[Closed] Is there a normal car you can get a bike into...

Roof rack?

No

roof bars mounted holder?

those Thule ones are pretty quick to operate if she has the height and strength to get the bike on the rack?

We've got a Grand Scenic and it's seats down and front wheel off to get the bike in there due to its length. Widthways would be an issue even with both wheels off.

Not sure MrsP would get the bike on the roof, and dont think the kids would fancy being up there either.

It would need to be huge and even then you would need to accept taking at leat one wheel off IMHO.

For me a normal car wouldn't be one with a 2 metre long boot! 😉
Roof rack?

in our mondeo put the seat base up, remove front wheel ,turn bars so they point backward and back bike through back door into where the passengers would sit, chuck the wheel in and off you go.
All done in less than a minute.

Sounds like you'd need to make a whole heap of compromises elsewhere to give you this mythical beast of a car.

Fit a tow bar and get a tow-ball mounted rack? Easy to get bike(s) on and off then and a lot of the racks are very easy to remove and throw in the boot if needed.

Get a towbar fitted and buy one of [url= http://www.towsure.com/product/Clipper_2Bike_Towbar_Towball_Mounted_Cycle_Carrier ]these[/url]?

quick to fit & remove and will drop into the boot when not in use.

through back door into where the passengers would sit

Doesn't help the OP; where do the kids sit when they're being taken to nursery?

Are any of you reading the OP? Kids are in the back seat, bike needs to go in the boot without any dismantling.

OP, unless you get a dual cab pickup with/without a trucktop then not a chance, sorry.

ditch the car?

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That is what I thought. What about 7 seaters with the rear seats out or are they more like estates with an extra row of seats in the boot? Or a car with flexible seats where you could leave out a seat to help or something?

Think it will be a rack, and she will have to learn how to drive with a bike on the back (currently hates it), but just wondered if anyone had done the same sort of thing?

The old Fiat Multipla would [i]almost[/i] cope with this. You could remove the middle seat in the back and slide the bike in backwards. You'd still need to remove the front wheel though.

How about one of the now common 7 seaters with one seat removed in the back and one removed from the far back? Kids in tandem, bike alongside?

Citroen Berlingo type thing with one of the seats folded down/removed?

wwaswas, I have the Kona Ute for my turn, but she wont even ride that with nothing on!

Would it work with a Ford Galaxy or similar if you took the middle seats out and slotted a bike up the middle?

Would mean a rear wheel between the kids, but I assume the school run is only a matter of minutes.

Edit - Dur, must F5 before posting in future 😳

[i]she wont even ride that with nothing on! [/i]

get her to try wearing clothes?

I've got a 7 seater Kia Carens 08. With the bike front wheel off, I can roll a bike into the rear footwell to sit across the back. I do this often if i'm collecting a new bike or dropping one in for servicing as it saves messing with the bike rack.
Theoretically, I could have the 2 boot seats up but there would be some kid/bike juggling to get the kids in and out as access is via the folding rear seats or alternatively, stick one child in the front passenger seat and load another in through the boot to leave one boot seat down.
With all seats down, the bike lays flat.

Berlingo/Partner/Kangoo/Doblo can do it with one seat down (so still seat 4).
Otherwise it's something much bigger like a Bongo, T5, etc.

It's the height you need to do this (bike goes vertical), so all those normal people-carriers can't manage it.

Instead of changing your car, why not change your bike and get a brompton?

I guess a folding bike would be the easiest and probably cheapest option.

I thought some of the nicer Thule tow ball mounted racks will tilt away from the car if you flip a lever so you can open the boot?

If Mrs P struggles to get a bike on a roof rack then you could always try a spring loaded lift assist rack. Mine came from Volvo, but I know other car manufacturers offer them as accessories.

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I use a seven seater with only four seats in place. This leaves a gap between the two back seats as there can be a seat here. The bike goes straight in, no messing. All good.

My sister has a chrysler grand voyager and they have put 2 adult bikes and two kids bikes in the back. full bikes, wheels on and nothing turned. They did remove the furthest back seats though.

Personally though, i'd just get a bike rack on the back if you don't [i]have[/i] to get into the boot, or a titling tow bar one if you do.

Is there a normal car you can get a bike into...

[i]All estate cars with the back seats down[/i]

errm...

[i]without putting the seats down[/i]

Citroen Berlingo type thing with one of the seats folded down/removed?

This is what I do - medium size Whyte 29C fits in upright with both wheels on, albeit slightly angled rather than straight.

A. Get a Brompton
B. Get something like a Multipla that seats three abreast in the front - is there a Honda of some sort that does this as well?

errm...

without putting the seats down

In that case yes - its called a van

not trying to be funny, but how about a roofrack and a foot-stool to stand on if height is the issue?

Unimog

I guess a folding bike would be the easiest and probably cheapest option.

you seem to have stumbled into the wrong forum with your 'cheap' and 'easy' nonsense. Theres no cycling dilemma on here that can't be solved by buying either bigger cars or more cars or buying a van and trying to use it as a car.

The OP needs to buy a unimog.

tomd - Member
I thought some of the nicer Thule tow ball mounted racks will tilt away from the car if you flip a lever so you can open the boot?

the new bike approach does appeal to my innate n+1 approach to solving bicycle related issues.

Thule, Atera and others do racks that let you put whatever you like in the boot. I'm very happy with the Atera version (from roofbox.co.uk)
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The good thing about the Atera is that the weight is still carried by the rack during the tilting process.

You need a towball, but as you're considering a different car, then this is simpler. It's pretty easy to use - especially with one bike.
With 3/4 modern suspension bikes, it can be a bit of a puzzle but we haven't failed yet despite all the frame variations in our riding group.

Tow bar rack? We've got one, we can still get into the boot easy as long as we use the middle/outer rack rather than the inner one.

you seem to have stumbled into the wrong forum with your 'cheap' and 'easy' nonsense. Theres no cycling dilemma on here that can't solved by buying either bigger cars or more cars or buying a van and trying to use it as a car.

The OP needs to buy a unimog.

Apologies, you are quite correct, I am off to have a quiet word with myself. I may take some artisan, hand ground, free trade coffee and the latest copy of the wood burner weekly.

As above really, i drive one of these, it is never going to get on the Top Gear "Wall of Cool", but with the back seats down (or removed) it is a van, or i can fit the road bike in across the boot with just front wheel removed, with just one of the three back seats down, road bike and normal MTB will go in without removing wheels and fat bike with front wheel off.

Plus, it is also cheap to insure, as when insurers look at assessinf risk, the average driver is 84 so 2 litre turbo HDI engine is Group 5.

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similar problem here but now solved...

we have a Skoda Yeti, remove the middle seat and we still have both kids in their car sets in the remaining 2 seats. Take the front wheel off and slide it through into the gap where the seat has been removed. I turn the handlebars and secure the bike with bungee cords to stop it moving around in the car.

That's how I transport my fatbike as I don't fancy putting it on the roof bars and we can still fit the whole family in (plus all my bike kit).

Oh yes don't forget to put your front wheel in the boot as well, that can cut your ride short !

Just get a folder. Vastly cheaper than a new car, and not far off the price of all these roof racks and whatnot.

People carrier - take some of the seats out - car will still take 4 people ? Not sure if bike will fit wheels on set up though.

But as posted many times above a folding bike is the most cost effective solution

Uglipla might do it? Very wide.

Does your Focus have a 60/40 rear seat? Any mileage in just having the smaller seat down and the bike poking through? I know the Mk1 had it and a bike might just about have fitted but they seem to have dedicated a lot of effort to making every Focus ergonomically worse.

Vauxhall (among others) do an integral bike carrier that folds into the back bumper, seen here with Chipps:

You know this your perfect excuse to start the campaign for a [s]bike van[/s] large people carrier with metal panelled boot.

So if I went down the folder route, 20", 26"?
Needs to take panniers, and I used to see a bloke with panniers on his Brompton and they looked very precarious as they were so close to the ground

A couple of colleagues park up outside the city centre, unfold their Brompton/Decathlon folding bikes and ride in. Depending on the distance, seems the best option. You can get quite fast Bromptons for the price of a car change!

Am I really the only one here to have worked out how to do this with a "normal" car? OK so it's quite a big normal car (was 406 estate, then Mondeo estate), but with back seat in normal position, kids in kiddy seats, parcel shelf removed I can fit a complete bike (road bike or MTB sized to fit 5'9" bloke - medium Scott, 56cm road frame) without removing any parts simply by putting it in rear wheel first with the rear wheel overhanging the back seat. No problem with it getting in the way of nursery age kids, though it's getting a bit tight for headroom now with a 7yo in the back seat.

I should have thought this ought to also be possible in a Focus estate - really not that difficult.

I should have thought this ought to also be possible in a Focus estate -

depends on the focus, MK1's were big, MK2 estate is a bit pokey.

57 plate, plus wont the bike drip onto children?

oh and commute after nursery will be 3 miles ish

Honda civic, rear seats (backrest and base) fold away into nowhere, bike goes in through back doors (not boot) stood upright with both wheels still in.

Amazing.

Rogan Josh - Member

Honda civic, rear seats (backrest and base) fold away into nowhere, bike goes in through back doors (not boot) stood upright with both wheels still in.

Amazing.

Honda CRV... still need to take front wheel off..
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Rogan Josh - Member
Honda civic, rear seats (backrest and base) fold away into nowhere, bike goes in through back doors (not boot) stood upright with both wheels still in.

Amazing.

No it doesn't. Unless you ride a BMX.

Wont somebody think of the children!

Yes you are aracer! POIDH, please 🙂

Am I really the only one here to have worked out how to do this with a "normal" car?

Yeah, you're by far the cleverest person on STW.

Something like this would have to go close - fuel cost could be an issue though....

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Or something like this....

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Rogan Josh - Member
Honda civic, rear seats (backrest and base) fold away into nowhere, bike goes in through back doors (not boot) stood upright with both wheels still in.
Amazing.

No it doesn't. Unless you ride a BMX.

Yes it does. I had a Civic and my road bike went in the back exactly like this. It doesn't help the OP one bit though

[quote=TimP ]57 plate, plus wont the bike drip onto children?

Depends how drippy your bike is! Never had an issue myself.

Just to prove the point - had to remove one uni from the boot, but left the rest of my junk in there.

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

3 mile commute after, folding bike will be fine.

You could get a nice au-pair 😉

Or how about a car with front bench seat? I am sure Honda do one. Could then have all the kids in the front and would have the whole back free for anything else.

Or in a normal estate (eg a V50 or Focus) put one kid in a normal front seat and turn the airbag off and drop half of the rear seats to get a bike in whole.

Or show her how to take a front wheel off and put it back on again?

Define normal. I can't see it happening without going to extremes of cars, so big mpvs or something with odd seating layout.

If you are looking for the expensive option you could get a new wife.

😉

Aracer - that's going to be fun if you have a shunt and you end up with the bike on top of the kids.

All those who are suggesting Unimogs - stop being sight tightwads.

Crew cab Zetros with portable bike shed on back - never forget a part or tool again.

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andyl - Member
Or how about a car with front bench seat? I am sure Honda do one.

Not a bench seat but the FRV has 3 front seats - a la Multipla.

Yes it does. I had a Civic and my road bike went in the back exactly like this. It doesn't help the OP one bit though

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Apologies rogan josh! Never read post properly! 😯

Civic is cavernous, I've never tried my bike in that way, need to try it this evening... 😀

VW Caddy Maxi Life?
Can get a fully built bike down one side with 1 rear seat folded up, leaves 2 rear seats free, both of which can take a child seat.

Well, a road bike may go in a civic sideways, but a SB66 defo doesn't!.

I can confirm you cannot fit an anthem in the back of a civic..
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And it still doesn't fit with the front wheel removed.
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