tominbend

I will be renting a car to drive home after a one way bike tour. Will I have any trouble getting my touring bike and gear in an economy car? Should I rent a mid-size car or even a mini-van (expensive, would rather not use this option)?

I have bike racks on my own vehicle so I am not sure how much room is inside an economy car for the bike.

I am hoping that by taking off the front and rear wheels I could get a bike in the rear seat area (placing a tarp down to protect the fabric).

Wil this work? It doesn't appear that rental companies rent bike racks, and buying one sounds like an expense and hassle.

Thanks for any advice,

Tom

spinnaker

Where are you renting from? What city? What rental company?

Maybe someone on BF has an old rack they don't want. I know I have one that was given to me by a BF member doing a ride and if another BF member needed it, I would be sure to pass it on.


Some rental car companies rent bike racks.

Also you could take the bike to a local office and try one of their cars.

I ride a large frame road bike. I need to take off both wheels but I can get it into the trunk of my midsize car.

For sure you should be able to get it in the back seat of a 4 door. Just buy lots of garbage bags to protect the seats or try to find a local store to the pickup point that sells plastic sheets.

tominbend

I will be renting a car in San Francisco (in the city center) and driving one-way back to Bend, Oregon. I made a reservation with National for a standard car (4 doors - Ford Fusion or similar). Hopefully that will work!

QueueCT

It's all about the width of the car. Take off the front and back wheels, put a piece of plastic over the back seats, and put the frame there. Wheels and panniers in the trunk. I did that in a midsize for a one way drive to Pittsburgh and there was plenty of room. My personal car has a folding rear seat and I'm able to take the front wheel off and slide the fork through the pass through.

prathmann

I have a 60cm road bike and have never had a problem fitting the bike in the trunk of economy-size cars (Corolla/Civic/Focus/etc.). That way I don't have to worry about plastic sheeting or other protection for the rental car seats and the bike plus wheels are completely hidden from sight when stopping at stores/restaurants/motels. There's generally plenty of room around the sides for the panniers and the wheels sit on top of the bike frame. A front pannier rack on the bike can make it harder to fit in the trunk, but those are usually not too hard to remove from the bike if they cause a packing problem.

This is also the way I normally transport my bike to club rides that are farther away - take off the wheels and put everything in the trunk of my Chevy Nova (Toyota Corolla clone).

goagain

An alternate thought: Ship the bike back Fedex or UPS? Not sure how much that would cost but someone on another forum suggested it awhile back.

RayfromTX

Rent a Prius. I can get my 58cm in the back without taking off even the front wheel.

Mithrandir

I did this when I drove to DC with my bike last week, in my Camry. I have a bike rack but I didn't want to use it because it would kill the fuel economy on my long trip, plus I didn't want to risk the bike falling off when going 80 down some of those windy hill descents in PA.

It was a pain in the butt trying to get the wheels back on without a bike stand, but it definitely worked well.

Big Lew

Buddy and I rented a plymouth satellite from the San Fransisco Airport, one way to Bellingham. Picked up a cheap nylon tarp from a lumberyard and put one bike in the trunk and after wrapping, put the other, minus the front wheel, in front of the back seat.

LeeG

man, if you can't fit a bike with it's wheels off in any car there's a problem.

spinnaker

I challenge you.

LesterOfPuppets

I usually go for the back seat action. Done it in Corollas, Ford Focus and Mitsu Mirages, etc.
I just take the front wheel off and put the bike in fork first from the passenger side. Clean fork ends and left crank/BB/Chainstay first. Rear wheel on floor. Left crank kinda rests on edge of back seat bottom usually. Fork kinda up in the air. Need to arrange the bars just so to close driverside rear door sometimes.
Put a few grocery bags or the like over chainrings before sliding front seats back.

Might be tougher for long wheelbase tourers, but I've done it with many road and 26" mountain bikes.

fietsbob

rent a minivan instead...?

zzOtherlandzz

Stop at a goodwill or something similar and buy a couple of old blankets to help wrap your bike. Protect your bike and the car your renting. And maybe roll of cheap masking tape to wrap around the blanket to keep it in place when you get your bike all wrapped up nicely.

minnivan.... Both my road bike and mountain bike fit behind the front seats in mine with the front wheel off. (one at a time of course). Chevy Astro Van.

Good luck..

GetUpnGo

I once rented a Chevy Aveo for a 3-week trip and had no trouble getting my bike in the back with the back seat down, taking off only the front wheel. I know the Aveo is considered substandard mechanically but I really enjoyed driving it and found the rear storage space excellent. Plus for me, at least, a very comfortable driving position.

It's easier to get a bike in the Aveo than in the back seat of a Corolla. Plus you can get the back seat dirty with the chain etc.

LesterOfPuppets

Hatches are nice, indeed. I could put my fairly long WB Bianchi Grizzly in my old Corolla FX with both wheels on with the back seats down and passenger seat tilted forward. In most of the world hatchback Corollas have been around since the 80s. Here we only got Corolla hatchbacks 'til 1988 or so.

Nowadays there is the Matrix/Vibe though.

tominbend

Thanks for the advice everyone. It sounds like I will be fine. The problem is that you often do not know what type of car you get until you arrive at the car rental place. The companies generally state a car model, and then add "or similar" vehicle.

LeeG

in the passenger seat with seatbelt holding wheels and frame away from driver.

OldZephyr

Keep in mind that the Fusion, and indeed most sedans these days, have fold down rear seats. They make it a lot easier.

BigAura

Worst case you may have to remove both wheels/fenders.

delux68

its not gonna be a problem, i recently rented a car while on tour and ended up with a 4dr Yaris. i folded down the seat, and removed the front wheel and fender from the bike. there was still plenty of room for my six bags and tent/sleeping pad in the trunk. you dont need any blankets, bags, etc. just keep the grimy parts off the fabrics. the pedal will keep the chainrings away from the carpet, lay the bike down so the rear derailleur is facing up.

KD5NRH

Almost certainly more than buying a trunk-mount rack at the nearest Walmart to the end of the trip.

motobecane69

my gf has a focus and my 60cm bikes fit in there pretty easily, just remove the front wheel and fold the seat down.

mobilemail

If you are staying somewhere overnight before you leave, ship a cheap bike rack there so it's available when you arrive. Slap it on the rental car and away you go. A lot of modern cars can hold a standard bike with the back seat folded flat, but if your touring bike has fenders and/or racks, you may have issues. Ship yourself a rack, or get one at the local thrift store/Craigslist/WalMart.

Doug64

My wife and I got 2 bikes with full racks, 6 panniers, 2 rack packs, and 2 bar bags in a Toyota Cambry. The rear seat folds down expanding the trunk space. With a little care neither the bikes nor the car was damaged. Recently we had to do the same thing with a Opel which is about the same size as the Toyota Yaris. In both cases I did take the pedals off both bikes, and the front rack off my bike. We also removed the front wheels. Mine is a 58cm LHT and her bike is a 47mm.

I have a Toyota Matrix (Corolla platform), and it always has a bike in the back of it. You should be able to find something similar.



My wife's bike is small enough to fit across the trunk of the Camry with both wheels removed. We had a family emergency while riding the Pacific Coast Route and had to take what we could get.