Darylb23

My new Renegade is carbon so it has me potentially over thinking things but I'm curious about how everyone transports their bikes. The obvious choice seems to be hitch mount but I am not willing to spend $700+ for some of the higher end racks so I'd be likely using something that came down on the frame. I"m not worried about it breaking the frame but I'd probably put a pad or towel so I didn't get any wear.

I've also seen a lot of mountain bikes transported using a tailgate pad. Does anyone use those? Most of our transporting would be local just to get to a place to ride but I guess in the future we may take the bikes on a trip. So how do you feel about the tailgate pads vs a hitch rack?

Koyote

Since you're asking about tailgate pads, I'm assuming you have a pickup truck. If correct, then you could also go to this page and pick your fave option. Plenty of other companies make the same sorts of items, too.

i owned a pickup for along time. I took a couple old front hubs, mounted them to a long section of 2x6 board, and then bolted the board right onto the bed, just behind the cab. Then I would remove the front wheels and attach the bikes' front forks to the old hubs. Since I had a locking topper, I could leave them there overnight with no worries.

Darylb23

I used to use the things you attach the forks to back in the day but that was all quick release front wheels. Both of my bikes now are through axle so it is more of a hassle to take the wheel off. Still a decent option though, thank you.

pdlamb

My hitch rack has cost less than $27/year that I've had it, and I've never had any problems transporting up to four bikes on it.

The pumps that I took off to put the bikes on the rack, and then left the pumps on the rack or car, haven't been quite so fortunate.

mstateglfr 

https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Rac...923&th=1&psc=1
$330 for a 2 bike tray style rack.

Its a lot less expensive than what I paid for my Thule T2 rack 7 years ago. And I like the arm design more on this Hollywood rack because it holds the tire, but then there is an offset bend to keep the rest of the arm away from the fork. On mine, the fork rubs against the carbon fork.

Another option, and hear me out, is to ride from home. Obviously that isnt realistic 100% of the time, but if you ride from home a lot, you dont have to go thru the process of attaching the hitch, loading and unloading, pulling the hitch off, etc.

Shadco 

Craigslist can be your friend I snagged a nice Kuat NV for $200.




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Random11

If you have a pickup truck, a less expensive option is to just lay the bike down in the truck bed. That's what I do. For shorter trips I just put the bike in. For longer trips, I remove the front wheel so the bike will fit under a truck bed cover. I've transported the bike several hundred miles this way and never had a problem.

t2p

Steve B.

Agree with this, its the easiest and cheapest solution. I have to take the front wheel off my carbon FS as its a long wheel base, all my other bikes fit with the front wheel on. I have a packing blanket in the (5ft) bed. I also have a Leer cap, so can lock it up,

C9H13N 

I found a well-used but functional Thule T2 on CL for $75.

Keep looking, find something cheap to use now and you can get your money back when/if you upgrade later.

Moe Zhoost

Before I bought a proper hitch rack, I used a DIY rack in the bed of my pickup. It was made of PVC pipe and held 3 bikes upright. The bikes were then secured with straps. It worked very well, but took a bit of time to load and unload. There are plenty of sites on the internet that give instructions on how to make, Cheap and functional is always good.

Darylb23

I have been doing that with my bike but I'm more thinking about when my wife rides with me. Thanks,

Darylb23

I'm with you. And many of my solo rides will be that way, aside from when I want to go ride a loop that is farther away. But with my wife just getting started I need to get us to the place we are going to ride so she will be less intimidated by the traffic. Thank you.

Darylb23

That is pretty sweet.

Koyote

I think it's a great option. Bikes are very well-protected in a truck bed.

msu2001la

Just to confirm the question in the OP: I would definitely NOT hang a carbon bike from the frame. Personally I wouldn't even do this to store a bike inside, but on a vehicle rack where it'll be bouncing around? No way.

An easy fork-mounted option for a pickup truck would be to use a Seasucker on the rear window glass. Thru axles are no problem - just have to screw them in instead of clamping down. Seasucker makes adapters for all TA and QR sizes.

tFUnK

Got a hitch rack a few years ago and regret not getting one sooner. My excuse was "I might get a new car next year, why invest in a hitch receiver?" but now I want to have a hitch receiver on a car even if I never use it.

Never owned a truck so not sure if I'll feel differently. I feel the bed of a truck is always more secure than a hitch rack protruding from the rear.

pdlamb

Ditto. Years ago, got my wife a Prius and couldn't figure any other way to haul a bike, so I found a bolt-on receiver and bought a hitch rack. Gave my car to the daughter the next summer, and had a hitch installed immediately. The hitch rack isn't hard to install, it's secure, I've hauled a bike tens of thousands of miles on it over the last 15 years, and it just keeps going, and going, and going...

Camilo

First of all, don't get a hitch rack that holds the bike upright clamping the top tube. I had one for years to save money and it was a mistake. Unless you put some very durable frame protector or a couple layers of thick heavy duty duct tape on the top tube, it will get scratched up. Regardless of if you put a rag, pad or whatever on it. On a dusty road, the dust will work its' way between the pad and the top tube or the rag or padding will work it's way off no matter how careful you are. It will happen eventually and one trip will make permanent scars. Save up your money or bite the bullet and get one that holds the wheels.

If you have a pickup, use fork mounts for 1, 2 or 3 bikes. No need for anything fancy. Just screw a fork mount on a 2X6 that spans the bed crossways, close to the tailgate, not at the front. Slide the board onto the open tail gate, roll the bike in backwards into the bed, attach the front fork to the fork mount and slide the board back into the truck until the back wheels of the bikes seat against the front of the bed. If the bikes are too long, simply angle them. Put the front wheels wherever. (we use a large black bin common at Home Depot - two to four wheels in the bin separated by a simple piece of cardboard.) We do this with thru axle bikes every day when we are pulling our travel trailer with the pickup. I also did it for over a decade when I drove a Suburban. It takes about a minute or two each way get the wheel off and on and into and out of the fork mount. QR wheels are slightly quicker.

This shows ready to go for a long trip with bunch of gear. Notice the fork mounts - both QR and TA, and the wheels stored in the tub. There's a little white block alongside the TA mounts which helps hold the fork aligned to get the TA installed on the fork mount.

I mounted the board onto a piece of plywood to make it easier to slide in and out over the open tail gate and notched it to rest against the wheel well to keep it from sliding forward, but that's not really necessary. I glued a couple of super strong large disc magnets onto the board to hold a hex key for the QRs so I never have to look for one. The red tipped bracket is just a random piece I had on hand to make a handle to pull the board in and out, and the chain you see is just a way to lock the whole thing to a cargo-bracket in the bed.

Its much easier to roll the bikes in this way instead of frontwards which requires climbing in and out of the bed with the bikes with the front wheel removed.




For local trips I use the rear rack if we have two bikes. If I'm by myself, i can lay it in the back of my Impreza or Outback hatchbacks with the wheel on.

t2p

we typically have trailer hitches so we can use plug-in bike racks

but for the most part - we transport our bikes inside the vehicle (especially on the longer trips)

we often stop for a drink and dinner (etc) after a ride - would never leave the bikes sitting outside

and a number of times we've run into heavy rain on the way home from a ride - including two times this past summer / fall ... would not transport an exposed bike in that stuff

t2p

we use this rack -

Slikfit Fastrak Bike Rack

$45 - and it includes the two quick release mounts

got it on eBay

will need an adapter for thru axle mount

Camilo

That is indeed slick. I don't think you could buy two fork mounts and a piece of 2X6 for that.

As for thru-axle adapters. As you probably know, they are available. The problem is that the ones I've seen that adapt a QR mount stick up substantially above the QR mounts that they adapt to. So your handlebars might be too high for the SUV. You might see if you could actually replace them with regular TA fork mounts. I got mine (see my photo above) from an EBay seller. They're 3D printed from carbon fiber. Low profile so the handlebars aren't any higher than when I used a QR mount.