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So I found myself musing at This Thread I started about a year ago.
This time, the urge to retire has been prompted by having to walk away from a great deal on a car I had been lusting after for years because the only one available had a pale interior. Pretty impractical for transporting MTBs and mud on clothing etc. Poor winter rising weather followed by lockdown didn't help either.
I love getting out to ride. It clears my head of the crap from the previous week and sets me up for the coming week. It's also great exercise cleverly disguised as great fun. But the disproportionate cost / hassle ratio to amount of time actually spent riding is turning into a bit of a brain worm.
I think if I could streamline the transport / cleaning aspect it would help greatly. I've been looking at a roof carrier and using the boot as a changing area but is there any hack or product you have found a God send?
A van instead of a car
Thought someone would say that.
A great solution but not possible at the moment.
Move. I mostly ride from my door.
Ride from home.
I mainly ride from home.
Or if I do drive to ride I have a T4 Kombi van, bike in with wheels on, get changed under tailgate.
Back in the day Duffbag Monster bag - pop off the front wheel, chuck bike and wheel in bag, chuck bag in car. Sadly, they went bust.
Alternative is a heavy duty mattress bag or make your own. I keep planning to do the latter but haven't got round to it.
Changing - either go dressed to ride and protect your car with a towel on the seat on the way back or use a changing poncho
Thanks folks.
Sadly neither riding from the door or moving are an option. I have seen the bike bag option mentioned before. Might be worth a mooch at prices.
Why can't you ride from the door? Couldn't see anything mentioned in previous thread. What sort of riding do you usually do?
the only one available had a pale interior.
I stopped reading there. Just buy a car with a dog-shit coloured interior.
I'd suggest that a very large proportion of riders can't ride from the door, or may only have one short ride from the door.
I guess the question is what is taking up time? In theory I can leave the house in five minutes: put bike on roof, put water in bag, kit in car, go. Post-ride can be just five minutes if it's summer or more if it's winter and stuff needs to dry.
To reduce faff my top tip is little gym bags with all the kit in so loading the car is just a matter of slinging it in (although this is more important with kids, where I know I can just sling all the bags in and know that someone didn't forget their gloves).
One of those oversized towel ponchos is good for changing under if you need to change to get home, or just take off the outer layers: I've driven home in a base layer and bib shorts plenty of times.
A rack on the outside of a car means you don't have to worry about the bike, just throw it on and maybe hose it down when you get home. Annoyingly no matter how heavy the rain is the bike is never cleaned by the rain! We've a hose in the garage on the drive so if the bike is filthy I can take it off the car, hose down for a minute then run a cloth over it quickly: done in three minutes. Be less precious about the bike, I probably wash mine once or twice in winter and once the rest of the year. No doubt some will scream at this but mud dries and falls off, and the bearing seals have been doing their job.
disproportionate cost / hassle ratio to amount of time actually spent riding is turning into a bit of a brain worm.
Mountain biking is legit about the least hassle outdoor sport you can do short of running or walking. Just stop faffing.
Bike on or in car - 1 min
Drive
Get changed in car park - 2 mins
Ride
What am I missing?
LOL, cleaning and maintaining the damm bike!
It sometimes takes longer than the actual ride. When you factor into it any driving to and from the ride the faff definitely outlasts the ride.
A blanket.
Place in back of car, take front wheel off, place bike on blanket, go.
Builders bags from Jewsons are cheap options for wrapping the bike and dirty kit.
Weed killer sprayer and a brush. Filled with water. Quick wash in the carpark will make cleaning easy.
For a car - towbar rack and a portable jet wash. Just whip the outer layers off and drive in bibs/vest.
Annoyingly no matter how heavy the rain is the bike is never cleaned by the rain!
Drove back from Dartmoor to London in the rain, all the sheep shit had gone by the time I got back. As had most of the chain lubricant, but it was clean!
Bike on the roof. It’s not the biggest faff putting it inside but always a risk of losing an axle or damaging car or bike in transit. Maybe take the portable washer if it’ll be a long trip back or cold and dark when I get home.
Ikea bag or similar with any tools and spares I won’t carry around with me like shock pump, cassette tool, brake pads, gear cables etc. Anything you might notice in the carpark before you ride and can easily sort out. Also duplicates/spares of easily forgotten things like gloves and glasses.
Camelback or these days hip pack kept ready to go with food, multitool, puncture stuff, waterproof, etc. Then night before stick that in another bag with riding shoes, water bottles, stuff to change into, etc. So when I go it’s bike on roof, ikea bag, riding stuff bag, can be away in 5 mins tops.
Seat cover always kept in the car (you can get ones that work with side airbags and the like these days) if it’s not far and I’m only a bit muddy, likewise a dry bag or two always left in there for mucky clothes and shoes.
In winter I’ll usually plan to change, have a changing mat from when I scuba dived, buy or make a poncho from a couple of old beach towels. Although I’m a convert to riding trousers, just take off outer muddy layer, stick some dry clothes over the top and head home.
Skoda Superb estate with a roof rack and a blanket in the back. Bike on roof normally, will fit in the back with the wheels on otherwise.
Decathlon emergency poncho for getting changed under.
Zafira, tarp, hydroshot, 25l Jerry can of water. Makes life easy for us two and our bikes.
Takes me 3 or 4 minutes to pop rack on towbar and bike on rack. At end of ride I put a waterproof sided cover on the drivers seat so just a case of changing shoes and removing outer layers. Once home, outside hose to give the bike a rinse and wash with muc off, quick spray with silicon lube and fork juice on shock and forks, into integral garage and then chain lube the next day once it’s all dry.
Thanks to all who have replies so far. It may be slightly perverse of me but reading people's routines is very helpful.
Trails I ride are located a 40 min drive from home. I hadn't thought of gym bags either. I had been experimenting with those plastic crate things but a tight squeeze in the back of the car with the bike in there. Always managed to get muck somewhere too.
I do fancy the idea of a tow bar mounted rack which tilts to give access to the boot. Usually runs on the expensive side though.
I cannot recall from the earlier thread what you drive?
I rarely ride MTB from the house and I'm mostly chucking my bike in the car to drive to ride so my main bike is stored wheels out so it can go straight in.
For local external carrying on an estate/family hatch/saloon it is hard to beat a roof rack and bike carrier for speed of loading if you can/are prepared to leave it on all the time.
As I drive an MPV I've got acres of boot space so for one or two of us it all goes in the back!
I use a four bike tow bar rack when more than two of us because loading the roof an MPV is a pain in the proverbial and on long trips its better on economy and leaves the roof free for kayaks. It's ten minutes from shed to loaded with four bikes.
Riding pack - it is always loaded with just about everything I could need. It's heavier but it is pick up and go.
Maintenance - in the winter I have a couple of hour maintenance session every 2-4 weeks usually later in the evening after dinner/kids in bed. It helps keep on top of stuff when the filth arrives.
Beyond that it really is low faff. It's hard to get away from bike cleaning for that I use a workstand on a gravel area at home. I'm about to swap chain lube onto Putoline in the hope of easier / less messy chains.
Second the changing towel suggestion and also a couple of scrap carpet tiles to stand on to change.
With no interruptions I reckon I can go from decision to drivers seat in less than 10 minutes.
Few things I do to make riding prep and post ride easier / quicker / less faff:
keep all you’re riding kit - shoes, pads, helmet, pack etc in one place so you grab them and go. Same for your riding clothes - one draw with everything in bar jackets
Leave your pack prepped with what you need other than adding water and whatever extra layer you need
Get changed and do all your bike checks / tweets at home, save faffing around in the car park / rain / cold
Roof racks for transportation left on car permanently. Easier / cheaper / less faff than tow bar racks. Also means you can use boot lip to sit on when getting changed at end
I leave a change of clothes and a couple of towels in the all the car all time for post biking / wet walks / general clumsyness
Bit of old foam sleeping mat cut down to stand on to get changed
Ikea bags for transporting post ride wet & muddy kit - dump it all in there, direct transfer to washing machine
Don’t bother with changing robe, extra faff to spare the world the 3 seconds they’ll be looking at my ass - getting naked in car parks is the best bit!
Car seat cover left in car if you can’t be bothered to get changed
Clean bikes at home, not in car park / on road side - far less faff
Cleaning at home takes all of 5 minutes, hose down, wipe down with old towel, rag over chain to dry a little more then other rage with WD-40 to de-clag chain a little / prevent any surface rust if not fully dry when put away
Plenty of ways to sort that, but depends on how much you are prepared to do.
Why can't you ride from door?
Get seat covers and large tarps...covers keep seats clean and tarps capture the wet mess. Cheapest solution I reckon as 2 jumbo tarps cost about 30 quid in total.
Change car to a more practical machine - Berlingo will take most bikes in middle of rear with seat removed. Sized as a car and not a van.
Prep kit in readiness.
Can you change times you ride? Could the 40 minutes be 25 at a different time of day (or night)? If so, can that be worked around?
Nearest trail is approx 20 miles away so riding from the door isn't an option.
A roof carrier merits some consideration. I used to have a roof carrier on a previous vehicle but my mileage was so high it had to go on and off each weekend as I had a nagging worry about negative impact on fuel consumption.
Don't be so precious about your car's interior.
What are you classing as a 'trail' ? I'm curious as 20 miles is a MASSIVE distance... I can't believe anywher in the UK is 20 miles from trails.
disproportionate cost / hassle ratio to amount of time actually spent riding is turning into a bit of a brain worm.
I hope this doesn't come across rude but if you are finding issues / time to get out on a bike maybe you just don't like it that much any more. Which is totally cool people change.
For me personally I love riding bikes even though it takes me over an hour to get out to Surrey on a weekend. Its my passion so I make the time for it. Granted I don't have kids yet but a few in my group do and they still get out on a regular basis its all about what you prioritise i think. Skipping the friday night drinks so you can be up early for a ride for example. Swapping between bikes / type of riding makes it fun too. Basically not riding the smae places all the time.
To reduce faff my top tip is little gym bags with all the kit in so loading the car is just a matter of slinging it in
This is solid advice. 100% its about packing the night before. Typically on a friday evening I will pack all my kit into a bag and layout my clothes. Then all I do in the morning is eat breakfast, fill up a bladder and put it all in the car.
As for a bag I use to go the ikea route which is fine but got a fox transition duffle bag as a treat last week its its super handy. Its got a main compartment for all the big bits the smaller pockets for stuff like gloves, garmin, sunglasses and all that. Also comes with a handy changing mat so no more standing on wet floor post ride.
What are you classing as a ‘trail’ ?
Somewhere off road that takes longer than 15 minutes to complete a loop.
I hope this doesn’t come across rude but if you are finding issues / time to get out on a bike maybe you just don’t like it that much any more. Which is totally cool people change.
Yep. That thought had crossed my mind. Am I trying to find a pretext to quit? Thinking it through I don't think so. Always feel better for getting out.
I kept the roof bars on and bike racks, over a similar distance, I found I had a 2mpg drop in fuel economy.
Central Scotland to York and back - once with and once without the roof stuff.
What I found more of a mpg reducer was having the bikes on top. I was happy to keep the rack on as that really didn't make any odds (square bars as well so not as aero as the fancier kit) and it reduced faff time massively.
You mention a loop as an example of a trail - anything closer as an out and back? Obviously not a loop but might give you closer alternatives.
Nothing closer even as an out and back. No tow paths or bridleways. Can't move due to work / family ties.
With the previous vehicle I was putting £100 per week of my own money into the fuel tank. I was willing to do anything to reduce costs even if they ultimately only turned out to be a placebo!
Gravel bike an option?
Roof rack and don’t wash my bike. Brush the dried mud off before the next ride.
Most of my trails are 40mins plus away.
A smallish estate with a titan boot cover with extra bit for the seats being down (not massively expensive).
I don't wash the bike after a spin, I brush the dried mud off and lube the chain before the next. When I get back to the car after a spin I remove my baggies (bibshorts underneath) and get into a set of overalls to keep the car interior clean.
No pissing about.
Get a cheaper bike you care less about for those quick blasts where min faff time is important. Save the best bike for when you are doing proper days out so the faff time is a smaller percentage of your ride.
I have a rigid 29+ bike I use for the quick blasts. It’s still fun to ride but I’m not precious about it so it just gets a squirt of lube after each ride. Has added benefit of weighing a tonne so it’s improving my fitness 😉
Roof carrier any day.
Mine fits nice and quickly and getting the bike on it is no trouble. Overall, I reckon fitting the carrier and putting bike on/off it is way faster than dismantling/rebuliding the bike, then getting it inside without making a mess.
Hardly seems to effect fuel usage, did a long Mway drive and MPG was what I normally see. Just a bit noisier. Actually, noise is good as you know it's still up there!
A cheap tarpaulin in the boot to give me a muck proof layer at the end of the ride.
Trousers. The ability to peel off the muddy bottoms and reveal clean legs is a revelation.
Also a large Pod Sac for a fiver or whatever PX are selling for this week.
BMW 5er estate here, bike goes in with front wheel out.
1. Stop being precious about your car; mine has tyre marks in the (beige) roof liner...
2. Seat covers so you don't need to change unless you're absolutely minging.
3. Mobi washer filled with hot water the morning of the ride. It'll still be warm hours later and is a much nicer proposition for rinsing shoes/legs off. I have a plastic crate for the Mobi and associated bike wash paraphernalia for when something leaks.
4. Ikea bags for wet kit.
5. Keep as much kit as practical in the car permanently for minimal pre-ride faff. Have a go-bag for everything else, including a change of clothes for those really wet days.
Annoyingly no matter how heavy the rain is the bike is never cleaned by the rain!
I once drove back from Lee Quarry to Cardiff in a snowstorm with my bike on roofbars. The last 30 mins of driving was dry so by the time I got home the bike was spotlessly clean! It had been absolutely caked in mud when I left but all I had to do was wheel it in the flat, wait for the remaining frozen water to thaw and drip off, oil the chain and it was ready for the next day.
No need to make an industry out of this.
Bike on roof. Big plastic box or ikea in boot with helmet, shoes, camelbak and change of clothes
Ride. Finish ride, bike on roof. If dry, get in car and drive home. If wet, quick change, chuck wet stuff into box/bag in boot. Or get seat covers and sit in the car anyway if wet.
Get home. Hose bike down, wipe & lube it. Takes less than 5 mins. Wet stuff in washing machine. Shower then drink beer on sofa whilst watching TdF.
whilst watching TdF.
Why ruin a good day?
Nearest trail is approx 20 miles away so riding from the door isn’t an option
Gravel bike?
But joking aside, I'm intruiged where you live as I can't think of anywhere in the Uk without a network of bridal ways, canals, or such like that can't be linked up. Even in the middle of London there's fun to be had.
Anyway, to answer the OP's question, prep is the key.
Have everything out the night before in 1 bag next to the door. Even fill your bottles/Camelback up.
then on the morning it's just a case of putting the back seats down, front wheel off, tarp down, bike and kit in, out the door. 10 mins max.
But seriously, find some local trails. Or take up running.
I’m intruiged where you live as I can’t think of anywhere in the Uk without a network of bridal ways, canals, or such like that can’t be linked up
Agreed, but tbh maybe he's like me and not interested in just riding that sort of stuff all the time?. I'm happy to ride from the door (helps that we have built a load of cracking descents in a local wood, 20 mins pedal away though) but if it was just flat muddy bridleways, then I'd be in the van somewhere more often than not.
I’m intruiged where you live as I can’t think of anywhere in the Uk without a network of bridal ways, canals, or such like that can’t be linked up.
I used to live in the Fens. After October and before April the network of off-road paths - which are all flat and straight lanes used by farmers for access - are so boggy (something to do with being below sea level...) that it's not unusual to lock up a front wheel with mud.
Photo taken from Fenduro:
People who think there is *nowhere* without local riding are very lucky to have lived places with local riding.
But choosing not to is different to 'can't ride from the house"
You can... but you choose not to as it's dull..
Yes, quite.
Riding from the house is the new virtue signal on STW, sure start a thread on buying a Porsche or some other mid life cock extension, but don't dare mention driving to a trail lol!