Bike Transport

[Retired98]

We have qwned e bikes for about 18 months now, she has a Wisper 705t and I'm thinking of getting a Woosh Kreiger to replace my old Raleigh. We want to take our bikes with us on holidays now we are retired, or for weekends away or days out. our Fiesta b max is to small to get them inside with any ease, and neither of us like bike racks at all. So we are thinking of changing the car for something bigger, any suggestions on something which we can get the bikes in easy, I realise I would have to remove the front wheel, not keen on this but it seems to be the only way. Up to now I've looked locally and all I've seen is a old ford Galaxy. Have a healthy budget of about £ 22,000 inc the part ex. I also believe some manufactures sell inside bike racks for there cars, this appeals to us, but not much info available about them. we need something with rear seats for general use, picking family and grandchildren up, but they would be folded down for holidays. Any advice appreciated... Oh and to stop long discussions we do not want a external bike rack at all

Thanks

 

[Amoto65]

Skoda do inside bike racks for the Superb, Yeti, Fabia etc, we have one in our Skoda Roomster and put both our Juicy and Wisper bikes in...Steve W.

 

[Retired98]

Skoda do inside bike racks for the Superb, Yeti, Fabia etc, we have one in our Skoda Roomster and put both our Juicy and Wisper bikes in...Steve W.

I will have a look at the Yeti, first Skoda we had was a Fabia, nice reliable car, although we really fancy something with plenty of room. Will get down to Skoda dealers, and see if I can get more info re the internal bike racks. Thanks for help.

 

[Laser Man]

Hadn't come across internal bike racks before - might get one for my Volvo V70.

I have a towball mounting rack, but the car is already too long for some parking spaces and with the rack sticking out at the back its like trying to park a bus!

 

[artspeck]

My answer to that same problem was to get a Citroen Berlingo Multispace XTR. Individual removable rear seats, £20 car tax, 60mpg and a great drive. Very pleased.

 

[Andy-Mat]

We have qwned e bikes for about 18 months now, she has a Wisper 705t and I'm thinking of getting a Woosh Kreiger to replace my old Raleigh. We want to take our bikes with us on holidays now we are retired, or for weekends away or days out. our Fiesta b max is to small to get them inside with any ease, and neither of us like bike racks at all. So we are thinking of changing the car for something bigger, any suggestions on something which we can get the bikes in easy, I realise I would have to remove the front wheel, not keen on this but it seems to be the only way. Up to now I've looked locally and all I've seen is a old ford Galaxy. Have a healthy budget of about £ 22,000 inc the part ex. I also believe some manufactures sell inside bike racks for there cars, this appeals to us, but not much info available about them. we need something with rear seats for general use, picking family and grandchildren up, but they would be folded down for holidays. Any advice appreciated... Oh and to stop long discussions we do not want a external bike rack at all

Thanks

I personally hate rook racks like you, bikes are too heavy for me nowadays.
I prefer the bike racks that go on a to hitch.....

bike racks on towhitch? - Google Search

regards
Andy

 

[Retired98]

Thanks but we don't want the bikes on any type of outside rack. I know could spend about £800 / £1000 on getting tow bar and ebike rack for the B.Max. have no idea were you got the roof rack thing from,I never mentioned them at all,we just want the bikes inside the vehicle. Thanks anyway.

 

[Benjahmin]

Been researching this myself from a similar position.
Nissan Elgrand, has folding seats and is big enough to take bikes complete - very bling vehicle. Also in the same category, Toyota Alhard and Noah, also Honda stepwagon, all imports but available at silly prices for the amount of car you're getting.
Apart from that something like a Renault trafic. Any of the Japenese mpv/people carrier will do the job.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Thanks but we don't want the bikes on any type of outside rack. I know could spend about £800 / £1000 on getting tow bar and ebike rack for the B.Max. have no idea were you got the roof rack thing from,I never mentioned them at all,we just want the bikes inside the vehicle. Thanks anyway.

You did not make that clear I feel, but no problem!
I once went on holiday with two bikes, not "E", with a proper roof rack for bikes! Travelling was good, but getting the bike on and off was bad.
Though using the same hardware on the top of a much, much lower small trailer, has proven to be really great, far easier to remove and replace and far less windage/extra fuel consumption.
But if you want them inside your car, then something like a camper van size would appear to be a better choice, I am myself a camper, but I prefer a caravan and a normal (but large) car!!.
I hope you find what you are looking for.
Andy

 

[Retired98]

You did not make that clear I feel, but no problem!
I once went on holiday with two bikes, not "E", with a proper roof rack for bikes! Travelling was good, but getting the bike on and off was bad.
Though using the same hardware on the top of a much, much lower small trailer, has proven to be really great, far easier to remove and replace and far less windage/extra fuel consumption.
But if you want them inside your car, then something like a camper van size would appear to be a better choice, I am myself a camper, but I prefer a caravan and a normal (but large) car!!.
I hope you find what you are looking for.
Andy

We had looked at a couple of VW transporter type camper vans, only issue was the beds blocked access to putting bikes in through rear doors, and at £25,000 ish ripping the beds out was a bit extravagant. Owned a coach built VW about 16 years back, but found with other half 6’ 3” and me slightly overweight it didn’t suite us, we sold it after 2 years. While I have lost weight, the former is still tall, we actually went to a big Motor Home Dealers near us two weeks back, that completely knocked buying one on the head. A VW Transporter with just one row of seats behind is a strong possibility, or Ford Transit, that is if we don’t find large car which suits. Something which is annoying is while they want to end the sale of Diesel engines, you try and find something like this with a petrol motor.

 

[Amoto65]

Skoda all the seats come out individually.

 

[Andy-Mat]

We had looked at a couple of VW transporter type camper vans, only issue was the beds blocked access to putting bikes in through rear doors, and at £25,000 ish ripping the beds out was a bit extravagant. Owned a coach built VW about 16 years back, but found with other half 6’ 3” and me slightly overweight it didn’t suite us, we sold it after 2 years. While I have lost weight, the former is still tall, we actually went to a big Motor Home Dealers near us two weeks back, that completely knocked buying one on the head. A VW Transporter with just one row of seats behind is a strong possibility, or Ford Transit, that is if we don’t find large car which suits. Something which is annoying is while they want to end the sale of Diesel engines, you try and find something like this with a petrol motor.

A Ford Transit sounds really good, one missing the back row seats (or simply store above your head in your garage!), as they are wide, and probably will not need the front wheel to be removed.
On a modern disk brake bike, removing and replacing the front wheel, with that quick release feature, is very simple. I would never be without that on any future bike....
Something like this:-

Steel QR Quick Release Cycle Skewer Bike Wheel Lever Suitable for Turbo Trainer | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Steel QR Quick Release Cycle Skewer Bike Wheel Lever Suitable for Turbo Trainer at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

But if you buy the Ford, you may never need to use it!
With regard to Diesel, I do a lot of miles and for me the diesel is the only choice, but if you take a petrol engine, generally they need more fuel per mile...A personal choice.
How about a large estate car, where the rear seats can either be removed easily, or at least pushed forwards.....Big Ford estates maybe?
And even if petrol, would be more economic usually than any diesel van....
I view a car without a tow hitch as being "crippled", as I tow very often trailers and caravans. It also protects the rear of the car from people who cannot park! Which is why I actually use the cheaper version, that is not dis-mountable! You only bang your leg on it once! Then you remember!!
Have a great weekend and let us know what you finally do.
Andy

 

[VillageIdiotDan]

Just a silly idea, but how about having a look at the Civic. A very usable car day to day but they have very innovative rear seats that fold back in such a way that with the front wheel popped off I feel you could wheel two bikes in through the rear doors. This saves too much lifting and gives you the boot to load (added extra of the bikes acting as a luggage guard I guess).

 

[Retired98]

We are off looking at cars / vans next week. A couple of days should be enough, only really look within a 20 mile radius of home. Probably stick to main dealers for the warranty. Plenty of time to see if I can get a shortlist of about 6 over the weekend. must remember to take lots of measurements of the bike with front wheel off to check how easy to fit in car. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Benjahmin]

I've found that you need entry clearance of 4ft to 4 ft 2 ins to get the bike in upright. This puts it into van/mpv region. Given the height of your partner a standard height van would soon become a pain - I'm 5'6" and a standard van has me bending my head forward from the shoulders, debilitating if not painful for the ageing body when repeated. This is why I've started looking at things like Trafic high top. Can have an extra row of seats fitted and still allow access without stooping.

 

[Retired98]

Don't quite understand this, we both cope ok getting in and out of our Ford Bmax, the idea is we get something bigger to make it easier to take the bikes and luggage on holidays, or for short breaks and days out. I know a van would be ideal to get bikes in without the hassle of removing the wheel. We have a short list of vans and larger cars like people carriers or SUV's were looking at next week. Taking our time as we need to get this right.

 

[LesTocknell]

We have two large sized bikes and they fit easily upright in a Citroen Berlingo.

 

[artspeck]

We have two large sized bikes and they fit easily upright in a Citroen Berlingo.

Same here, Citroen Berlingo Multispace. Brilliant!

 

[Retired98]

We have two large sized bikes and they fit easily upright in a Citroen Berlingo.

I will have a look at these as they seem to fit the criteria, although Citroen is a manufacture i have never really bothered with. We have a Citroen dealership a couple of miles away, I’ll try and go with an open mind to view what they have.

 

[Tarka]

Another vote for the later version Berlingo/Partner
I used to have an '08 VTR and could get two bikes in the back upright which left space for suitcases etc. Some versions have a locker over the rear door which reduces space but can be easily removed, and re-fitted when you sell it.

Odd looking vehicle I admit, but very practical and reliable.