car to transport bikes inside

P

Pat

New Member
So my current ride (jeep) is not so great when it comes to transporting the bikes and gear. From where I live getting to six mile or CR is about 35 minutes one way. So I am looking for a newer-ish car/wagon that I can transport the bikes with. I most want the option to have the bikes inside the car for longer trips. Plus if I could take the front wheel off and stand it up inside the car. I am looking at the Volvo V70 or the Passat wagon. Do you have any ideas what to look for?
Thanks,
Patrick
 
N

notwist

Member
I like my Outback wagon but it's not spacious enough to place the bikes inside upright. I think the Honda Element would be a good option.
 
ecsnsmb

ecsnsmb

Active Member
I had a Volvo 850 Wagon and it rocked. Besides being a tank and just chugging through miles, I could fit a ton of crap/bikes inside. At one point we had three bikes, three people and a weeks worth of camping stuff/food inside. It was loaded to the brim, but in typical Volvo fashion, plowed on. The V70 is a great car too. I am a big fan of the V70 R's. '06-ish versions are 300+hp, AWD, 6Spd. Even the older models are AWD, Turbo, and super fun. I currently have an '06 V50 T5 AWD 6SP and absolutely love it. Not as much boot room as the 850, but I have racks on the top for that now. Worth the investment. Good luck with your search. Also check out the Car&Bike forum over on MTBR. Lots of these types of posts over there.
 
DanBrodeen

DanBrodeen

Well-Known Member
I'm very happy with my 2009 Outback. Prior to the OB I had a V70 AWD and an 850 wagon. Both were great until the miles racked up. Subaru much cheaper to fix than Volvo. V70 was sweet but came at a price.
 
V

vlkslvr

Active Member
Pat said:
So my current ride (jeep) is not so great when it comes to transporting the bikes and gear. From where I live getting to six mile or CR is about 35 minutes one way. So I am looking for a newer-ish car/wagon that I can transport the bikes with. I most want the option to have the bikes inside the car for longer trips. Plus if I could take the front wheel off and stand it up inside the car. I am looking at the Volvo V70 or the Passat wagon. Do you have any ideas what to look for?
Thanks,
Patrick
Click to expand...

Passat wagon is a good car but I don't see you comfortably getting bikes inside without taking wheels/seat off and even then it's going to be a pain.

Be wary of the Newer Volvo's with automatics. My friends father has a cross country wagon (I think it's a v70?) and it's had lots of tranmission and other problems. I know he wishes he never gave up his 850 wagon for it.


I have a cherokee and throwing a bike in the back is possible but not easy. It's front wheel off, half the seat folded down type affair. Manageable but not something I like to do unless necessary.



For what you want I almost think you need to go box on wheels. IE Scion XB, Nissan Cube etc.
They aren't the prettiest of vehicles but they would suit your needs just fine.
 
MikeyonaBikey

MikeyonaBikey

Member
Just rock it old School the amish way..

Lancaster_County_Amish_03%20Day%203_large.jpg


Besides they wont even know their are bikes in the back of that buggy, Hey its boxy, sleek and i even heard its fashionable..,you will have to add more horses to up the horsepower... straight up pimp it out...:D

Jebidiah says rock it!..

amish-paradise.jpg
 
mattybfat

mattybfat

The Opinion Police
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Element seems to be the favorite with the ability to stack up to 4 29ers standing and having complete rubber flooring that can be hosed out. With that said Honda has decided to pull the plug on this model to the dismay of all who own. So 2012 is end of the element though I would try to score one if you can find it. I have a ridgeline and very happy with this and have put up rear seats and rolled 2 29ers without wheel removal. Having a large trunk in the bed is also great for putting your gear in.
 
S

Spylab

New Member
pearl said:
7c99c7ce.jpg


1 29er, 1 26 inch bike, all race gear, in the back of a 2008 Honda Fit.
Click to expand...


This is funny, because I was just scrolling down to comment on how spacious the Fit is inside. First time my buddy showed up to ride with his bike inside I was pretty impressed.

In the same vein, I have heard that you can pull a bike right into a Honda Element without even needing to remove a wheel...
 
RockySlayer

RockySlayer

Member
Pat,

I had the same idea a year ago and after a bit of research and actually going to the dealerships with a tape measure, I ended up finding a 2006 Acura MDX that fit my criteria. I looked into the newer model MDX (2007 and newer) but they are shorter and wider (not a good enough vertical dimension for me.) I am able to fit upto 3 bikes standing up (3 - 26" FS bikes with the front wheel off and taking off the seats of the larger-framed bikes) and three people into the SUV. A friend and I came up with a quick in-car bike rack that sits in the crevice of a storage door and 3rd row seat. It holds up the bikes by the forks and I have bungee cords to keep them from swaying. After all of that, the only downfall is, there is little space left over for luggage. Maybe a few overnight bags, hydration packs, and smaller stuff that you can shove into the little space left over.

I used to have pictures of the bikes in there but they accidentally got erased on my old phone.

Other SUV's I thought would fit the criteria mesurements were Nissan Pathfinder and Xterra ('07 and newer), Honda Pilot, and Toyota 4-Runner and FJ Cruiser. I did think about a Honda Element but I wanted an SUV with 4 wheel drive.

I hope this helps your search.
 
mandi

mandi

Well-Known Member
Nice to read this because I'll be in the same boat in 10 months (lease is up.) I've been looking at the Element too... tons of room, rubber everything, not too big...

...HOWEVER

Gas prices just keep going up. The Element gets about 20mpg which could add up to a lot of money once race season & summer starts. I've started looking into the Honda Fit seeing that it gets 30+mpg (which is about what I'm getting now with my Mini Cooper S.)
I've seen what it could hold, and it's almost like an SUV when the rear seats fold down.

I'm interested to see what other vehicles other people post up. Thanks for starting this thread!
 
Robin

Robin

Well-Known Member
mandi said:
Nice to read this because I'll be in the same boat in 10 months (lease is up.) I've been looking at the Element too... tons of room, rubber everything, not too big...

...HOWEVER

Gas prices just keep going up. The Element gets about 20mpg which could add up to a lot of money once race season & summer starts. I've started looking into the Honda Fit seeing that it gets 30+mpg (which is about what I'm getting now with my Mini Cooper S.)
I've seen what it could hold, and it's almost like an SUV when the rear seats fold down.

I'm interested to see what other vehicles other people post up. Thanks for starting this thread!
Click to expand...

To go on what Mandi and Pearl have said, I love the Fit - I was impressed at how much they were able to "fit" in their car...and as a passenger, I thought it was roomy in the back too.

I have a 2006 CR-V - and my commute/price of gas is killing me...I would totally get a Fit if/when the time comes.
 
Shaggz

Shaggz

A strong 7
My FIL has a Prius, and I have been been able to fit a 26 FS leaving the wheels on and lowering the seat. Probably similar MPG to the fit.

mandi said:
...HOWEVER

Gas prices just keep going up. The Element gets about 20mpg which could add up to a lot of money once race season & summer starts. I've started looking into the Honda Fit seeing that it gets 30+mpg (which is about what I'm getting now with my Mini Cooper S.)
I've seen what it could hold, and it's almost like an SUV when the rear seats fold down.

I'm interested to see what other vehicles other people post up. Thanks for starting this thread!
Click to expand...
 
P

Pat

New Member
I have been looking at the Fit now for a little bit. Looks like you can fit a 29er inside and great gas mileage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom