Curious on how you get your bike to the events that are not in the neighborhood. If you can't ride to the start how do you get it there? Right now I have a Mazda MX5 so there is no putting it inside the vehcle so it has a trunk rack on it. I worry about being rear ended and taking out my bike. I also worry about roof racks since sometimes when I see bikes that are on them they look like the get torqued around up there. my Plan is to buy a vehicle that has ample room to harbor my bike and some frinds bikes also but I don't want to drive around a huge van or some gas guzzler.
Velocity

How about a small pickup truck like a Ford Ranger?

Good thought -What would you use to secure it?

I own a Saturn sedan with a Thule roof rack system and a Ranger pick up with a couple of fork mounts in the bed.

All of our longer bicycling trips have been made using the Saturn with the roof rack. I deliberately got the Thule with the old style tandem bike mount (with the V rear axle support) because I worry too much about the bike swaying fron side to side. It's an unwarranted worry, lots of folks carry tandems with less support, but I'm still uncomfortable.

If you're using a strap-on rack, I'd worry more about the whole rack falling off of your car than being rear ended. I'm aware of several cases in which that happened. Truth is, I can also relate many tales of people with roof racks driving under low overheads. I don't personally know anybody who had their bike damaged in a rear ender.

If vehicle cost wasn't a factor, I'd always carry my bikes on the inside. If you pop off both wheels, it will usually fit into an ordinary car trunk. Of course, then you have to figure out what to do with all of the rest of your junk.

For team events, we have a team van with a trailer.

Otherwise, my given that I have no car, borrowing my dad's Toyota Corolla works just fine. With the front wheel off and the rear seat folded it fits without problems. 30mpg is reasonable enough when I drive no more than once a month...

I figured that you would have more snowmobile racks than not there. I was in Little Canada for a Orientation and thought that there where some pretty good hills around there-Do you ever ride them?
Velocity

Gotta a beat up old Subaru Impreza wagon... I've got a roof rack, but I can also drop the back seats and just stick it inside... We've also got a Minivan which is that same deal... I've yet to drive anywhere with my new bike on the roof..... I'm scared of the forks pulling free and sending it into oblivion...hehe.

I own a ford focus (2001) with a yacama rack with two bike mounts... work very nice.

Funny thing is the bikes on top of the car are worth more than the car... interesting

we have a honda civic and crv. my bike can fit into either of them with the front tire off. at some point i'll have to put a bike rack on the crv's roof rack, but, for now, my system works fine.

Most of us down here in Texas have at least one Suburban. The bike slides in back with room for a wife and two kids up front. Fits pretty well into my Mits. Montero as well.

i have two cars: either it goes on top of one, or in the other. see below for (visual) explanation.

really depends on how far i'm going, and how many folks are going with me...

Pick-up rack



These work nice in truck beds. I like the second one pictured as they are only $20.00, and they leave your mounting options open.

Has anyone ever been rear ended and had bikes on a rack be damaged? I have never heard of this one. Is there some reason the chances of being rear ended will go up if you put a bike on the back?

I know a guy who drove into the garage with two bikes on a roof rack and peeled the roof right off his old Honda sedan ! That was the SECOND TIME...

The last time I rented a car they gave me a PT Cruiser, which looked like it would be really good for bikes. The rear seat folds down flat, and a bike would just slide right in. You probably wouldn't even have to take the front wheel off. That assumes you don't mind riding around in some vaguely retro monster with bright red trim on the dash and on the gearstick. Or get just about any hatchback (Golf, Civic, Corolla) and load a bike flat in the trunk/back seat area.

I have an old Acura Integra hatchback. Slip off the front tire, and the bike fits in there perfectly. Front tire goes behind the driver's seat or just carefully near the bike. It's easy, cheap, and my bike is as protected as it can be. I put an old blanket down to protect my bike from any bumps. It works!

Your bike will fit in the back seat of any sedan, with just the front wheel removed. Don't buy a SUV, they should be un-invented. Don't buy a pickup, they are uncomfortable to drive and don't get much better fuel efficiency than a SUV.

Limitations:
1. you can bring only one bike
2. you can bring at most one other person

Good stuff people -anyone out there own a Ford Escape or a mazda tribute?
Velocity

what my car looks like (but not my car)


I recently figured out how to get my in the back seat with the top up, before that I would either stick it in the back with the top down (if the weather was nice) or give it to a friend to put on his bike rack.

MX-5, is that a Miata?

What do you mean by "torqued around" on the roof rack? I've driven hundreds of highway miles with my bikes in a Yakima rack on the roof of a Honda Accord. If they're attached securely, they don't budge an inch, even at 70+ mph.

Yep it’s a Miata. Great on gas and around corners but not so great in the towing hauling and passenger arena. Also a roof rack doesn’t jive with it. I may as well get something that is more "convenient" or utilitarian than what I have. I just don't care for the way the roof racks "secure the bikes".
More or less just looking for a great compremise.
Velocity

I have a subaru out back with Yakima racks and my bikes have yet to be "torqued" and I have driven with 80 mph sidewinds with my bike and my dads even more expensive bike and they were both fine, also you can fit 3 more bikes inside if you fold the back seats down and put a sheet or a towel inbetween the bikes.

It might sound weird, but a small trailer might work for you. You could easily haul any number of bikes, then detach the thing when you didn't need it any longer. And a trailer hitch is less obtrusive than various rack arrangements. No idea if hitches are available for a Miata, much less what your towing capacity might be.

My Yakima rack secures the bikes by clamping the front fork to a rack-attached skewer (front wheel removed), and then the rear wheel is strapped to a "tray" attached to the rack bars. It's unbelievably secure -- after I strap my bike in, if I grab the bike and push/pull, the entire car rocks on its suspension. The front wheel either attaches to a stationary fork affixed to the rack, or goes inside the car.

I fold the rear seats and the bike fits in the trunk...

OK this is one that will get me into that mid life crisis I have been waiting for LOL nice ride
I am diging that trailer idea that might work and can be funtional as a equipement hauler too thanks

Velocity

I've got a Ram (definately doesn't meet your fuel requirements) but must say that it's a joy to take my bike with me. If it's just me, I'll lay the bike on it's side in the bed, and if there's multiple bikes, we have a rack similar to the one listed above. We've taken a couple of long trips with out bikes, and the truck has been extremely comfortable.

Very easy to just toss 'em in and go... don't have to spend a long time making sure everything is secure, etc.