Gunther20

I recently bought my first bike with disc brakes (yay for me!). When driving to a trail or wherever I typically would toss (gently) my rim-brake equipped bikes into the back with the drive side up. No problems. But now that I've got disc brakes on the non-drive side I wonder which way is safer as I'm concerned about keeping the brakes aligned. Should I be transporting it drive side up/brake side down or drive side down/brake side up?
I do have a hitch mounted hanging rack that I use when there is no room in the back of the SUV but I don't want it to keep it mounted on a daily basis. The hanging rack also poses other risks with daily use. I put myself on a waiting list for a 1up tray rack but who knows how long that waiting list is. Perhaps when I take possession of the 1up rack I'll just leave it on all summer.

sfrider 

Drive side up. Put a spacer in the brake when you remove a wheel. Something like this found on Amazon.
I keep two in my saddle bag for that reason.

sfrider 

Oh, and if it's electronic, make sure the shifters aren't pressed during transport or you may find the battery dead on arrival. Don't ask me how I know!

alcjphil

I put my mountain bike in the back of my station wagon with the drive side up, been doing so for years with no damage to the brake rotors. Just make sure that the axles are firmly attached. If your bike has through axles there is very little chance that anything could go out of alignment. If you have quick releases, make sure that they are tight

WhyFi

I assume that you're not taking your wheels off, in which case you're over-thinking it - just chuck it in drive-side up so that you don't mash the RD.

mstateglfr 

My rotors and calipers dont hit the back of my vehicle when I lay the bike down on the non-drive side. The left handlebar and tires are the 3 points that make contact.
...at least I dont think the calipers touch.

Either way, its never been a concern and the wheels spin fine.

Gunther20

Thanks all for the expertise. I'm probably over concerned because it's still a new bike. I'll continue to hurl it in drive side up (gently of course).

Doomrider74

Ive been transporting my road bike and mountain bikes in the back of my car for, well.... forever. As long as its driveside up, no problem. Just make sure your levers (brake or gear) don't get pressed at all and you're good to go.

I usually rest the front end on my kit bag, which raises it up a bit, just so the rotors and calipers aren't digging into anything. Make sure you remove your helmet from the kit bag, though.

jaxgtr

My one up order took 3 week in late Feb. They are picking up the pace though, the add on I bought only took a week.

Gunther20

That’s good to know on the 1up jaxgtr. All I received was a confirmation email with no estimate of lead time. Hoping it’s the last rack I’ll ever have to buy.

PaulRivers

Drive side up is really just to not get chain oil on the fabric of the car. The bike itself should be fine either way. If you remove a wheel you might need to put those inserts into the brake that the first poster mentioned.

Transporting the bike inside the car is pretty much ideal. I only pull out the rack when I need to transport several bikes at the same time. If it's just me the bike goes inside the car.

JonnyV

Drive side up. No need to over think it. Unless of course it's a carbon bike, which case it'll get to hot in the car, the matrix will liquify and the bike will explode.

Canker

Even if you do pull the brake lever with the wheel off and no spacer by accident and you will it isn't a big deal. Back when I was doing it that way I just kept a small screw driver in the back of the car to jam between the pads and push them back apart, problem solved.

big john

I carry my mtb in the back of my suv with the front wheel removed. No issues in 3 years with this bike and I don't do anything special. All my other bikes have fit in there with wheels on and no issues.