[Closed] trashed road bikes

trashed car too ... tears

Oh the pain! Not only to do your own bike in, but 2 mates too? And the car!Ouch. Towbar racks are the way to go, definitely...

I advise caution at McDonalds drive throughs too......

😥

That height sign is a little small isn't it?

Towbar racks are the way to go, definitely...

That height sign is a little small isn't it?

Oh, is that the 'its not my fault' get out clause.

Sign or no sign, common sense and not forgetting you have bikes on the roof is more important surely?

Thats one hard as nails back wheel on the blue bike, stronger than the car!

anyone remotely serious about cycling should own a van, there really is no substitute, they're accommodation, changing facilities, workshops, secure bike storage and transport all rolled into one.

In my youth, when I worked on the campsites in France there were similar sights to see most weeks. After 20+ hours driving people get tried and make stupid mistakes.

Ha, hilarious.

I'd probably go ape, but that is funny.

anyone remotely serious about cycling should own a van, there really is no substitute, they're accommodation, changing facilities, workshops, secure bike storage and transport all rolled into one.

They're not really suitable for everyday use though are they, wife who uses it more than me, 2 kids, parking, etc etc etc.

I use a tow bar mounted rack. three bikes, three people in car, no need to piss about for half an hour trying to shoehorn everything into the car, makes perfect sense

Good sturdy roofrack that.

andrewh - Member

Why people carry bikes on the outside of cars is a complete mystery to me. (possible special circumstances if full of people and kit but that's a very small minority, most racks I see are on cars with empty boots)

Never ridden in mud?

Yes, plenty of mud, the bike gets put in the boot on an old sheet.

I agree with andrewh, the majority of bikes I see being carried outside cars are displayed as trophies on the roofs or boots of otherwise empty cars, sometimes vans fer f***'s sake!

We regularly fit 3 people and 3 bikes inside our car and have even done 4 + 4 with careful packing. Inside the car bikes are secure from theft and damage and salty road spray.

Oops double post.

Never ridden in mud?

I find a £5 tarpaulin usually helps with that. You can put your muddy kit on it as well, so the inside of your car and kit bag doesn't get covered in mud.

Just getting a towbar fitted this weekend for a rack.

There's an inch deep mount of mud in my boot where the bikes been repeatedly thrown in after night rides, mud falls off, repeat 48 hours later. That's why people don't put them in the boot! I had a tarpaulin, inveriably after a few in's/out's of the bike it'd slip and deposit it's mud everywhere.

Van would be nice, but even my petrol people carrier does more MPG than VW claim for the T5 (and claims are never accurate!), it wouldn't go in a lot of car parks, reverse parking isn't a lottery, tax is cheeper and it's mahoosively quieter.

As for security, how secure do you think a glass box (your car) really is?

I'm lucky enough to have great riding from my front door, but there was a time when I was heading off to the Welsh valleys every Friday with a couple of friends, downhill bikes and camping kit in an estate car. Yes, packing is a faff, but we saved a ton of fuel by putting them on the inside of the car, and never lost a bike to theft, low ceilings or faulty fixings.

Racks are great for convenience, but if you're driving any distance, and have the space, I struggle to see why you'd want to pay another 10-20% in petrol costs for the privilege of strapping your bike to the outside of the car, exposed to the elements at 70mph. I've towed boats from 11ft long up to 22ft long (here's an example of a 707 keelbot ready for towing):

[img] [/img]

...which might explain why I prefer to avoid attaching anything to the outside of my car if I can possibly avoid it.

@warton, my van is perfectly practical, it can carry 5 people and 5 bikes with ease, i just think of it like an estate car, its actually shorter than some estate cars.

My van is great.
More economical than my previous MPV too (up from 28mpg to 39mpg) and actually easier to park (I can see the front!) Very comfy too, I like an upright seating position (and looking down on Chealsea Tractor drivers)
Once you have had a van you will never go back, they are just better.
(nothing fancy BTW, 9yr old Transit with a rust problem)
.

As for security, how secure do you think a glass box (your car) really is?

"reverse parking isn't a lottery, "

you are my mrs and i claim my 5 pounds .....

there is no reason parking with a van needs to be a lottery unless you drive like a mongtard. - dont care what size it is - it comes equipped with mirrors.

it comes equipped with mirrors

Mtb trip to see Doug at basque mtb
Three people three bike and all the gear inside one ford c- max
Yes a little tight but so much better than the above happening

Never ridden in mud?

That is what linoleum is for 😉

I agree with andrewh, the majority of bikes I see being carried outside cars are displayed as trophies on the roofs or boots of otherwise empty cars, sometimes vans fer f***'s sake!

Seriously, W and indeed TF?

Trophies? Are you on crack? My bike goes on the roof of my car because it won't fit in the boot. I had a van, it was brilliant for the 10% of my time I spent driving to go riding, for the rest it was horrid. Normally I'm driving to ride with mates so its just me in the car...the horror of it all...

Will print that out and pin it on the dash for our drive down to the Alps, at least some good may come of it.

Thanks for sharing 🙂

andrewh - Member

And size has nothing to do with ease of parking.

Yup, my brother's Traffic's much easier to park than my Mondeo- square corners, wheels close to the ends, gigantic mirrors. But then the mondeo is too big for a lot of parking spaces so that doesn't help either!

I line the boot of my car with one of [url= http://www.diy.com/nav/build/building-materials/tarpaulins-sheets-sacks/tarpaulins/B-and-Q-Light-Duty-Tarpaulin-Blue-3-9-x-4-9m-12508607?skuId=13029313 ]these[/url].

Plenty big enough to protect the car from 3 muddy bikes and kit.

Three down, only 186,593,220 to go.

Ouch, wonder if insurance covers that.

arghhh! not good.

I like the rear rack thing AFTER a ride. But I mostly ride evenings so its faster to get packed up and the car doesnt stink of wet bike the following day. If the bike is going to be left for any length of time then it goes inside normally.

OP flip!!!

an easy wat to try and avoid bikes on roofs hitting low canopies, is to position a small mirror on the dash board, angled up so you can see the roof of the vehicle, and held in position with some masking tape, or one of those triangular prism miorrors used as blind spot mirrors on cars and sold by car accesory shops, just stick it on the bonnet.

I had a tarpaulin, inveriably after a few in's/out's of the bike it'd slip and deposit it's mud everywhere.

User error.

I have a tarp in the boot. I'm a bit of a slob. I still find it quite hard to imagine letting it get to the point where the tarp is so full of mud that it could come off into my boot.

I will shortly be getting a towbar mount rack, but that's only for going on family holidays when I usually manage to fill my big estate to the roof and struggle to fit bikes in (the kids ones are also now getting bigger). Car buying decision was made on the principle that whilst a big MPV (or a van) might be handy for trips like that, a normal car would be better most of the time and can always be supplemented by a bike rack.

Bikes in the boot worked really well right up until the sprog arrived. There was a brief discussion of the merits of a towbar mount child seat, but suffice to say that I now have a towbar mount bike rack.

200kph with bikes on the roof on the autobahn? **** that. Don't want the bike barrel rolling under a 530D trynig to keep up. Manky bikes on 30 miles to Glentress? Roof every time. Keep the car clean and tidy.

Saw this happen at the north downs last year. Chaps drives into the car park at a fair lick, just before connection you could see the moment of realisation on his face. It was too late though and his bikes struck the top bar of the car park, fortunately being MTB's the front wheels took the blow and one end of the bar snapped. The other end however didn't and the bar caught, swung down and smashed a lovely dent across the bonnet of his brand new car.

He got out, looked, snapped the offending post off and drove straight away.