HighValleyRanch

Still have my Passat station wagon for larger hauls, but just bought a new little car!
Worried that my bike collection would not fit, and would have to buy a smaller Brompton!

Here's my 20" Allen Sport packed behind the rear seats on my newly acquired 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman. I decided to get the larger Clubman just so that I could carry my folding bikes. It was a pretty tight fit. Had to slide the handlebar (drop bars) out so the two rear doors could close. Still room for some small amount of luggage, space in the rear seat for dog and more luggage. But my new Moulton F frame will definitely not fit into the car, so will have to find a rack when I want to bring that one along. Managed to get the Mercier mini velo in by removing the seat and handlebar, and wheels of course, but it fits in nicely.

So if you have a subcompact post some photos of the bikes packed into your vehicles small space!

reppans

I'll play....

Brompton - Mini Cooper S


Dahon Classic & Brompton - Chevy Express Van (under bed/couch of class B RV)


Brompton - Triumph Tiger 800

HighValleyRanch

Brompton on back of a motorcycle! Now that is cool!

jur

+1

Reminds me of a user @porchetoys.

tcs

bikefriday tikit (which turned out to be a not very good bike) in the back of a Mini (which turned out to be a not very good car).

mini tikit.jpg

I don't own either any more.

Bonzo Banana

If I did photo's no one would be impressed I have a Cruze station wagon and can take multiple full size bikes inside plus more on the rack above. I suppose I could go for the other end and see if I can fit something like 15 bikes in total in or on top of the car. No doubt there are many especially in the US could easily double that figure in a larger SUV etc.

Love the Brompton on the Triumph motorbike but it would have been cooler as a Triumph Traffic Master on a Triumph motorbike although sadly far less convenient or safe.

Rick Imby

I've travelled with a lady friend with two Dahon MUs in the folded down back seat with plenty of room for luggage in the trunk of a Subaru Impreza...

Pinigis 

We have fit Origami models in an array of small cars. On Tuesday, a man with a new Mini Clubman fit two Crane 8 models under the hatch with the rear seat backs still up. We have fit our bikes in the trunk of a BMW Z4 convertible, the trunk of a Mini Cooper convertible, under the hatch of a Sion iQ (with the rear seat backs up), under the hatch of a Smart For2, in small aircraft holds, in yacht storage compartments, in small cubbies on RVs, in the storage bin of Journey's tour bus, etc.

I have yet to find a small car that could not accommodate a folding bike.

Oh, and one in the sidecar of a motorcycle.

BassNotBass

My Brommie fits nicely aboard my DRZ.

tcs

Hmm. Not sure what provisoes and qualifiers you'd put on that statement, but my daughter's '94 Miata comes to mind. I guess you could put a CarryMe on the shelf behind the seats, but not even my Dahon Classic will fit in the trunk without removing and leaving behind the spare tire.

Diode100

I've got a Jetstream in the boot of a BMW 3 series compact with no problem, and a presto light went in the back of a 230 SLK ok, as long as you didn't want to put the roof down, I doubt there is a bike that would sit under the roof panel when it's down.

Would be interested to hear if anyone has got a bike into the back of a Fiat 500, saloon or cabrio. I know Fist did make a 500 bike, but it was never clear to me whether it would fit into the car. Ditto for the Mini and the folder bore the same marketing name.

Winfried

Hopefully, this great, compact trike will be available one day:



Home

smallwheeler

brilliant!

tds101 

I must admit, that's a heck of a lot of trike in such a small space. I truly wasn't expecting that,...

Dropbear

Not very good bike? The Tikit costs more than my entire folding bike collection, and supposedly rides like a "real" (i.e. full-sized) bike. Anything in particular that you are less than impressed with?

Rick Imby

Seems you are getting the car before the bike...

Buying a car to fit the bikes makes more sense to me---grin---

The doors on the Mini being extra wide is really interesting..

Rick Imby

So appropriate---Brompton on the back of a TRIUMPH---Sweet BikeS

hockey

We fit 2 Bike Friday NWT's in the back plus luggage. Now that is a small car.

tcs

Terns broke, riders got hurt, the company took months to respond and they were fricasseed on this board.

tikits broke, riders got hurt, the company took months to respond, the 'fix' for the second 'dangerous - do not ride' recall also suffered documented failure, the company abandoned the design and folks on this board ask, 'what's the problem?'

Dropbear

Thanks. I wasn't aware of the Tikit's issues.

kamtsa

A red Brompton in a tight trunk.

The seat post is removed and the bike is locked using a black elastic velcro around the main bar and the wheel.

This makes the bike more compact and easier to lift (with a heavy seat post, saddle and saddle bag).

Dheorl

If I ever need reminding this is an American forum I'll just look at this thread

The idea of a mini clubman being a small car is kind of comical to me.

reppans

Too bad Brompton didn't partner with MINI, particularly since the bike does fit well inside the Cooper boots (parcel self incl), but I guess the Brompton price wasn't really in line with the 'economy' nature of MINIs.

Bonzo Banana

The last point I'm not so sure of I think a huge number of bikes are sold in the mass market channels like walmart etc.

I had a quick google just to see if I could back that up and this came up.

Industry Overview 2015 - National Bicycle Dealers Association

Which has 74% of bikes being sold at an average price of $89.

I wonder if folding bike sales have improved in the US since 2012. Seems a low ratio.

Rick Imby

Funny...

When we call the Dodge Caravan a Mini---van. With significantly more cubic space than the monster of SUVs--the Chevy Suburban.