Bike rack

[DoctorWibble]

Hello all
I'm in need of a cheap bike rack for a Golf Mk5. To collect my daughter from Manchester Uni. It's 200 motorway miles away so I'm a bit nervous of buying one that is unreliable or dangerous. But reluctant to cough serious dosh for something that'll be used possibly only three times. She'll be in her last year next year.
Any suggestions on what to get or on what to avoid? I've no experience of bike racks.
Cheers
Ken

 

[marcros]

can she leave it with a local friend- save you the hassle and expense?

 

[DoctorWibble]

can she leave it with a local friend- save you the hassle and expense?

That's a good thought and something we did manage last year but seems this year all are decamping for the summer.

 

[jpor4180]

Have you got a friend with one?

If you're in the Kent region I think I can lend you one

These kind of things are probably beg/borrow/steal jobbies if you aren't going to use them every summer holiday when everyone else will probably be using theirs

Otherwise I would go with Gumtree second hand

Hope something there was of use
Jacob

 

[Fitzroy]

If you have to end up buying one I can recommend a saris bones. Not the easiest to fit but bomb proof. Unless you have a tow bar, in which case get one that mounts to it.

F.

 

[petermillard]

I bought one of these to take my son to uni (admittedly only ~80 miles) and it was absolutely fine. I added a few extra straps to hold it together, but other than the convoluted instructions, it was perfectly serviceable. Haven't used it since, mind...

HTH, Pete

 

[AndyT]

I've got some Thule racks which fit onto roof bars. Very solid and secure, with locks so you can leave them unattended.

But if she doesn't have a mountain of stuff, you could try partially dismantling the bike and putting it inside. I used to get two bikes in a Ford Fiesta by just taking the front wheels off. Removing one pdeal helps (beware left hand thread on one side). Also slacken off the stem bolt so you can turn the handlebars flat.

 

[deema]

I used to run a group of companies that made bike racks, the only ones I would buy either mount to a Towbar or fit on a roof rack. IMO the clip on the back of the car racks are just to be avoided. I change lanes every time I see one. I've dealt with too many incidences where they have come off. The best racks IMO are Westfalia and Witter. The Thule racks are again IMO just a brand and poor engineering. When Ive tested them, they were never as good as those I've highlighted. Again, just my opinion the Witter ZX500 range is the very best cycle carrier money can buy. It auto claims on to the Towball and adjusts correctly to ensure the correct pressure is applied. It's the only one on the market that does this.

The forces induced on the cycle carrier / vehicle are extremely high, much more than you can believe. Buy a cheap rack a face the very real prospect IMO of loosing your bikes and potentially causing a major accident for which you will be responsible. Oh the incidents I'm aware off!!

 

[-Matt-]

But if she doesn't have a mountain of stuff, you could try partially dismantling the bike and putting it inside. I used to get two bikes in a Ford Fiesta by just taking the front wheels off. Removing one pdeal helps (beware left hand thread on one side). Also slacken off the stem bolt so you can turn the handlebars flat.

This was exactly what I was going to suggest. Left hand pedal is left hand thread.
If its a bike with quick release rear wheel as well, you can undo that, slide the skewer out and unclip the brake, untangle the cassette and wrap the chain in a plastic bag (still attached to the bike, threaded through derailleur) and you should get it pretty well in.

 

[nev]

an alternative
http://roofbox2hire.com/bike-rack-hire/

 

[Mark A]

Borrow/hire a van for the trip?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[DoctorWibble]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestion, and Jacob for the kind offer.

Re van hire. The bike is a £50 Ebay job so not really worth the cost. And given I potentially have three trips.....
Re towbars and roof bars. After reading deema's well informed insider view I rather wish I had either!

I've done some reading around myself and the Saris Solo seems a fair bet. £40 from Halfords. I checked the makers website which, like most others, doesn't go far enough back to be sure the thing actually fits on my 2002 car - a Mk 4 Golf not a Mk 5 as previously stated. Oops. Anyway given I have a local Halfords I can presumably take it back if it doesn't fit or even try it in their car park.

Deema most of those tailgate mounted designs seem to have lots of straps and generate complaints form users about confusing fitting. I'm rather banking on the accidents you know being down to user error. Hopefully I can be a bit more careful.

I'll consider inside transport when I can see how much stuff we have. I think its unlikely but a good suggestion about taking the pedals off and flat packing it. But I'll have a rack to hand if that leaves too little room. If I do have to resort to the rack I might put the front wheel inside the car and maybe some other bits. That should reduce the drag and so the forces on the rack.

Cheers all. If I remember I'll do you a photo.

 

[transatlantic]

Another option is to pick all her stuff up, but get her to cycle back. I don't think it will take her long. You could make it fun and race her back. Hope that helps!

 

[lurker]

Can't she just padlock it in the bike racks of the main campus?
Just chose a rack used by the staff who are there all summer.
It's not as though it's a major loss if it gets nicked.

 

[Rorschach]

Can't she just padlock it in the bike racks of the main campus?
Just chose a rack used by the staff who are there all summer.
It's not as though it's a major loss if it gets nicked.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Take it to a well used bike rack such as in the Uni or a busy train station. Oil it well, remove easy to nick stuff like the seat and then chain it up securely.
Otherwise, pull the wheels and it should fit inside the car.

 

[transatlantic]

Can't she just padlock it in the bike racks of the main campus?
Just chose a rack used by the staff who are there all summer.
It's not as though it's a major loss if it gets nicked.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Take it to a well used bike rack such as in the Uni or a busy train station. Oil it well, remove easy to nick stuff like the seat and then chain it up securely.
Otherwise, pull the wheels and it should fit inside the car.

Please don't do this. It's annoying for everyone else!

 

[Rorschach]

Can't she just padlock it in the bike racks of the main campus?
Just chose a rack used by the staff who are there all summer.
It's not as though it's a major loss if it gets nicked.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Take it to a well used bike rack such as in the Uni or a busy train station. Oil it well, remove easy to nick stuff like the seat and then chain it up securely.
Otherwise, pull the wheels and it should fit inside the car.

Please don't do this. It's annoying for everyone else!

Why? If he does at the Uni over the summer there will be less bikes around anyway. Train station is more trouble for others I agree but I have never yet seen a fully stuffed bike rack at a station anywhere except london.

 

[DoctorWibble]

Locking it up over the summer isn't really a worthwhile risk even though the bike isn't worth much. She'll want to bring it back to London next year regardless so at best it would only defer the problem.

I have another one at uni but he's at Brighton which makes the whole tooing and froing bit a lot easier. In hindsight I might've done better to get a bigger car when they reached uni age. But I've never really been keen on changing cars a lot. In fact since I passed my test 29 years ago I've only had three. Anyway if anyone's kids are doing A levels and they're thinking of changing cars soon might be worth keeping in mind that you could be in the removal business for the next few years.

 

[novocaine]

you can book ticket with a bike on the train from manchester to euston. possibly cheaper than buying a bike rack too. get it sooner rather than later though.