dennis336

Hi all,

We're going to be taking an extended road trip this summer and, while not primarily a cycling trip, I will be bringing my bike. I prefer not to use an external rack so I want to carry it inside the cargo area of our Honda CRV. In the past, for shorter trips, I just loaded the bike into the cargo area without removing the front wheel. Since this is a longer trip, I'm looking for ways to be more efficient with space.

I've been researching floor mounts ... the one below seems to have gotten pretty good reviews (I assume I'd just screw it to a board to provide stability).
https://www.amazon.com/MBP-Alloy-Rel...ct_top?ie=UTF8

Curious for any experience you all have had with this approach for carrying your bike - have you found them helpful, sturdy enough (and safe for the bike!) for carrying your bike in the cargo area of your vehicle over long distances?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Camilo

Those fork mounts work fine mounted on a 2x6 or even a square of plywood. It just needs to be large enough to provide side to side stability.

Make sure your bike fits lengthwise and vertically in the space. Also that one is made for a typical quick release fork with 100mm spacing. You'd need a different kind for thru axle fork.

Ive carried bikes that way for many years in the back of our suburban and pickup. If the bike is too long, you can angle it but that does add instability,. The straighter it is the better.

I also recommend putting the fork mounts at the rear of the vehicle instead of forward. It's easier to roll they bike in on the rear wheel then attach the fork.

Koyote

I bolted mine to a 2x8. Notice that I've got a qr mount next to a thru-axle mount, so I can take a newer bike or an older one.

Couple tips:
1) It's easiest to maneuver the bike in and out of the vehicle if you stick the rear wheel in first...Then you can fiddle with the front dropout more easily from the hatchback area.
2) This will work better or worse depending on your bike's size and the model year of your CR-V. I ride 58 frames, so a bit longer wheelbase than some. It's a tight fit in our 2011 CR-V, since that has rear seats that fold up against the front seats, thus reducing the length of the cargo space. In that car, I have to wedge the bike in sideways, which restricts room for other cargo. On our 2022 CR-V, the rear seats fold down, and so there's more room for a bike to be parked lengthways. (I don't know when the design changed.)

t2p

$45 + shipping

just set it in place and attach the bike(s)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20297703895...EAAOSwZdtep3Zy

.

dennis336

Thanks for the responses - sounds like the mounts work well - good to hear. Our CRV is a 2020 so I'm thinking the dimensions are pretty close to the 2022 cargo area that Koyote has. I'm short so my Trek Domane is a 50 or 52 (actually don't remember), so I'm expecting it will fit fine but I'll test it out to confirm.

Thanks again!

Camilo

I do the same thing, but a a little different. I don't know if you can see from the pictures, but I have the QR fork mount behind the thru-axle mount. I can mount two bikes, with either type of fork. (pickup is loaded for a 2 month trip pulling the travel trailer).

The whole contraption is mounted on the plywood so I can slide it out onto the tail gate for loading and slide it back in for transport. I didn't need that when I was transporting in the SUV because it didn't have a tailgate.

The little white block you see is to act as a "third hand" to hold the fork in position to thread on the thru axle. Not needed for the QR forks.

I have a couple of neodymnium disc magnets glued to the board to hold the hex wrench for the thru axles if needed, and the red thing is just a piece of hardware I had on hand which works as a handle to pull the mount in and out.

The QR skewers shown are locking and the chain you see locks the whole thing to a metal cargo loop inside the bed. Haven't really figured out a locking mechanism for the thru axle forks, other than not leaving the hex key. I used "security" screws to attach the mounts. I did all this security stuff before I got the topper. With the locking topper, it's probably as secure as if I could put them in the cab of the truck or the trailer, so I don't utilize any of these features anymore, although I might if I need to store the bikes and truck in a storage lot.

Years of evolving design!

Koyote

Camilo , that is a sweet setup! I might copy that if I ever own another pickup truck.

dennis336

Camilo, that is a nice setup - makes me want to get a pickup!

Peruano

I frequently carried two road bike in a CRV with no mounts. By taking the front wheels off, it was possible to position the bikes fork first up against the folded rear seats of the car. The brake levers hooked over the top edge of the folded seat, the fork tips extended down in the space behind the seat and the bike sat upright with out issue or damage to car or bike. Unfortunately my current Outback (or the Forester) do not have the vertical clearance for such an arrangement. I've used the fork mounts everyone has discussed in this thread, but they are not needed in the CRV situation (and in fact may cost you a bit of space). JM experience.

BTinNYC 

I like how everybody uses total scrap for mounting boards!! I did the same. 😀

jadmt

uni-strut works well too. one nice thing about uni-strut is you can angle the fork mounts and easily get 4 bikes in if you want. I only have two here but can easily do four.

Camilo

Thanks.

A pickup with a secure topper is ideal for sure. But this truck is a beast for "daily driving" and the only reason we own it is for extended trips pulling a travel trailer. I'm very fortunate that I have an Impreza for daily driving (which I can also fit a bike into with the front wheel on!... but also have roof top and hitch receiver racks for).

dennis336

Thanks again all - some nice ideas. Peruano, just curious - is the bike stable with that approach? It doesn't tip over?

delbiker1 

I have Mazda 3 hatchback. I take both wheels off, lower or remove the saddle, put the wheels in between the front seats and the folded down rear seats, put the bike against the drivers side rear, cover it and the wheels with an old blanket, sheet or towels. I put it on the drivers side to keep the other side visibly clear, hardly notice the bike is there when driving. At this point, all my traveling is solo, so I have plenty of room.

Camilo

Wow. I have an Impreza hatchback and can just put the bike in with the wheels on, no adjustments to the saddle. Slide it in rear wheel first, derailleurs up, tilt the front wheel a bit to get the hatch closed and of course the back seat is folded down. I thought it's about the same size as a Mazda 3. I do have to put the passenger seat forward a bit. Typical "Medium"/54 cm road and gravel frames. Mountain bike won't work, it's too long.

When I was shopping for this car several years ago, I took my bike with me and the sales people let me test to see if I could get it in without taking off the wheel. Even the VW Golf was big enough, and I think I also drove a Mazda 3 which also worked.

delbiker1 

I can do that also, depending on how much traveling gear and luggage I am hauling. Mine are also 53/54 cm road.

Camilo

Ah, wasnt thinking of other gear. I can get some stuff in with the bike and on the passenger seat, but not a whole lot without puttting it on top of the bike.

dennis336

In our situation, my wife and I are planning a 6-7 week road trip so space efficiency is important. We'll be packing a lot of stuff. My wife doesn't cycle so just my bike. We're going to put everything in the CRV (no luggage roof rack or bike rack).

Camilo

We travel light too.... F250 stuffed with misc. gear, a collapsible (Ally) canoe and two bikes.... towing a 28 foot travel trailer.

Peruano

The bike is stable when positioned with the brake levers hooked over the tilted back seat of the CRV. Of course, I never lacked for other things packed in the cargo area with the bikes and front wheels. I have the fork mounts and used them in the PU and RV, but with the CRV there was no need.

Calsun

I never had enough clearance to have a bike upright even when I had a large SUV. I always want anything inside a car or truck to be out of sight so as to not tempt thieves and have a window broken and gear stolen.

One option is a roof top cargo box for the bike. It keeps the bike out of sight and leaves you with all of the available cargo space in the Honda.

coffeesnob

That is what I use in our honda ody. I mounted them on an aluminum strut i got from work and then mounted it to a piece of 1inch oak board. Works great. You sure the crv has the height for this setup?