anyone haul bikes with small/sporty cars?

MtnBikerChk · May 13, 2005

IAB used to drive an Integra. I bought him a Yakima system for the roof. The only thing was you had to put the bike trays on backwards otherwise you couldn't open the hatch. But it was no problem and it carried 2 bikes fine.

edit: putting bikes in the back of an integra would have been a major PITA!

I Are Baboon · May 13, 2005

Before I bought my Subie Outback, I lugged our bikes around with a two door Acura Integra. I had a roof rack with the bike trays installed backwards (so I could open the hatchback all the way). I could only fit two bikes on top of that car though.

Edit: I see MBC beat me to the punch...

stevew · May 13, 2005

I had a GTI. Roof rack. This is smaller than a GTI or a Scion.

Acadian · May 13, 2005

hitch...

MTB_Rob_NC · May 13, 2005

What is your apprehension about a hitch? You could get the 2" receiver version, it would be small and non intrusive, with plenty of rack options.

COmtbiker12 · May 13, 2005

Acadian said:
hitch...

Damn Luc you have the best of both worlds. :thumb:

tonyhawk · May 13, 2005

I've got a roof rack on my Solara, but I'm thinking of getting a hitch installed so I can put a hitch rack instead. My only worry about the hitch rack is that people in CT tailgate a lot (I got hit twice last month).

MtnBikerChk · May 13, 2005

tonyhawk said:
I've got a roof rack on my Solara, but I'm thinking of getting a hitch installed so I can put a hitch rack instead. My only worry about the hitch rack is that people in CT tailgate a lot (I got hit twice last month).

TWICE???

Andy_B · May 13, 2005

I had a Jetta... and just took off my front wheel. I could get both my DH ,4X and all my gear in the back with out a problem.

tonyhawk · May 13, 2005

MtnBikerChk said:
TWICE???

Yup - twice.

People in West Hartford seem to think they can just push you out of the way. "My car is bigger than yours, and I'm more important, so get out of my important way!"

No damage, no injuries, but I called the cops and made the important people wait for the police report. So much for getting there faster...

MtnBikerChk · May 13, 2005

tonyhawk said:
Yup - twice.

People in West Hartford seem to think they can just push you out of the way. "My car is bigger than yours, and I'm more important, so get out of my important way!"

No damage, no injuries, but I called the cops and made the important people wait for the police report. So much for getting there faster...

that's crazy!

hooples3 · May 13, 2005

I travel a lot with my bike and the only way I ever felt secure with them on a small car is on the roof with a good system. I have had those truck racks and I hate how they move around. and piutting it in the car is just too much of a hassle

Lexx D · May 13, 2005

jacksonpt said:
Anyone have a small sporty car to haul you bikes with? How's it work? Do you use a rack/carrier, or throw it in the back?

I test drove a Scion tC yesterday and was surprised at how much car there was for $18k. I doubt I'd ever put a hitch on a car like that, and I'm not real keen on the idea of buying a full roof rack for it. There's more than enough room to put my bike in the back if the rear seats are folded down... just might get to be a nussiance after a while.

Sweet car isn't it. $16,515 is the base price on a stick and $17,315 with an automatic(even at those prices the cars are loaded.. Basically if the TC had a toyota badge instead of a scion badge it would sticker at $19-20k. Same 4cyl. as the camry/solara in a much more fun package.

Freak · May 13, 2005

I'm with Luc on this one!

We have a Mazda 3 hatchback, and they normally only put a 1 1/4" receiver on it, but we went and paid a little more to get a custom 2" receiver on it so we can put a 2" sportworks T2 on it. It works great, and it's quick to load bikes!!!

Here is a pic of our Mazda without the rack.

Lexx D · May 13, 2005

Freak said:
I'm with Luc on this one!

We have a Mazda 3 hatchback, and they normally only put a 1 1/4" receiver on it, but we went and paid a little more to get a custom 2" receiver on it so we can put a 2" sportworks T2 on it.

Where did you get a custom 2" rack.

Lennox · May 13, 2005

Honda Civic had a 1 1/4" Hidden Hitch. Worked great!

hitch mount rack or trailer (i just trailer the bikes now)

Barbaton · May 13, 2005

I just Thule'd the roof of the GF's '95 cavalier 2-dr. Using the new Criterium rack that you can mount dead center and the trunk still opens fine. Also have the 4pr ski mount though I could probably take those off for the summer now.

The big lesson I learned is that I was able to buy all of the parts I needed new with the exception of the short-roof adapter and the bike rack on EBay. Saved me about 40% of the cost of buying it all retail and it's all new stuff.

tonyhawk · May 13, 2005

jacksonpt said:
There's more than enough room to put my bike in the back if the rear seats are folded down... just might get to be a nussiance after a while.

How much disassembly of the bike do you think would be required to fit it inside?

N8 v2.0 · May 13, 2005

My wife has a 2005 Toy Celica and she can fold her back seats flat and put her Trek Fuel inside with only the front wheel off. The Scion is basically the Celica if I am not mistaken.

There is an amazing amount of room in the Celica's hatch... my wife uses hers like a pick-up truck. One day she had a willow tree, several bags of potting soil and a dozen plants in there.

Lexx D · May 13, 2005

jacksonpt said:
remove both wheels

With the seats folded down you can do it with only taking the front off.

Atomic Dog · May 13, 2005

I used to drive a pontiac fiero. (Which is pretty funny since I'm 6'6" tall

) The only rack I could find to fit it was a Thule rooftop rack. Even that barely fit because the roof is so short on those. The bike was just about bigger than the car.

Acadian · May 13, 2005

Freak said:
I'm with Luc on this one!

We have a Mazda 3 hatchback, and they normally only put a 1 1/4" receiver on it, but we went and paid a little more to get a custom 2" receiver on it so we can put a 2" sportworks T2 on it. It works great, and it's quick to load bikes!!!

Here is a pic of our Mazda without the rack.

mine has a 1 and 1/4 hitch tho...but if I had to do it all over again, I would get a 2" since I only use it to haul bikes.

But all it all the 1 and 1/4 T2 bike rack is more than plenty for what I use it for.

N8 v2.0 · May 13, 2005

jacksonpt said:
Yea, I was really surprised. And there's good support for the tC from TRD. That little car must fly with the TRD s/c! And I really like that the torque is useable... max torque is a 4k RPMs. I don't need to be able to go 150mph, but I would like to go from 20-50 in a hurry.

I've heard that the T3 is the Celica replacement. Don't know if it is true or not, but my wife's Celi hauls ass and sips gas.

Freak · May 13, 2005

Lexx D said:
Where did you get a custom 2" rack.

Went to a welding shop and had them put on a 2" receiver.

Nick · May 13, 2005

I drive an A4. With both rear seats down I can easily fit either of my bikes, my gear bag, a small cooler (mmmm, post-ride beers) and have ample room left for whatever. Chameleon = front wheel off, Turner = both wheels off.

Last year's Summer trip my car carried: my RFX, two forks, 5 wheels, toolbox, workstand, suitcase, gearbag, camera bag, collapsable chair and a cooler, plus a big bag of misc. stuff for over 3K miles in all.

I do like knowing that my bike and gear is as secure as possible being locked inside of my car before/after the ride. If I went with a rack I would much prefer a hitch rack vs. roof.

flydi007 · May 13, 2005

I've got 2 really old yakima fork mounts as well as an anklebiter II. the problem is none of my bikes fit in the anklebiter anymore, and i can't put the DH bike int he fork mounts since it is a 20mm axle. is there any adaptor or something that i can get so that i don't have to replace the entire trays?

golgiaparatus · May 13, 2005

Trunk with back seats folded down. I can fit a large bike and a small bike in there with wheels and seatposts removed.

I really do miss having a hitchrack with forkmounts on my Honda Passport. Those were the days

slowSSer · May 13, 2005

proof that its possible to get 4 bikes on top of a WRX. took some finagling, a shoe horn, and some grease, but it all works.

normal sitch: pop down back seats, take off front wheel, throw in back. works with all the bikes, even the 29er.

sanjuro · May 13, 2005

I have a 1 1/4 hitch and a Sportworks on my Honda Accord Coupe. I drive exactly the same whether I have a bike on the back or not, which is stupid fast.

I rarely get tailgated because of my rack. Up or down, it gives me an extra 5 feet of rear space (I also lived in Hartford). Also I have no front plate and I have accidentally run through a few "FastPass" toll booths without receiving a ticket because the rack has blocked my rear plate.

BSEVEER · May 13, 2005

I used to put 2 dh bikes and two sets of gear/bags in my 91 Civic hatch and in my friends 94 Z28 with no problems at all, it did all have to go in a certain order though. The tc is a great package, hard to beat for the money.

BillT · May 13, 2005

Acadian said:
hitch...

I'll see your blue WRX wagon with hitch rack and raise you with silver one with a roof rack:

Toshi · May 13, 2005

flydi007 said:
I've got 2 really old yakima fork mounts as well as an anklebiter II. the problem is none of my bikes fit in the anklebiter anymore, and i can't put the DH bike int he fork mounts since it is a 20mm axle. is there any adaptor or something that i can get so that i don't have to replace the entire trays?

you're looking for a product called the "Fork Up". your LBS should have it.

Serial Midget · May 13, 2005

I normally drive a Ford F-150 and just throw the bike in back and bungee cord it to the Thule lift system I have for my kayak.

However - since I went back to work and now commute 100 miles a day I bought a 2005 Chevy Aveo hatchback which is the replacement for the Geo. Having put 5500 miles on it in 3 months I am really digging the almost 40MPG I get on the highway; my truck gets 14 to 16, has 2 18 gallon tanks and costs over $80.00 to fill with gas. The only thing that is stopping me from selling the truck and going econobox fulltime is the tiny tires - I worry that they will not handle the potholes you find on forest service roads. That and my kayak is 19 feet long... :blah:

Still - I could get the top of the line Thule with two bike mounts on the side and kayak pads in the middle - the money I'd save on gas would make the payback pretty quick.

mack · May 13, 2005

tonyhawk said:
I've got a roof rack on my Solara, but I'm thinking of getting a hitch installed so I can put a hitch rack instead. My only worry about the hitch rack is that people in CT tailgate a lot (I got hit twice last month).

Damn dude, you think people in Ct tailgate allot! Try driving through new york, or even worse, new jersey. :stosh:

anyone haul bikes with small/sporty cars?

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