First bikes for 20 years

Quoted message said:

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place? I fancied some
kind of roof mounted affair but couldn't organise one in time to pick
the bikes up.

Tow-bar mounted cycle rack from www.roofbox.co.uk

The Unfit Family use a Tradekar Silver Bike two bike carrier with a third bike
adapter. Vernon has actually modified the third bike adapter so it's stronger,
more secure and makes carrying three road bikes much easier. This bike carrier
has a tilting action where you can access the boot with the carrier & bikes
loaded.

It's been used to transport three bikes to Italy & back, & Germany & back, as
well as being used every week to get bikes to time trials.

Cheers, helen s

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dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

Tow-bar mounted cycle rack from www.roofbox.co.uk

The Unfit Family use a Tradekar Silver Bike two bike carrier with a third bike
adapter. Vernon has actually modified the third bike adapter so it's stronger,
more secure and makes carrying three road bikes much easier. This bike carrier
has a tilting action where you can access the boot with the carrier & bikes
loaded.

Cheers I'll have a look at that. Need a towbar first mind.. :-)

Quoted message said:

Cheers I'll have a look at that. Need a towbar first mind.. :-)

Well worth getting one installed IMO.

Cheers, helen s

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dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

The Unfit Family use a Tradekar Silver Bike two bike carrier with a third bike
adapter.

.... being used every week to get bikes to time trials.

Why not ride?

John B

On Sun, 23 May 2004 10:31:33 +0100 someone who may be Gary
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place?

Cycling is perhaps the best way:-) There are also buses and trains.

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I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.

"Gary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place? I fancied some
kind of roof mounted affair but couldn't organise one in time to pick
the bikes up.

Take no notice of those who think there is something wrong with carrying a
bike on a car ;-)

I use Thule roof bars currently because they're the only company who made
good bars to fit my car, on my previous car I had H*lfords (don't ask about
the asterisk :-) own brand which seemed of the same quality for less money,
they are also Swedish made so I wonder if they're made by Thule for
H*lfords.

To carry the bike I use a Thule carrier that allows both wheels to remain
fitted to the bike and has a swinging arm with a clamp that grips the
down-tube.
The downside of this is that it's not suitable for monocoque bike frames and
without a piece of cloth inside the clamp the bikes paintwork can get
marked.

A variation of this is another type by Thule (amongst others no doubt)
whereby the front wheel is removed and the forks fitted to a quick release
on the bike carrier, a friend has this type and they fine.
Seperate carriers are available for the front wheel(s) if space inside the
car is at a premium.
I can see no downside to these except that one suspension fork manufacturer,
Pace, states their warranty is void if you use that method of bike transit.
Hardly a major concern.

The downside to roof carrying is extra fuel consumption, think circa 20%,
and remembering before entering anywhere with a height restriction.
The upside is nothing stopping access to the boot, no risk of reversing the
bikes into something, no risk of some bozo hitting them in a rear-ender and
no need for additional lighting (although some rear mounted carriers hold
bikes above the light clusters).
--
Regards,
Pete

Gary said:

Hi folks!

Yesterday I picked up my first bike for around 20 years. I picked a
pair of Rideback Adventures for my wife and I in appropriate sizes
and my limited experience with them so far has led me to think
they're super comfortable and great fun. We spent a good couple of
hours riding around the woods and trails through a private estate
yesterday in the dappled sunshine.

Anyway, to get these things home, I got a halfords rear mounted cycle
carrier for the car. Not only does this seem a nightmare of straps and
buckles, but going around corners and watching five hundred quids
worth of bikes swaying around on the back (I'm sure it was fitted as
snugly as it could be) was very unnerving.

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place? I fancied some
kind of roof mounted affair but couldn't organise one in time to pick
the bikes up.

The only time I ever carried a bike on my car, I tied it down with loads of
cable ties. Then the rack worked it's way off as I stormed home... I imagine
the towbar / roof racks are a bit more secure than these straps and clips
type arrangements.

Gary said:

Hi folks!

Yesterday I picked up my first bike for around 20 years. I picked a
pair of Rideback Adventures for my wife and I in appropriate sizes
and my limited experience with them so far has led me to think
they're super comfortable and great fun. We spent a good couple of
hours riding around the woods and trails through a private estate
yesterday in the dappled sunshine.

Anyway, to get these things home, I got a halfords rear mounted cycle
carrier for the car. Not only does this seem a nightmare of straps and
buckles, but going around corners and watching five hundred quids
worth of bikes swaying around on the back (I'm sure it was fitted as
snugly as it could be) was very unnerving.

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place? I fancied some
kind of roof mounted affair but couldn't organise one in time to pick
the bikes up.

Cheers! (looking forward to going out again today, after the GP..)

My bikes go inside the car when being driven around - which is very rare.

Peter B said:

Take no notice of those who think there is something wrong with carrying a
bike on a car ;-)

Well, for going from Northumberland to the south coast on holiday, there
isn't much else one can do. Plus, a lot of the places I'd like to cycle
are in the region of 25-30-40 miles away. Some people may be able to
cycle 25 miles to a place, cycle round it for a few hours then cycle
home but not me. Not yet - and probably not ever.

Quoted message said:

I use Thule roof bars currently because they're the only company who made
good bars to fit my car, on my previous car I had H*lfords (don't ask about
the asterisk :-) own brand which seemed of the same quality for less money,
they are also Swedish made so I wonder if they're made by Thule for
H*lfords.

I looked at the Thule bars in the same store, they had the bars and the
Thule roof bar cycle carriers but not the foot attachments for attaching
the bars to the roof. I think I'll get a set of Renault roof bars.

Quoted message said:

To carry the bike I use a Thule carrier that allows both wheels to remain
fitted to the bike and has a swinging arm with a clamp that grips the
down-tube.
The downside of this is that it's not suitable for monocoque bike frames and
without a piece of cloth inside the clamp the bikes paintwork can get
marked.

I'd prefer this kind of attachment, not having much place else to store
the wheels.

Quoted message said:

A variation of this is another type by Thule (amongst others no doubt)
whereby the front wheel is removed and the forks fitted to a quick release
on the bike carrier, a friend has this type and they fine.
Seperate carriers are available for the front wheel(s) if space inside the
car is at a premium.

But I see that can be solved :-) Still no point making it more complex imo.

Quoted message said:

I can see no downside to these except that one suspension fork manufacturer,
Pace, states their warranty is void if you use that method of bike transit.
Hardly a major concern.

I don't think that's a problem.

Quoted message said:

The downside to roof carrying is extra fuel consumption, think circa 20%,
and remembering before entering anywhere with a height restriction.
The upside is nothing stopping access to the boot, no risk of reversing the
bikes into something, no risk of some bozo hitting them in a rear-ender and
no need for additional lighting (although some rear mounted carriers hold
bikes above the light clusters).

The hight thing would be a worry but far less so than seeing the bikes
wave around on this thing on the back. The carrier I have currently
carries the bikes high above the lights and plate.

Thanks for the tips!

G

Quoted message said:

Well, for going from Northumberland to the south coast on holiday

If you get the chance, visit Cragside on the outskirts of Rothbury (more
norhtern Northumberland), it is quite stunning.

Cheers, helen s
(Northumbrian lass)

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dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

If you get the chance, visit Cragside on the outskirts of Rothbury (more
norhtern Northumberland), it is quite stunning.

Oh aye. We go to cragside and walk the grounds quite regularly. It's one
of the great justifications for our Nat.Trust cards. The other place we
like to do is Wallington, also Gibside.

One of the questions nagging me is do these trust places allow cycling?
I don't recall seeing too many bikes on the grounds over the years or I
might be mis remembering.

Quoted message said:

One of the questions nagging me is do these trust places allow cycling?
I don't recall seeing too many bikes on the grounds over the years or I
might be mis remembering.

I know what you mean - but they do allow people to drive on their roads!

Cheers, helen s

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Peter B said:

"Gary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What do people use to carry bikes from place to place? I fancied some
kind of roof mounted affair but couldn't organise one in time to pick
the bikes up.

Take no notice of those who think there is something wrong with carrying a
bike on a car ;-)

Sacriledge alert. DING DING DING DING DING

Never ever ever put a bike on a c*r.
OK, sometimes in dire emergencies you can bolt a c*r to a bike, and
sometimes in life or death situations [1] you can drive said c*r, but
please pleeeeeze never ever let a c*r ever carry a bike ;-)

[1] for the bike

John B

Peter B said:

To carry the bike I use a Thule carrier that allows both wheels to
remain fitted to the bike and has a swinging arm with a clamp that
grips the down-tube.

How stable is this type of carrier?

I'm also looking for a cycle carrier; previous types I've tried have been on
the roof (upside down - not an option now with all the gadgets on the bike),
rear hatch (don't fancy them this time because it's a new car), or inside
(again, it's a new car - don't want the bike inside).

With the type where the wheels are in a channel and there is a swinging arm,
I'd be worried about the whole thing swinging to the side.

Also, how easy is it for wimpish people to get bikes up there?

Regards,

Pete.

Quoted message said:

Also, how easy is it for wimpish people to get bikes up there?

Of course, even this wimpy-girlie can manage to get the tow-bar mounted bike
carrier mounted on to the tow-bar, locked on and load on three bikes with no
hassle at all. No damage to new car, no damage to bikes and bikes securely held
in a very stable way. I'm very glad that when t'other half & got our current
car, we had a tow-bar fitted and made the choice we did. IIRC it cost about
£150 for the tow bar & similar for the bike carrier. It was money well-spent.

Cheers, helen s

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JohnB [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Sacriledge alert. DING DING DING DING DING

Never ever ever put a bike on a c*r.
OK, sometimes in dire emergencies you can bolt a c*r to a bike, and
sometimes in life or death situations [1] you can drive said c*r, but
please pleeeeeze never ever let a c*r ever carry a bike ;-)

[1] for the bike

In some ways I agree. When I cycled to Peebles, I was amazed at the
number of cars with bikes on them that passed me, until I remembered
that the Glentress trail was near there, and that this was how the
MTBers got their bikes to the start.

On the other hand, I went to France with my folks at Easter and we took
our bikes with us. It would be unfeasible to stay where we did without
the storage capacity of the car, and there is no way I could convince my
parents to cycle from Cambridgeshire to Britanny.

I do however tend to mutter "Ride it, don't carry it" when I see cars
around town with bikes hung off them!

Jon

Jon Senior said:

JohnB [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Sacriledge alert. DING DING DING DING DING

Never ever ever put a bike on a c*r.
OK, sometimes in dire emergencies you can bolt a c*r to a bike, and
sometimes in life or death situations [1] you can drive said c*r, but
please pleeeeeze never ever let a c*r ever carry a bike ;-)

[1] for the bike

In some ways I agree. When I cycled to Peebles, I was amazed at the
number of cars with bikes on them that passed me, until I remembered
that the Glentress trail was near there, and that this was how the
MTBers got their bikes to the start.

A few years ago I cycled down to the New Forest Cycling Week with the
family. On the way we had to cross the A32 and it took 25 minutes before
a lorry driver saw our plight, stopped to hold up the rest of the
traffic, and let us cross.

On arrival at the event the campsite attendant expressed delight that we
were the first to arrive by cycle. Nearly everyone else was motorised -
and thus part of the traffic problem we had experienced.

Luckily there is a 'lightweight area' for those arriving by cycle,
except one party was caught out when the AA arrived to fix their car
which was parked about 50 yards away.

The numbers of so-called cyclists who arrive by c*r to this and similar
events - York, Mildenhall - never fails to astound me.

I suppose they have their excuses, ...err, I mean reasons ;-)

Quoted message said:

I do however tend to mutter "Ride it, don't carry it" when I see cars
around town with bikes hung off them!

Ditto.

John B

"Peter Connolly" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B said:

To carry the bike I use a Thule carrier that allows both wheels to
remain fitted to the bike and has a swinging arm with a clamp that
grips the down-tube.

How stable is this type of carrier?

No problem.

Quoted message said:

With the type where the wheels are in a channel and there is a swinging

arm,

Quoted message said:

I'd be worried about the whole thing swinging to the side.

Believe me, that doesn't happen.

Quoted message said:

Also, how easy is it for wimpish people to get bikes up there?

It is a little awkward, the taller the vehicle and heavier the bike the more
of a problem.
If this is a concern get a tow-bar mount carrier re Helens suggestion.
--
Regards,
Pete

On Sun, 23 May 2004 19:26:17 +0100 someone who may be Gary
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

One of the questions nagging me is do these trust places allow cycling?
I don't recall seeing too many bikes on the grounds over the years or I
might be mis remembering.

A few years ago the organisation in Scotland was promoting
alternative means of getting to their places than the car. I think
the southern organisation was doing much the same thing.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.