Loading bicycles on a car rack
Loading a couple of touring bicycles on to a car rack isn't a matter of throwing them on and holding them down with a few bungee cords. We'll be driving to Harwich from Manchester in a few days with the bikes on the car – a five-hour drive with a lot of bouncing around – so they have to be loaded and arranged very carefully to avoid damaging the bikes and the car.
Loaded on Pendle tow ball rack, 2009
When we made the same trip last year the bikes were loaded on to a tow ball rack. It took a while to work out the best way and I took photographs to help remember the method for the return trip two weeks later. This year, we have a different car, with no tow ball, so the rack we're using is a Pendle Bike Racks strap-on. With just a few days to go, I'm still not sure how to do it.
Loaded on Pendle strap-on rack, 2010
The car is a 2010 model Volkswagen Polo, and tow bars (and roof bars) won't be available for a few months. So a strap-on rack is the only way. It has the same support bars as the tow ball version but it's much higher and the load rests on the rear windscreen and the tailgate, all suspended on two straps which trap inside near the tailgate hinges with special rubber dumbbells. Two further straps hook under the bottom lip to tighten the whole thing down.
Putting the first bike on is the easy part. When the second bike is loaded they're pressing against each other: derailleur against frame, handlebars against rack, pedal against spokes and so on, and even worse: pedal against rear windscreen. The windscreen wiper blade also has to be removed. It took an hour adjusting the bikes and deciding the best angle for the cranks. The following photo shows how I cable-tied the cranks together last year. This was very rigid and kept the bikes in place. No such luck this year, as the bikes touch differently.
Looking at the next photo (as I write this post) it's occurred to me that I should really turn both bikes around so that the derailleurs are facing outwards and not against the other bike. I'm also short of sponges, bungee cords, bits of rag, and polythene bags to put over the saddles (and some sticky tape because last year they blew off). I might even take the wheels off to reduce the load pressing on the tailgate. The next photo shows the bikes at a steeper angle from how they were on the more vertical tow ball rack. Without the wheels the bikes would also be easier to lift up. Touring bikes with pannier racks are heavy!
This is taking so long I might suggest we borrow my son's Renault Kangoo van to carry the bikes to Harwich (they fit), but that would mean he borrows our Polo. Plus the Pendle strap-on with extra dumbbell straps and postage wasn't cheap. It is a very good rack. When we return I might write a proper review.
I'd be tempted to take that pedal off, at least. The reason I didn't take my mountain bike on my last cycling weekend was that the friend who was driving didn't fancy having even one bike on a cycle carrier on the back of his car. Anyway, definitely go for non-derailleur to non-derailleur side. Good luck.
May 9th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
This has always been a pain to me until just recently. I've a system which clips into a ball-hitch with a slot. That's fine but stopping the bikes eating one another is the problem.
Solution.
Bike on inside has to be strapped down by velcro ties so it can't rise.
Then the bikes are forced together by bungee cords but stopped from rubbing by a large three x 2 ft sheet of foam. This works marvellously. The handlebars make one of the front wheels turn at right angles to the frame, keeping the bikes separate at the front.
Try the big sheet of foam. It'll stop anything rubbing and it won't fall out as it'll be held by the bikes.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I've only ever had my pride and joy on a car rack once. I got very lost on an audax (oops!) which meant I'd cycled 95 miles, I'd missed a ferry, it was going dark and I couldn't face another 20 miles to get home so I accepted the offer of a lift from a friend. I'd padded my bike with all the spare clothing I possessed but I was on tenterhooks all the way back. I was sure when I unloaded it that there was a huge scratch on the top tube but this was only the product of my fevered imagination! I just can't cope with the stress of it!
May 11th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
I'm trying Garry's suggestion but using a garden lounger cushion instead of foam. You're right about the stress. Mrs Taylor's pedal has scratched my frame already and her handlebar end keeps hooking itself into my rear pannier rack. As I said, one bike is simples. Plus it's taking two people to hoist the bikes up to the support bars and ease them together. I'll have it done after several more hours.
May 11th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
All done and tested:
Fixing the cranks to one another securely ensures the bikes can't touch anywhere else, except at the top where I'll cable-tie the handlebars on each bike to the rear rack on the other. So unless the rear windscreen caves in it should be fine.
May 12th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Hi I know Im really late to the party on this ... but it looks like the bit on your rear screen should be on the metal work at the top of the car ... I have a similar rack and it took me ages to adjust it so there was no pressure on the screen.
Im sure youve been fine for now but all it takes is one nasty bump on the road and its al fresco driving for a while
May 4th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
I agree it looks dodgy, but...
The pads on the top of the rack are supposed to rest on the rear windscreen. It worried me to begin with so I phoned Pendle Bike Racks and VW, and they both confirmed there isn't a problem even in the middle of the glass. And there isn't, after several long distance trips. Besides, most of the load goes down to the bottom pads resting on the tailgate.
One of my neighbours has a saloon car with a much bigger more horizontal rear windscreen and even more load on the glass. He carries three bikes to southern France and back – again, no issues. I doubt if I could tighten the straps properly if the rack was fitted high enough to sit only on metal.
May 4th, 2012 at 3:40 pm