[Closed] 3-series touring owners - bike in boot?

With the seats down? Sure. XL bronson v1 and M bronson v2. It’s much better with both wheels and pedals off though.

Yes.  Large Scott Spark 29er here in an F31, about 4 inches to spare either end.   I haven’t put two bikes in but you could.

For ancillary’s there’s loads of space redundant in the rear footwell and under the boot floor as well as around the bikes.  I’ve taken a weekends camping gear/food plus bike and kit - no problem with all that and easily room for a second bike.

Separately opening rear window handy for quickly grabbing kit etc also.

My XL smuggler will go in with seats down and front wheel off. I take both wheels off my XL krampus as I have my driving seat all the way back and it's a bit tight, don't want to mark or damage anything. Never tried 2 bikes. It's a small boot, fills pretty quick with a bike and gear.

much better with both wheels and pedals off though

See comments like that worry me, in my mind, it doesn’t fit fine if you even think to try that...

Anyone got a pic?

krampus and spark - short forks, Bronson, small wheels. Makes me think it’s possible but right.

A smuggler is close but a bit smaller than mine

Yes.

pivot Mach 5.7 and an older Santa Cruz Julianna, just front wheels off.

Still plenty of room for two kit bags, change of clothes and possibly some shopping on the way home.

Just get plenty of old blankets or suchlike to protect the floor of the car and to put between bikes.

See comments like that worry me, in my mind, it doesn’t fit fine if you even think to try that…

Anyone got a pic?

krampus and spark – short forks, Bronson, small wheels. Makes me think it’s possible but right.

The majority said yes?      If you lay a bike on its side as i do the forks go diagonally across the car not sticking out the boot.   I could take my rear wheel off too, and for short the available spaces / ease of manouverability would change but that’s true for any car.  But you don’t need to.   I could have even more space if I slid the passenger front seat forward but I don’t need to.

If you’ve noted the amount of 3 series, A4’s etc in event/trail centre car parks you should know you don’t have an issue.

With my krampus it's not the forks, it's the size of the real wheel. Size of forks is fine if you lay the bike flat. If you want to put a bike in vertical then I've never even tried but I think you will need to rethink.

Should have said, mine are lying down, not upright.

The pivot goes in first, then the Santa Cruz on top, blankets between to protect, wheels and kit in various other places.

It will go in, I've got a big 29er and they fit, it's a bit of a fight, and given the footprint of the car, it's a sh*tty little impractical boot. I genuinely think a decent hatchback is more practical as the load opening is more useful.

Glad I don't have mine any more. It got very boring trying to wedge them in.

If you’ve noted the amount of 3 series, A4’s etc in event/trail centre car parks you should know you don’t have an issue.

Problem is I have - and note they mostly have roof racks. I know A4 are ok for 26" but not good for larger 29ers. I also note most people have bikes smaller than mine - only things I know longer are the longest geometron or a Pole

HobNob's conclusion sounds more like I'd expect - it'll go but it's a bit of a pain. I need to think about how much of a pain etc, it's not just a car for bikes, but I do want to be able to go riding with me +1 at least without too much faff, and whilst it might be ok for others, I don't like taking wheels off if I can avoid. Different strokes for different folks.

Skoda Superb estate.  5 series size for 3 series money. Get over the badge they good cars. I have a 3 series touring BTW.

Have an E91 3 series tourer and my other half has a small road bike which fits with both wheels on. All my bikes (29ers for a 5 foot 10er) require the front wheel out. Laid like MartynS explains. They fit, but not masses of spare room length wise.

We mainly ride from the door so not all that often we put both in. Survived a weeks holiday in Scotland with the bikes and all our gear. Think it would get annoying doing it for every ride, but I would not want a bigger car for the rest of the time and don't do bike racks.

Have you tried a Seasucker mount? I have had an XL Genesis Tarn and my Orange Alpine Five (not at the same time.)  I put my road bikes in the boot but not filthy MTB's.

Skoda Superb estate.  5 series size for 3 series money. Get over the badge they good cars. I have a 3 series touring BTW.

Oh I’m over the badge. Thing is, I’m looking for Euro6 diesels (or petrol) and there are surprisingly few superbs about that fit the bill, and those that do aren’t saving me money over a 3 or 5. I might get a newer or less miles car, but that doesn’t bother me that much.

I have a 2016 3 series touring (in fact I have another on it’s way to me now as I change jobs). I fit one bike and all my kit in easy with the front wheel removed.  I can get 2 bikes in with the wheels removed and the forks tucked down in the well between the front and rear seats.  These are big bikes as well - Santa Cruz Hightower (what else in a BMW) and an intense tracer.

2014 tourer here.

Fits my xl geometron g13 with the front wheel off no problem.

Fitted that plus a mate and his L solaris plus two sets of riding gear without much fuss.

It is lovely however it did give me a whopping bill when the egr cooler failed over summer. Mine has done 90,000 miles and it was 20% of the value of the car to fix.

I probably wouldn't buy one again without a warranty 🙁

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2014 tourer here.

Fits my xl geometron g13 with the front wheel off no problem.

This is good info, cheers. I presume by your bike size and username you also are pretty tall so have seats fairly far back.

Hmmm, and then the stinger is in the back half of the post... what would you get instead then?

Any car can have a mechanical failure.

E91 here. Medium longshot Soul goes in with loads of room. With a bit of thought 2 people, 3 bikes and a fortnights worth of kit goes in just about below the windowline. (although that was pre-nuskool geometry).

In comparison to Martin, mine's on 165k now and is the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Glad I don’t have mine any more. It got very boring trying to wedge them in.

Each to there own. I don’t find it a problem at all.

took a couple of try’s to work out the best way to get it in, but now it’s sorted I find it really easy.

E91 tourer, easily gets my XL dune into the back with the front wheel off.  For two bikes, they will need to go on top of each other sideways, and it's a lot easier if you leave the bootcover/strut brace thingy behind.   If you're also carrying other stuff, both wheels off makes the most of the space.  So no, 3er tourers are not that big, but that is why they are so useful the rest of the time, as having a reasonably small footprint makes them very wieldy ime (note, F series car is significantly bigger outside, and handles like a bit of boat compared to the E series cars....)

Ah, F series that I’m looking at. Planning to try drive a 5 too, see how it compares. Obviously a lot better on space but want to see if it feels a total barge or not.

IA, check out this thread, should be some ideas in there if you're tempted by something different.

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/lets-have-a-big-fast-estates-thread/#post-10041121

I got a L Nukeproof Mega (27.5") and a M Spesh Camber (26") in the boot of my E91 estate with no problems.

I've got an F31 and sometimes put my Crush or Ripley in the back and take the front wheel off.

However this is only on the outward leg of a long journey when the bikes are clean. On the way back they go on the tow bar mounted rack which I have to say is way better than a roof mounted rack.

Not sure if you can still do it but but you used to be able to search on BMW's used site for cars and tick for having the tow bar fitted as an option.

Oh yeah, I've no interest in roof racks. Towbar rack if I'm going to use one at all.

Problem I have is not many will take the wheelbase of bike I need, and those that do won't fit easily in the boot. Mud in the back of the car I'm not worried about, I can line it/get a hatchbag.

Just buy an E-Class estate and sling the whole bike in