Getting an EMTB into the back of a car

[Deleted member 2899]

Love my Trek Powerfly but my god it's heavy. I can get mine into the back of my VW Passat but it takes a bit of doing. The bike is heavy, the pedals get caught and the handlebars are very wide. I've found that layering a few sheets of plastic sheeting/tarpaulin helps the bike to slide. Does anyone have any other useful tips?

Alan

 

[mintakax]

Love my Trek Powerfly but my god it's heavy. I can get mine into the back of my VW Passat but it takes a bit of doing. The bike is heavy, the pedals get caught and the handlebars are very wide. I've found that layering a few sheets of plastic sheeting/tarpaulin helps the bike to slide. Does anyone have any other useful tips?

Alan

Yep, its a lower back disaster for me. I get my wife to help me... goes much easier with two.

 

[dirt huffer]

My Commencal is a beast as well, even with the front wheel removed.

I'm about to swap the axles out for tool-less axles so i can take off both wheels before loading

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Join a body building gym and bulk up?

mine has a low skid plate so I can slide it along on that, take the battery out also that helps.

with the wheels and battery out mine is dead easy to man handle.

 

[steve_sordy]

Remove the pedals and the front wheel. Once you have done it a few times it becomes quick and easy. The bike will slide in more easily. Also, it will fit into a smaller space as it is now flat. I lay a towel on the frame and lay the front wheel on top of that. I didn't used to use a towel, until I noticed that the tyre had polished the paint finish off the top tube on one long journey!

You should be able to put a clockwork bike straight in by yourself like this, but emtbs are just risking a back strain. So, get someone else to lean in from the side door to support the front end and guide it in, or out.

I gave up on years of in-car storage when I bought an emtb. I believed that they were just too heavy for my already injured back. So I converted to a tow-bar and rack. It works well, but the reduced security causes the occasional concern.

 

[Telkwa]

We're facing the same problem. Two ebikes, not just one. And I added stem extenders because we're old and need to get some weight off the hands. My bike is 4' tall at the tips of the GP5 Ergon bullhorns.
We took tape measures and bikes to the nearest auto mall. The Ford Transit Connect just barely accepts the bikes standing up. Pretty sure there isn't a mini-van or SUV on the market with a 4' hatch height.
We ride every day we can, and our usual place is 15 minute drive away. I don't want to disassemble/reassemble both bikes every time we go. Dragging them in and out on their sides is not workable.
We're using a cheap Nashbar hitch rack. As you guys know, hitch racks are not the ultimate answer. I hate to leave the bikes unattended for ten seconds, even with locks and cables.

 

[highpeakrider]

My back is knackered, thinking of towbar and bike trailer, luckily living in the Peak District I can ride from home but I want to do trails that are a bit further away.

 

[stiv674]

I thought my Focus would fit in my Outlander easily, I didn't anticipate how much bigger it is than my old hardtail mountain bike! It just about goes in, stood up without the front wheel on.

 

[Deleted member 2899]

I'm not too keen on effectively dismantling the bike approach. I draw the line at removing the front wheel and battery.

 

[steve_sordy]

About removing the front wheel, my advice was based upon the front wheel having a QR lever release and disc brakes. If yours has neither, then I agree it could feel a bit like dismantling.
And I guess that some batteries are not easy to remove (mine doesn't come out at all).

 

[Paul Mac]

Love my Trek Powerfly but my god it's heavy. I can get mine into the back of my VW Passat but it takes a bit of doing. The bike is heavy, the pedals get caught and the handlebars are very wide. I've found that layering a few sheets of plastic sheeting/tarpaulin helps the bike to slide. Does anyone have any other useful tips?

Alan

Is your Passat an estate?
I recently bought a BMW 5 series touring, purely to be able to get my bike in.
My routine is, place a tarp in the loading area to protect the interior, then remove the front wheel and push down the dropper post.
I then lift the back wheel into the first couple of inches of the boot area, and then while holding the fork legs wheel the bike to the back of the car. I then just lay it on it's side and use a strap on the anchor points in the boot to stop it moving around whilst in transit.
If necessary I can also lay blankets on the bottom bike and put another bike on top without causing any damage to either bikes.
I recently had two 2019 Levos in the boot with all our kit.

 

[outerlimits]

I can get mine into my Nissan Patrol 4x4 easy as. I can even fit the wife’s bike in if I take the front wheels off and stand them up.

 

[Lad]

Amazing how much room is in VW Golf platform based Skoda Yeti. Square roof helps a lot as well as Skoda's unique Varioflex rear seats system.

 

[BammBamm]

I pick mine up, one hand under the bottom bracket and the other hand near the top of the seat tube. Have found this the easiest method to lift it up and over my hitch.

 

[R120]

If you are regularly transporting your bike, I think its worth getting a cheap van. You only need something basic, but there's a lot be said for just being able to sling your bike and gear in easily and drive off - also means your bike isn't on display.

I would rather carry my bike in the back of a car, than on a hitch rack, as in Britain at this time of year the road salt and weather means that your bike gets caked in all sorts of crap.

 

[Monkeychops]

My routine is, place a tarp in the loading area to protect the interior, then remove the front wheel and push down the dropper post.
I then lift the back wheel into the first couple of inches of the boot area, and then while holding the fork legs wheel the bike to the back of the car. I then just lay it on it's side and use a strap on the anchor points in the boot to stop it moving around whilst in transit.

Pretty much what I do. Trek powerfly, toyota prius. I have to put the rear seats flat too.

 

[bissona]

We made a simple wooden jig that holds the bike without either wheel on, took about 2hrs and most of that was the carpet! You could get away with a much narrower version for a single bike.

 

[nakme]

Love my Trek Powerfly but my god it's heavy. I can get mine into the back of my VW Passat but it takes a bit of doing. The bike is heavy, the pedals get caught and the handlebars are very wide. I've found that layering a few sheets of plastic sheeting/tarpaulin helps the bike to slide. Does anyone have any other useful tips?

Alan

I did exactly this when I had my Kenevo. The tarpaulin works wonder to help the bike to slide

 

[Deleted member 2899]

I'm envious of all you guys with the vans and SUV's but your solutions don't really help me I'm afraid.

 

[stiv674]

I don't think there is an easy way of getting it in a normal estate car.

Only thing I can think of is a shelf that slides out so you can lay the bike on it and slide it back in... If that makes sense?

 

[steve_sordy]

I'm envious of all you guys with the vans and SUV's but your solutions don't really help me I'm afraid.

You say the pedals catch and the bars are too wide. One proposal was removing the pedals and the front wheel (so it lays flat) Another suggestion was a tarpaulin to make the bike slide more easily, and to drop the saddle to give more room. I used to do all four of those and they worked very well indeed. You have rejected those. All the other solutions require a van or an SUV, also rejected.

That leaves an external solution; either a roof rack, a boot rack or a tow bar rack. I have used the first two of those before going for the internal solution. But the weight of the emtb forced me to the tow-bar rack solution. For me, it was a more satisfactory solution overall than buying a van.

 

[Deleted member 2899]

Not sure how you think I'm rejecting dropping the saddle seat and using a tarpaulin, they were in my original post. I was looking for ideas like the one suggested above along the lines of a sliding shelf but perhaps a way of actually implementing it.

 

[stiv674]

Maybe some 12mm ply roughly cut to the shape of the boot floor, carpeted on the top and maybe underneath depending on what it will be sliding across.

A couple of folding/hinged/removable legs on the end that will stick out from the car to keep it level with the boot floor.

I'd try to draw it but I can't draw

 

[galaga187]

Maybe a sideways version of this - The tips above have helped me but I'm in the similar position as I'd like to find a solution for the car but I may end up just going for a van.

 

[Deleted member 2899]

Someone else mentioned sliding panels but that would be tricky to implement in the boot of a Passat saloon but it has set me thinking along those lines.

 

[stiv674]

Someone else mentioned sliding panels but that would be tricky to implement in the boot of a Passat saloon but it has set me thinking along those lines.

No problem, obviously that's just a rough idea, I'm sure you can improve on it

 

[Deleted member 2899]

No problem, obviously that's just a rough idea, I'm sure you can improve on it

It would have to be some form of shelf on a cantilever mechanism that lifts and pulls back. The problem I envisage is that it is likely to turn out to be as heavy as the bike.

 

[stiv674]

It would have to be some form of shelf on a cantilever mechanism that lifts and pulls back. The problem I envisage is that it is likely to turn out to be as heavy as the bike.

It could be easy to over engineer it I guess, maybe just a removable shelf that one end would just sit on the boot floor and supported the other end on garage or drive floor, then slide it in.

Is the floor completely flat with seats folded down?

 

[Deleted member 2899]

It could be easy to over engineer it I guess, maybe just a removable shelf that one end would just sit on the boot floor and supported the other end on garage or drive floor, then slide it in.

Is the floor completely flat with seats folded down?

No that's one of the obstacles that cause the pedals to catch.

 

[stiv674]

No that's one of the obstacles that cause the pedals to catch.

Maybe make up a false floor, carpeted if necessary, to make the whole floor one level...