[Closed] Carrying bikes on a TVR Chimaera

No to both. I can think of no sillier cars for carrying 2 bikes with.

I wouldn't recommend a strap on boot rack with fibreglass. I doubt that you'll be able to get a tow bar for it either. Perhaps there is a boot mounted luggage rack like you sometimes see on MX-5s that would fit it. That might allow for attaching a roof rack to the rails of the luggage rack. Even then though it would be risky with the weight.

If this is not a troll then you should have the TVR taken off you for such thoughts!

I would have said that if you can afford a TVR, you can afford a £200 wreck for bike carring duties.... 😀

[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201003350446256/sort/priceasc/usedcars/model/chimaera/make/tvr/page/1/quicksearch/true/radius/200/postcode/g644dd?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fused%2Fcars%2Ftvr%2Fchimaera%2Fpostcode%2Fg644dd%2Fradius%2F200%2Fpage%2F1%2Fquicksearch%2Ftrue%2Fsort%2Fpriceasc&logcode=p ]TVRs are fairly cheap to be fair[/url], but I'd also be taking the second car route!

Is that not what TVR's become after a year or so, £200 wrecks? 😉

Surely you have the cash to afford to buy a sensible car for carrying your bike(s) on? Or would that be too much of a threat to your ego? Where do you propose to take the bikes. Most trail centres or natural areas have roads that aren't really suited to sports cars.

A mate had one and it easily fitted one bike in the boot (I was surprised it's huge)

I imagine if you really want to try and fit two in you might be able to do it by removing the pedals and turning the bar/stem flat.

Oh and TVR's aren't expensive to buy, just expensive to repair 🙂

Lol, its a serious question.

Currently I have this:
[img] [/img]

Which luckily had a roof rack available. A Chimaera is top dog for my next car so long as I can hang a couple of bikes off it somehow.

Most trail centres or natural areas have roads that aren't really suited to sports cars.

Never failed to get my sports car into trail centres, we are not talking F1 cars here!

TVR chims are can be had for as little as £6000 these days - not expensive cars really, its the running of them that is the biggest pain.

wouldnt have through you could fit a boot mounted rack as the fibre glass wouldnt take the strain on the clip points.

if one will go in the boot, i think theres enough space behind the seats to get another bike in there. You would have to drop the roof first to get it in and out.

apparently there are some folk who have fitted a luggage rack to the boot lid of an Elise which can take a bike.

A tow bar isnt an option, the chassis finishes about the back edge of the rear wheel - the boot and fuel tank hang off the back of the chassis.

Nah I don't have any desire to have a second car. I don't want waste money on tax and MOTs when the fun car can do everything.

This isn't a "what car for carrying bikes" thread, its a genuine ask to see if anyone on here has ever carried bikes on their tiv / similarly constructed sports car.

Something like this would be ideal:
[img] [/img]

oh and dont forget - if you can get the bikes on the boot lid - only travel as far as a tank of fuel can get you - since the filler cap is inside the boot.

If you have a TVR why do you want to ride a bike?

(Unless, of course it is for when the car will inevitably be at the doctors, then you'll be riding it anyway, not carrying it).

oh and dont forget - if you can get the bikes on the boot lid - only travel as far as a tank of fuel can get you - since the filler cap is inside the boot.

Yeah I thought of that, I suppose a boot rack could be whipped off. Bit of a pain though.

If you have a TVR why do you want to ride a bike?

Long road warm up to get to Ambleside for a ride!

It's a sensible question, if your going to buy a TVR you also need to carry something that has a chance of getting you to where your going.

It's a sensible question, if your going to buy a TVR you also need to carry something that has a chance of getting you to where your going.

It makes sense.
When the TVR packs up on the side of the road, you can ride your bike to get assistance.
Smart thinking! 😉

apparently there are some folk who have fitted a luggage rack to the boot lid of an Elise which can take a bike.

Bikes only on the S1 cos the fibreglass was thicker and could stand the weight, the S2 wouldn't be able to hack it - if the missus is using the estate for shopping or something I have to take the wheels off and the seatpost out, open the roof and then put the bike on the front seat in bits before putting the roof back on. A mate had a Boxster and had to do similar except he had room in the front "boot" for the wheels so just frame on seat.

[url= http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/16/85/s1-elise-luggage-rack/ ]S1 boot rack[/url]
[url= http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/16/610/s2-elise-and-111r-luggage-rack/ ]S2 boot rack[/url]

Some metalwork bodging to then fit a fork mount and rear wheel tray to the rack required and the S2 version requires some drilling of the bodyshell...

Most trail centres or natural areas have roads that aren't really suited to sports cars.

Never had a problem and the front of an Elise is lower than a TVR, wouldn't fancy the chances of a splitter on the front of an Exige though...

Used to have a griff and it's a definite no to putting a rack on ! Fibre glass won't take it ... The chimp boot is big and I've seen one with a bike sans wheels in one. The only other option is the tow bar mounted rack so nothing touches the bodywork ... Fitting it might be a problem ... Might need a bit of custom work. I'd also watch out on those beautiful exhausts. I ended up running two cars even though the bike would go in the boot .. Just. The last thing I would recommend is asking one of the dealers. They are all independant these days but usually know what you can or can't do to the cars.

Good luck they are cracking cars and the V8 is a reliable engine if you get a good one. I looked at a Tuscan recently and a bike would go in the boot as long as the roof was on... Then buying a new house came along.

any excuse

[img] [/img]

was looking at some pictures of this old thing earlier today, funnily enough. did about 45k miles in it. 8)
as stated above, you'll get a bike in the boot, maybe two if you were really inclined to. forget fitting a rack. the edges of the boot lid won't put up with you clamping it.
as suggested above, get a nail to run around in. it'll likely work out cheaper once you take into account the 6000 miles service interval, and the mess you'd make of it.
oh - and if you're serious about a chim, look [b]very, very, carefully [/b]at the chassis, or get one that's been rebuilt with a new chassis.
you'll need a garage that really knows it's onions now that there's no factory backup.
not the same at all, but if i was in the market for a 2 seater now, and wanted to go reasonably quickly, i'd be looking at the s2000.

Davetrave - is that your elise? Any chance of some closeups of the fork mounts? Does it work for 20 boltthru and QR?

I'm sure I saw somewhere that someone had dealt with the fibreglass problem by drilling holes in the rear wings and bolting a fabricated arm directly to the chasis. Don't think it was on a TVR, and it's a bit permanent, but might be an option if you could put the holes somewhere discreet and plug them when not in use. Possible I'm talking out of my aris.

mastiles_fanylion - Member

If you have a TVR why do you want to ride a bike?

Errr So if you're into biking you can't enjoy nice sports cars?

If you have a rear bumper,you could use a saris bones bike carrier,they do 2/3 bike racks.

Wouldn't the best way be bike in front of the front bumper, facing forward, attached by a tow rope to get the car to wherever you want to go? Or are tvr's better these days.....

Why not get a caterham with full cage ? then you just put roof rack on that all done ?

even better on roads than tvr + cheaper to run etc ( just not much fun on way home if you are knacked after all day ride in peaks etc ?????????????????????????????????)

Errr So if you're into biking you can't enjoy nice sports cars?

😯

half serious - rack inside the boot then remove the lid when you're off our biking.
TVR-ute like...

Original Poster.

I have a Chimaera and have never tried carrying a bike although the boot is certainly big enough to take the component parts.

Wheels would definately need to come off. Length of the forks may be an issue, although the boot is deep a long travel fork is questionable.
I can measure it if you are really interested.

Overall width of the boot is long enough to take the frame, again height could be an issue, so seatpost removed. The spare wheel sits in the boot but it's a space saver tucked in the right hand side, can be taken out for more space. Many people carry tyre repair / inflator in a pressurised container instead of the spare.

You will end up dismantling a lot of the bike but it could be done.

Re: Bike Rack. The boot / bumper construction is all rounded edges, so finding a fixing point would be difficult.

Drilling fixing holes would be difficult without damaging the paintwork or causing cracking in the fibreglass. The boot lid is very strong and a fibreglass specialist would advise you but I would never consider drilling holes in the boot lid.

Re: Towbar.
I have never seem one.

I seem to remember that this question has come up on the Pistonheads TVR Chimarea forum, you could try a search there or post the question.

I looked at this when I had my Chim. You could mount a rack on the boot but the only way is to drill and permanently fix, so not really an option. The ones that hook over the edge feel like they will just tear the fibreglass.

The boot is huge (very deep) and most people leave the spare wheel at home to make more room and take a can of tyre inflator fixie stuff.

Here is a picture of my Labrador in the boot 😀 He is not a small dog!

[img] [/img]

The spare wheel is a 15" rim, so gives you an idea of fitting a 26" wheel in.

You can get a bike in the boot but not the bike and the roof as well, well not without a serious squeeze.

Loads of room behind the seats for luggage though.

My TVR never missed a beat not once in 3 years of ownership. We had a new Golf as a 2nd car and it broke down 3 times. Servicing is expensive and every 6k or year but I used to take mine to a guy just outside of Guildford who was a touch cheaper.

Buy one, do it, do it!!

oh. looking at Tiger's pic made me think. the newer Chim's had the spare located centrally like his - the older ones had the spare located at one end of the boot - tucked inside the wing in effect, and at 90 degrees wrt to Tiger's. the targa was probably harder to get in and out with the older configuration, but gave more use-able boot space fore and aft.
oh - and second the suggestion to get yourself over to pistonheads for more sensible answers than 'tvrs break down all the time' 🙄
be aware though, that if you needed tipping over the edge into ownership, that going on there will do it for you... 😆

See everyone, its not such a silly idea after all!!!!

🙂

I could always try to fit the bike frames into the boot and strap wheels to a boot rack. Then see how much gear will fit around the bike frames and put soft luggage behind the seats.

Otherwise I'm thinking of getting a spare bootlid from a breakers, and construct a rack mount into that. You do see them with boot racks carrying luggage now and then and they seem pretty strong.

Servicing of the TVR will not be an issue, I am a competent mechanic with a well equipped workshop at my disposal.

Not the same car, but similar sort of issues, a mate had a plastic cobra, couldn't mount of the boot, or fit tow bar, but with wheels off, and seat post out, it went behind the seats OK. He eventually had a custom bag made to fit the space.

littlelordfauntleroy - Member

Why not get a caterham with full cage ? then you just put roof rack on that all done ?

or even this, someone's off here:
[IMG] [/IMG]

Or this

[url= http://twitpic.com/ktfga ]Ferrari at Dales Bike Centre[/url]

Tiger's car is a post facelift model with improved boot hinges that open wider.

The facelift was around 98 / 99 but there was no distinct cut off point so every car is a bit different.

The boot lid is easily detached so if you go for your spare boot idea all you need to do is find one with the same fixing points, there were at least three variations of hinge arrangements that I know about so it would be a matter of physically checking interchangeability.

I've tried to live with an MG midget, I'm giving up and buying a second car, just too much of a ball ache over the winter and whenever I need to move anything.

Anyone got a 9/10 year old toyota corrola or ford focus for sale?

my missus took one for a test drive 4 year - that was fatal - she's been after one ever since.

The man is correct it was a 99 on 'T' with buttons under the wing mirrors, different lights at the back, different front grill, new dash and a 4.5L engine.

Think they changed in 96 though

Just one more to tempt you, do it buy one!

[img] [/img]

BTW everyone, I do have access to an 06 Golf too.

I'd much rather drive the Chim the hour and a half along superb roads to the lakes!

[img] ?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1266317797&Signature=%2B%2BDpwsH%2BGnLDAjiw5r%2FxCHc3RLM%3D[/img]

That is more like it 🙂

Maybe you need this? Uses a Ritchey Breakaway frame
[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Maybe you need this? Uses a Ritchey Breakaway frame

But it would still be cheaper to buy a £200 wreck to carry your bikes in.....

PeterPoddy - Member
But it would still be cheaper to buy a £200 wreck to carry your bikes in.....

Not that I should speak. My favourite car is my red bike shed - an old bomb Espace bought purely for bike transport. I often wonder why didn't I get one sooner.

Are "was" and "was8v" the same person ?

you could always buy a sc tranny!

DT78

Davetrave - is that your elise? Any chance of some closeups of the fork mounts? Does it work for 20 boltthru and QR?

Fraid not, those pics are links to the Elise-Parts website and are the S1 and S2 racks they do. I don't bother with a luggage rack because I'd have to drill the bodywork (I have an S2). Seen it done on one or two S1s and there was a guy who rode regularly at Thetford when I lived down that way who had a rack on his S1 - he'd got it done buy one of the guys on MLOC (Midlands Lotus Owners' Club) forum who made them to order. You could try googling it or going to the MLOC forum and seraching...

[url= http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/index.php?act=home ]MLOC forum[/url]