[lostincosmos]

So, the wife and I are looking to buy a car we can put both our bikes inside - roof rack no longer an option with our garage in our apartment building (no clearence) and the hitch option we've been through and the damage to my old bike (paint rubbed clean off by her bike pedal - poor old spesh cro-mo!) makes us wary to try that again.

so, i've seen all the threads around about what cars allow this and one of them is the RDX, one of our options.

issue - my bike (a 54 Orbea Onix) doesn't fit upright - the seat height gets us. argh!!!!

the option would be to either keep hex-wrenches around for lowering/removing the seatpost or to go find a quick-release collar option.

so, is a quick-release a real option here? i've had them on bikes in the past, but i've not ridden them 50-100 miles a week either....

anyone know of, see any issues using this option?

 

[Lelandjt]

No problems with a QR, just a little extra weight. Mark your seatpost so you can quickly get it to the right height.

 

[RJP Diver]

If it were me, I'd throw a hex wrench in my seat bag. My bike goes in the trunk of my Audi (rear seat down, front wheel removed) and barely fits. I thought I might have needed to lower seat, and would have gone the hex wrench route if that had been the case.

 

[Argentius]

Most people I know in this situation just carry the hex wrench, but, sure, QR's work.

You're talking a thin carbon frame here, right? I'd be inclined to buy an appropriate torque key / wrench...

 

[wim]

How about another car? What gets you is the car's relatively large amount of ground clearance, which means a high floor. Point being, a similar car with a little less ground clearance might just take your bikes without having to screw around with saddle height every time you go somewhere.

But if the RDX it is: I agree with the Allen wrench suggestions. The #1 problem with QR seat post clamps is that it's very easy to seriously over-tighten them.

 

[lostincosmos]

i hadn't even thought of the torque key idea if i stuck with the hex-wrench option - thanks for mentioning that! the seat tube is carbon, yes, so there'd be worry about crunching too hard (particularly since i don't have the "feel" for it at this point). i do use an aluminum seat post so i don't have to worry about squashing that, at least.....

i appreciate everyone's help (and anyone who comments after this)!

as a second concern, need i worry about making sure i have one fo the carbon pastes on hand for the seat post, or are those a gimmick?

 

[lostincosmos]

. Point being, a similar car with a little less ground clearance might just take your bikes without having to screw around with saddle height every time you go somewhere.

i agree - and we've batted around many of the options here, from all the car makers. seems that, for us, the RDX is a good mix of the things we want - bikes inside, ability to put bikes and some luggage inside for tahoe/napa/whatever trips and when family visits a car to haul people around in - plus, of course, we just like the RDX.

the Element, of course, would be ideal in a practical sense, but neither of us wants to drive one the Fit holds two bikes, amazingly, and is also on our shortlist as a completely different option. and finally, we have the CRV option, which isn't bad and may actually have the cargo height needed (haven't gone to the dealer to test it but saw a measurement that looked promising), but if we're going compact SUV, we'd rather have the RDX if we can

we've made no decision that's final at the moment, we're just leaning that way....

 

[Argentius]

Assembly compound

Carbon paste / assembly compound is not a gimmick, it really helps -- but mostly it is great for keeping carbon posts in frames without excessive torque.

Most people find them not particularly necessary on aluminum posts, and just use grease. YMMV.

 

[RCA]

While on the Pinellas Trail last March

We stopped at the Ice Cream place and put our bikes with about 40 others . There was a commotion near a tree where a couple of 60ish people riding Treks came back to find their seatpost and seats gone . Don't know ,when .how or why but I decided to stick with the hex key as they had changed to the quick release for ease of getting in the back of their van. I put a hex key in each cupholder in the back seats

 

[XR4Ti]

So, the wife and I are looking to buy a car we can put both our bikes inside - roof rack no longer an option with our garage in our apartment building (no clearence) and the hitch option we've been through and the damage to my old bike (paint rubbed clean off by her bike pedal - poor old spesh cro-mo!) makes us wary to try that again.

I prefer a hitch-mount that supports the wheels, but if you are using the other clamp or rubber strap style where the bikes are closer together, buy a pool noodle, slit it lengthwise and then cut into 6-10" sections and just slide over the chainstay, front fork, etc. where the two bikes might hit each other.

 

[FreeRojo]

I would say hex guy (btw doesn't everyone carry a multi tool?). My brother stopped once to go into a store. He came out and hpped back on his bike, but something felt different and he couldn't figure it out right away. Turned out someone stole his seat (quick release) and replaced it with their own.

 

[Mel Erickson]

So, the wife and I are looking to buy a car we can put both our bikes inside - roof rack no longer an option with our garage in our apartment building (no clearence) and the hitch option we've been through and the damage to my old bike (paint rubbed clean off by her bike pedal - poor old spesh cro-mo!) makes us wary to try that again.

so, i've seen all the threads around about what cars allow this and one of them is the RDX, one of our options.

issue - my bike (a 54 Orbea Onix) doesn't fit upright - the seat height gets us. argh!!!!

the option would be to either keep hex-wrenches around for lowering/removing the seatpost or to go find a quick-release collar option.

so, is a quick-release a real option here? i've had them on bikes in the past, but i've not ridden them 50-100 miles a week either....

anyone know of, see any issues using this option?

I'd also throw the Subaru Forester into the mix. There's also plenty of hitch rack options that either fix the frame by the front fork dropouts or both wheels with nothing touching the frame at all.

 

[lostincosmos]

I prefer a hitch-mount that supports the wheels...

agreed, and were we to do that hitch option again that's exactly what we'd do to avoid the rubbage. the reason we don't totally love the hitch idea, though, is our cars themselves. my car (the one we'd replace with an RDX/something) currently is an s2000 - no hitch going on there! my wife's car is an RSX, and it will fit a hidden-hitch. but there are nags there - adding 3+ feet to the car length when bikes are on, taking the hitch on/off and storing it (when she rides alone, her bike fits inside the car, so no need), getting in/out of the hatch with the hitch on with bags/groceries/her work stuff, bikes are still outside and unattended if we ride with the group and decide to do lunch afterward. again, these aren't killer issues, but small plusses and minuses we're pondering

i appreciate your suggestion!

I would say hex guy (btw doesn't everyone carry a multi tool?). My brother stopped once to go into a store. He came out and hpped back on his bike, but something felt different and he couldn't figure it out right away. Turned out someone stole his seat (quick release) and replaced it with their own.

i do carry a multi-tool, yeah...i shouldn't have said "getting" in my original post, i spose. though i'd prally get some anyway since the multi-tool is pretty tiny
and i totally agree on the QR issue about people walking off with the seat and post. would suck to suddenly be nervous about that when we stop at the bakery, either during or after the ride

thanks!

 

[wim]

for us, the RDX is a good mix of the things we want - bikes inside, ability to put bikes and some luggage inside for tahoe/napa/whatever trips and when family visits a car to haul people around in - plus, of course, we just like the RDX.

Makes sense. You have to set priorities and sort of figure where cycling fits into that list.

Last Sunday I went to a track race and you can't help but look at the vehicles people park on the infield. As always, the most serious racers (50+ races a year) are all in minivans because those things offer huge amounts of upright bike storage, storage for a shade tent and room to take a nap / change clothes. One super-serious racer who travels all over the East coast pulled up in a Euro RV (VW Rialta), which, I must say, is very nice to relax in after the race. Little ol me, who does one or two races a year, came in my Mazda 6 with the rear seats folded down and my track bike laying on its side. I like my Mazda 6 and cycling is no longer a huge thing with me, so there you are.

 

[frdfandc]

When transporting bikes on the back of a car, use an old sock or 2 to put over the pedals. Keeps them from banging around.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Alternate approach

So, the wife and I are looking to buy a car we can put both our bikes inside - roof rack no longer an option with our garage in our apartment building (no clearence) and the hitch option we've been through and the damage to my old bike (paint rubbed clean off by her bike pedal - poor old spesh cro-mo!) makes us wary to try that again.

so, i've seen all the threads around about what cars allow this and one of them is the RDX, one of our options.

issue - my bike (a 54 Orbea Onix) doesn't fit upright - the seat height gets us. argh!!!!

the option would be to either keep hex-wrenches around for lowering/removing the seatpost or to go find a quick-release collar option.

so, is a quick-release a real option here? i've had them on bikes in the past, but i've not ridden them 50-100 miles a week either....

anyone know of, see any issues using this option?

We just lay the bikes on their sides, with something like a furniture mover's blanket between them. No fuss or muss, and no worries about removing seat posts or anything else. Seems like by far the easiest solution, and it opens up a much wider range of car options (ours is an Outback).

 

[wim]

We just lay the bikes on their sides, with something like a furniture mover's blanket between them. No fuss or muss, and no worries about removing seat posts or anything else. Seems like by far the easiest solution, and it opens up a much wider range of car options (ours is an Outback).

Well, that may work for you (and me). But for some reason that escapes me (but I'm sure is perfectly valid), "keeping the bike upright" is extremely important to many people.

 

[Dereck]

After several years hauling our bikes around on a roof rack atop my 2000 VW Passat wagon - if I was going solo, could toss a single bike into the back of it - we had this feeling that life with a condo garage vice our own driveway was coming up on us.

Car selection was relatively easy - look around store parking lots etc to get an idea of what would accomodate two bikes, make a short list, take bike to dealership.

Toyota RAV4 met this unusual demand with relative ease. We're now on our second. While falling over laughing at suggestions of Toyotas and their ills is fashionable, our first RAV never so much as burped over a three year lease, and #2 seems just as boring in that respect. We could have spent more on a Lexus Toyota tart-up, but why?

After a fair bit of driving on roads, both UK and US, I have observed that all cars travel at the speed of the traffic jam they are inevitably sitting in, so see little point in spending more to achieve that aim. Also, US has no corners to speak of, so the cruddy top-heavy understeer riddled handling of a SUV is no great handicap.

Not that the RAV is a SUV - more of a SUW (sport ute wannabe) - it's a jacked up Toyota wagon really.

We thought about a hitch rack, then thought about Bubba the Truck or some teen brat yapping on a cell phone and not noticing we'd stopped in front of them... Not fussed on the idea of removing seat posts either. Bolts and clamps have a finite life and leaving them done up when set should make the most of them. Constantly slacking and re-tightening could provoke their eventual packing up - and Sod's Law says that will happen at the end of a long drive TO a ride

Hope that helps

Dereck

 

[lostincosmos]

Well, that may work for you (and me). But for some reason that escapes me (but I'm sure is perfectly valid), "keeping the bike upright" is extremely important to many people.

for us, the "upright" priority is two-fold -
1) upright allows more space to put in other bags/luggage for roads trips and such. two bikes stacked on their sides takes up all the space
2) two bikes stacked on top of each other has more risk of damage from them being on top of each other i've known some very particular bike people with really pricey bikes that stack them like this with a moving blanket and have no issues at all. great. i also know one guy who got some pretty good scratches in his very nice paint/clear coat from the arrangement. so it prally works more often than not, i admit. but upright, in fork mounts means no issue for sure

 

[lostincosmos]

Toyota RAV4 met this unusual demand with relative ease...
Dereck

the RAV4 is on our list as well, and from the measurements we've seen for the cargo space it seemed like it would work, so it's good to talk to someone who's done it!
we'll certainly hit a toyota dealer as well. can i ask the size of the bikes you're putting inside? mine's a 54cm....

it may well be that a RAV4 or a CRV is the most practical way to go in the end....too bad neither will be as fun to drive as the RDX