck.

I think the Thules are made in CT too, which is a bonus in my book:flag:


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## Philpug (Jul 28, 2009)

Had roof racks for years when I had wagons. When I got the Forester it was too high to access the inner tray. Since I was leasing it i didn't bother with a trailer hitch and picket up a Yakima "Joe" trunk mount. The next car, will be purchased and I will install a trailer hitch on that.


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## drjeff (Jul 28, 2009)

Hitch mount Yakima that caries 4 bikes.  My wife and I were debating between the fold down Yakima and the swing arm Thule.  Ultimately a bunch of gift certificate $$ from Dick's Sporting Goods (and the fact that in the stores they only cary Yakima and you can't use their gift cards online   ) led us to getting the Yakima.  Kind of wishing though that we had got the swing out Thule


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## gorgonzola (Jul 28, 2009)

when riding solo, the back of the 4runner with the rear & middle seat folded up, wheel off/standing upright - a bungee from the ohshitbar to the floor to keep it from bouncing around. also have a 3 tray thule fork mount roof rack and a thule trunk rack for family outings, beach trips and camping - carrying 5 bikes, canoe, thule mountaineer box, popup camper, etc.....when we roll in you can hear banjo music






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theres a trunk mount with 3 bikes out of view


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## tjf67 (Jul 28, 2009)

The hitch hanging racks second as a make shift bike stand for tuneup before the ride as well.

I hate when it raining though worst plave for the bike.  

Fold down the arms when done stick in the back of the truck and ready for the next time.   Used to be the stix were in the truck now just the rack.


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## SKidds (Jul 28, 2009)

Transported our four bikes (two adult, a 24 inch kid, and a 20 inch kid) and tandem trailer, plus our luggage, in the back of the Sienna for our long weekend to Cape Cod.  Had to take the front wheels off the adult bikes.  I'll soon be in the market for a hitch mount rack for four.  Things were kind of tight.

I'll post a TR on our Cape Cod bike trail adventures soon.


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## wa-loaf (Jul 28, 2009)

http://forums.alpinezone.com/60091-yakima-fullswing-4-a.html#post444770


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## Trekchick (Jul 29, 2009)

I bought a Yakima Kinpin4 but ended up selling it.
http://www.rei.com/skuimage/710433/220
The mounting braces for it work great for a HT but not so good for a FS.
They offer an adapter for $20/ea so you can load your FS bikes on it, but I just call it poor design.

the Thule hitch mount rack(s) are designed much better IMHO, and are easy to load most any kind of bike without "extra" attachments.


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## bvibert (Jul 29, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> I bought a Yakima Kinpin4 but ended up selling it.
> http://www.rei.com/skuimage/710433/220
> The mounting braces for it work great for a HT but not so good for a FS.
> They offer an adapter for $20/ea so you can load your FS bikes on it, but I just call it poor design.
> ...



Are you talking about comparable Thule racks, or tray types (where you set the bike in trays and secure the wheels rather than hang them by the top tube or adapter)?

I'm just curious if you're comparing apples to apples..


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## Trekchick (Jul 30, 2009)

Yea, I'm comparing apples to apples.
I'm talking about a Thule with a similar 
The Yak has a drop down support for the seat tube, which makes it impossible to load a FS bike without the adapter bar(s).
Its great, as I said above, for a HT.




The Thule of the same basic style has a simple nesting bracket to support the bike which gives you more options with a FS.


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## drjeff (Jul 30, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Yea, I'm comparing apples to apples.
> I'm talking about a Thule with a similar
> The Yak has a drop down support for the seat tube, which makes it impossible to load a FS bike without the adapter bar(s).
> Its great, as I said above, for a HT.
> ...



The other thing about the Yak (that's the one I've got) that I find annoying, is the design of how the bolt that connects the rack to the hitch receiver is.  It's threaded on one side and then just a shear pin on the other side and atleast once a week I'm out there tightening the bolt back up a couple of turns   IMHO would have been a better design if the bolt was threaded on BOTH sides of the hitch receiver.


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## bvibert (Jul 30, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Yea, I'm comparing apples to apples.
> I'm talking about a Thule with a similar
> The Yak has a drop down support for the seat tube, which makes it impossible to load a FS bike without the adapter bar(s).
> Its great, as I said above, for a HT.
> ...



Cool, thanks for the details!


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## abc (Aug 2, 2009)

By myself, I prefer to throw the bike inside. Much better protected from cars following too close, or from prying eyes of thief. 

I have a trunk mounted rack that I can throw up if I have passengers riding along. That allows me to take two extra riders and their bikes. 

I'm too short to mount the bike on the roof. So although I have a roof rack (for kayaks), I haven't even bothered investing on a bike attachment.


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## Greg (Aug 3, 2009)

I have a trunk mount for one car, a hitch mount for another, and sometimes I put the bike inside if I take it to work.


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