Fifty Plus (50+) - traveling with bike - cover while on rack?

This might make me a real nerd, but I love my bike and want to travel with it, and don't like the thought of the road grime and rain and whatever. I'm wondering if anyone uses a cover for their bike while it's on a rack on the back of their car/SUV. Any suggestions or just a tarp and bungee cords?

Thanks

I try to put my bike in the vehicle on long drives. But not for shorter drives. I have seen people use drivetrain covers but not bike covers.

Two points on a bike that will suffer if they get wet and that is the saddle and the bar tape. Rest of the bike will be OK in any weather that hits it and never had a problem with road grime. So plastic bags over the saddle and bars is all that is needed.

And due to rain getting everywhere- Unless you fit the bike in a plastic bag and seal it- water and dirt would still get in.

This might make me a real nerd, but I love my bike and want to travel with it, and don't like the thought of the road grime and rain and whatever.

You don't like the the thought of road grime and rain? Presumably you only ride it indoors? It's a bike, not a watercolour.

The cover might help in lowering theft temptation.

There is also the thought of airflow dynamics. A solidly covered bike shaped object turned sideways and placed in a 70+ mph air stream could have a 400-500 pound drag force. Not many racks are designed with that loading in mind not to mention the effects to the car and gas mileage.

I have one of these (http://www.skinzprotectivegear.com/bicycleproduct/reartransportcovers.html, three-bike model) that covers pretty well. It's a bit of a pain to put on, but it wraps completely around the bikes.

There used to ba a product called a "Bee String" that covered the front and saddle of a bike on a roof rack. It did a good job of minimizing the number of dead bugs on the bike. I've heard of rain washing the grease out of headsets on roof rack mounted bikes, but I've never personally experienced that and I used roof racks for around 10 years.

Another issue that I thought about when reading this thread is damage caused by the cover itself. I wonder if a tarp flapping against your bike's paint might cause more damage than it prevents.

I've heard of rain washing the grease out of headsets on roof rack mounted bikes, but I've never personally experienced that and I used roof racks for around 10 years.


I've also read that is a possibility. Will be taking my bike on an 800 mile round trip atop my station wagon and I plan to protect that area just in case. Will remove my utility kit and computer (just because its easy to do so). If I go through a pouring rain I will just have to deal with it and dry and re lubricate as necessary. I do occasionally wash the bike down with a hose anyway. Still looks beautiful after 3 years.

Thanks for the good ideas and the comments - most of them.
I think the saddle and bars covered is the best option for my needs.
Appreciate the great advice.

Bike goes inside our vehicle when traveling.
Oh, it's probably a bit bigger than your bike . . . it's a tandem.