Roof Rack for MTB or buy Estate Car

[ATM]

Hello

I have 2 mountain bikes which dont normally get much use. Recently I have been out for a couple of rides which have been great fun obviously. I am now telling myself I should do this more often. Problem is I cant really fit a bike in my car - 3 series BMW saloon. And I dont normally go riding alone. So I am now thinking sbout changing my car for something like an estate but my brother got me thinking about roof racks.

Anyone on here got an opinion on muddy bikes going in the boot or use a roof rack?

Thanks

ATM

[snotrag]

See this thread here -

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...

for my thoughts on bike racks.

Point being - 2 bikes DO go in a 3 series sized/shaped car easily enough, and the little extra faff required is far preferable to using a rack, IMO.

[CooperS]

2 bikes will go into a clio so i think a 3 series sized car would be fine.

I got fed up with marking the interior and a thule roof rack (although expensive) is well worth it if your doing long journeys.

[dubbs]

I've got one I bought last year for my e39 540... sold the BMW but have a rack that has only been used half a dozen times.

Check if it would fit your 3 series and if so I'll sell it cheap to you

[deckster]

If you want a new car, buy a new car.

If you want to carry some bikes, buy a bike rack.

Frankly changing your car just to accommodate your bike seems barking!

[khushy]

we have just changed our car - for something sensible LOL - and had our roof bars fitted yesterday - we now have a CTR with RB's and now 2 x bike racks - the ones where you take the front wheel of your bike out.

The ONLY reason we changed from our normal 2 seater CC type car (last was a 2003 500SL) was to accomodate bicyles as you cannot carry anything in an SL unless you take it to bits!

khushy

PS - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am... - we bought 2 of these!

[anonymous-user]

if you are on your own, its far easier to throw it on a roof mounted rack, clamp it down and home you go.

its a lot of faff to take off wheels, arrange the bike so it doesnt get the trim oily etc. i have ruined loads of coats by putting them in the boot only to find a spot of oil on them from the bike. i have a clio and space in the rear isnt exactly in abundance though.

rack every time. also means when you go over bumnps the frame/wheels dont bounce around knocing into each other.

sounds like you just want a new car as you say you dont go out that often on the bikes!

[RobDickinson]

Love my towbar rack, realy easy, but I dont think you have them quite the same in the UK?

[danyeates]

I find the roof mounted bike carriers are very easy to use. The bikes clip on and off in seconds - what could be easier?!

Here's mine on my previous Audi S4. I use the Thule aero bars and their best cycle carrier (can't remember the model but it's worth going for there best one IMO).

[ATM]

deckster said:

If you want a new car, buy a new car.

If you want to carry some bikes, buy a bike rack.

Frankly changing your car just to accommodate your bike seems barking!

Yes I am considering a change of car right now for other reasons. And while thinking about a new car I started thinking about the bike thing also. I like the idea of an estate for the space but some dont 'look' as good as the saloon versions. Maybe its my age catching up on me. I dont really care what people think when they see what I'm driving nowadays.

[sjg]

My bike gets cleaned off with the dirtworker before going inside the car. I've got a heavy-duty tarp with loops in the corners that the headrests go through and it protects the inside of the car nicely - the boot floor has a plastic liner anyway because I often carry wet stuff in there. No faff to dig bars/racks out when I go for a ride. More secure if you stop, less chance of someone spotting a nice bike then following you home and noting the address to rob later. Plus by the time I get home my bike is clean and dry so I can just wheel it straight into my flat without getting mud everywhere.

Roofbars work great though if you've got a more normal arrangement at home and can just chuck bikes on the roof dirty then clean them when you get home. Definitely need to do that at this time of year, they get covered in road salt.

I'm planning to pick up a set, but mainly for a trip down to the Alps this summer - I'm not sure how much use they'll get the rest of the time unless I move into a proper house.

[Roman]

Don't rule out a saloon or coupe with a big boot.

I can fit 2 large size mtbs in the boot of my MG ZT by removing the wheels, seatposts & loosening the handlebar stems from the forks - under 5min for each bike. I only need to remove the wheels on my roadbikes.

The first frame lies on the bottom with a blanket on top, then the second with the rest of the blanket wrapped over to prevent any scratches or rattling, then the wheels on top. In the boot of a saloon the bikes are less likely to cause injury in an accident and more secure if you want to park up than on a rack or in an estate/hatch.

I also take a hand pumped pressurized garden sprayer to wash the bikes down before putting them in the boot.

[theboymoon]

One of the many things i loved about my rallye was that it would take loads of kit and still be hoon-friendly.



Don't really like having stuff on the outside, but thats just me.


now i've gone down this route and have a little racy sleek number as a daily driver...




I can't tell you how much easier life is. If there's just 2 of you 2x bikes just wheel straight in.

Ive also had bikes x6, tools and weekend kit with room to spare.

If its raining at the end of your ride, climb in, get changed, drink tea, get warm! It'll clip along at 0.8 leptons fine and at an mpg the rallye couldn't even dream of. Aspiring Future Mrs Moon's like driving it more too than they ever did in 'the boy-racer car.'

... if i ever see it again. Last seen being driven at pace down my road by Neil off of here to help him move house about 2 weeks ago .

but then he did leave me his mx5 which i have been taking great pleasure in peddaling about for the last little while

[Dibby]

IMO - Estate.

I've got an E46 3-series estate ... sorry, sportwaggon ... sorry, touring as 'estate' isn't a cool word to use any more! Sure you can fit 2 bikes up on top with a roof rack but the estate boot has come in handy for a lot more than just the bikes, garden rubbish, old kitchen, old sofas, it's like a van with the seats folded down. 2 bikes and full camping kit right in the back.

Roof racks are all well and good for light, nimble XC bikes but lugging a full-suspension downhiller with 200mm forks on and off of the roof is a struggle if downhilling is your game. Fold down tailgate racks are easy to load for downhill bikes but mates that have had them are being rear-ended because people can't see the rack when they pull up behind you.

[ian_c_uk]

IMO, both.

In my defense, I have kids to haul about too, so I run a pair of roof carriers on an octy estate.

Putting them up there is no great hassle, and can be dirty or clean, just ensure you can lock the bars / carriers / bikes. It then leaves the boot free for helmets / seats / jackets / spare clothing etc.

That didn't really help, did it?

[WildCards]

My previous 306 Estate and my current 9-5 Estate all fit 3 bikes and 3 blokes in plus kit. Roof racks are all well and good, but nothing is as secure as having the bikes in a locked car, makes stopping at the cafe post ride a little easier IMO.

[timnoyce]

I can fit 3 bikes and kit in the boot of my Mk1 Focus estate without putting the seats down. It's the ultimate SUV! (shame its only a 1.8tdi)

[zebedee]

Always in the car with me, and one of the reasons I went for an estate. Stayed at a campsite near coed y brenin a couple of years ago and the guys in the tent just below ours all woke in the morning to find their bikes had all been nicked off their rack on the back of the landrover - think it was 3 bikes in all. Police turned up and apparently its not uncommon - so if you are camping near bike places, the fact is there could be thieves skulking about at night with the kit to remove your bikes. Best to lock them together in the car in such a way that it impossible to remove them without raising hell!

[E38]

I used to take my 3er for rides all the time. Blanket over back seats, put 2 bikes on the back seats, front wheels removed and on top of the frames. All your gear in the boot. And you can still take a mate in the passenger seat.