Who is transporting their bike in the back of a station wagon, bike laying on its side?

M

MinnBobber

Active Member
If your bike is on its side, do you use any type of cushion under it?
I place a towel under left handle bar and a rubber mat under the pedal which is heavy into the floor carpet otherwise.

How do you secure it?

Mine rests on the non drive side, left side down.

I secure with two long tie downs
 
I’ve only suffered the indignity of putting my bicycle in a vehicle a few times, but I do it as you describe, non drive side, contact points are one pedal, the side of the saddle, and one side of the bars. a thick towel is nice.
 
Latitude said:
My Trek lays on its side, front wheel removed, in the back of the Volvo C30.
Click to expand...
I even do not need to remove the front wheel for transporting my Vado 6.0 or Vado SL inside my Renault Megane. I just turn the handlebars, and the front wheel hides inside my car (it is vertical, at an angle).
 
I used to do that, when I had a running station wagon and a 50 lb MTB. I took the bike to group rides 30-50 miles away a few times. Seymour Hope and Parke county IN specifically. No cushion, the ranch wagon had been used to transport lumber and the vinyl coating of seat backs & spare tire cover were scarred already.
I transported my 94 lb cargo bike last week in the back of a toyota camry. It was a 94 degree day, and my motor quit out in the hills, so I called for help. I thought maybe the controller had burned a transistor. I had to take off the panniers, the aluminum rack over the child seat shelf, the aluminum foot shelves: to stuff the rear of bike in the trunk. Then nylon straps to hold the front in under the tied down trunk lid.
Fortunately the problem was a wire pulled loose by my pants leg rubbing it. If I had been only age 55 or carrying reading glasses, I probably would have seen it. Then again my face was so sweaty reading glasses would have been fogged over by drops. Sweat doesn't drip in the wind of riding, but accumulated immediately after I stopped. I bent a flag terminal tighter and installed a plastic shield over wires to keep out pants leg, no more problem
 
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I’ve done this in a minivan and my Mazda 3 hatchback. I take fold a row of seats down. Take the front tire off and set it aside. I get the bike in, diagonally (standing in the van and flat on the ground in the Mazda) and use the seatbelt straps. I’ll pull them all the way out and put the around the handlebars, seatpost, fork, crank arms, anything that the belts would reach. After I get the seatbelts around, I’ll relax the tension. The seatbelt straps will lock in place. Now the bike won’t go anywhere so, no broken windows to be concerned about. :)

The tricky part is getting the straps back off the bike, since they are locked in position. I’ll finagle the bike to loosen tension on one side, then get the other side free.

I always use the seatbelt straps as anchors when carrying awkward loads. They come in very handy.
 
My car is a junk now (I use it occasionally only) but it is a good storage space for my Vado 6.0 :)

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When the car was in a better shape, I could even transport two e-bikes inside but that required removing front wheels and pedals from both of them. I was separating them with a large sheet of cardboard.
 
If I'm carrying it in my wagon I put the passenger seats down take the front wheel off to shorten it and put it back wheel first. Lay it down on the non drive side and then place the front wheel on top of the frame. In my van that I took all the back seats out of and gave to a junkyard I just stuff it in there up right, lean it at an angle against the car side and take off. I don't find that having to do a bunch of fluffing prior to transport is necessary I guess. Haven't ever had any issues with scratches, dings or dents. Carrying more than one bike in my van I do take more care but rarely do so. When I used to just have a pick up I would make a way to clamp the fork down with the bike upright.
 
Somewhat off topic, but I decided to keep my 1 UP hitch on my car full time so in case I break down or get a flat, my GF can come get me and I don't have to use AAA. The great part is she agreed. Simple pleasures...
 
Ebike motors, especially older Shimano e8000s like I have on my 2018 Commencal, should never be laid on their sides when freshly warm from a ride.

Grease moves freely to places it ought'nt :(
 
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