just got a MTB how to transport?

[Leroy_Riding]

I just got myself my first 'real' mountain bike, im used to bikes with motors but I need to get fit.
This is it:
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/739/n7ch.jpg

wondering the best way to transport it with my Defender 90?

Leroy

[Slunnie]

With an alloy frame it doesn't matter too much on how you transport it. They're robust enough. I wouldn't recommend on the roof however, I know of a lot of bikes that have been smashed off roofs. Personally, I always put bikes in the car, followed by a towbar bike mount for the MTB only and lastly the roof.

For those with carbon frames, I wouldn't recommend mounting them by the top tube.

[bee utey]

Rip off the QR wheels and seat, chuck it all in the back.

[snowbound]

I read MTB & thought Motor Torpedo Boat. Disapointed now :p

[R Miller]

I use a towbar mounted rack, ive got one solid one I made, to carry my bike and another 3 or 4 bike rack I bought to carry a few bikes,

one thing to check out, your car insurance might only cover you up to $500 worth of bike. If you get hit from behind you could be out of pocket, I have had to insure my bikes through my house insurance so they are covered for everything, if there wrecked in transport, I smash it really hard, if its stolen, basically there covered as well as my car is

[Leroy_Riding]

once I finish my draws and put the fridge back in the car there is no way it will fit in the car.
i have an old towbar mount but then I wont be able to open the door till I take it off. . .

i looked are spare tire mounts but with the defender i still think the door wont open with one of them :|

I dont want to spend a fortune on a carrier. . . have friends with a swing away THULE one that I guess they can carry for me when i go with them. . .

Leroy

[BigBlackDog]

You could buy a 130!

Just pull the front wheel off with the quick release, Only takes a few seconds. The seat shouldn't need to come off, length will be more limiting than height. Get an old doona or rug to protect the paint. If you get really pedantic make a mount for the forks to lock into and bolt that in the back. Don't stress about it, the bike shouldn't dent your car too much

[Leroy_Riding]

how bad is it for the bike if I lay it down on my roof cage?
I cant fit it in the car with the fridge, and if i use my towbar mount my father used to use I wont be able to open the back door. . .
any DIY spare wheel type carriers maybe?
what about ratchet straps to the spare tire?

Leroy

[weeds]

how bad is it for the bike if I lay it down on my roof cage?
I cant fit it in the car with the fridge, and if i use my towbar mount my father used to use I wont be able to open the back door. . .
any DIY spare wheel type carriers maybe?
what about ratchet straps to the spare tire?

Leroy

If you're going to put it on the roof rack take the front wheel off and use a fork mounting bracket.....laying it down you have to content with the pedals, derailleur, marking your front shock, handle bars, brake levers etc etc....plus it looks better with the bike standing up on a defender, just watch for low flying branches

[R Miller]

being a MTB im assuming hydraulic disc's so you will also need to make sure you have a wedge in your brake calliper or when you accidently hit the brake leaver your pads will come in and you wont get your wheel back in without a heap of stuffing around,

I try to never remove my wheels unless I'm changing a tyre.

also if you have Avid Juicy series brakes they don't like laying on there side or upside down for long periods, I have had 3 sets now and they have all played up when I use to store my bikes upside down

[bee utey]

being a MTB im assuming hydraulic discs so you will also need to make sure you have a wedge in your brake calliper or when you accidently hit the brake lever your pads will come in and you wont get your wheel back in without a heap of stuffing around,


True, but my swiss army knife is never far away, I just poke the screwdriver blade in the caliper and gently push back the pads. No big deal.

[magilla]

When you insert a screw driver or blade into the pads to lever them open there is a risk that you'll damage the brake pad material. There are plastic wedges you can get, usually your local bike shop will give them to you for nothing and they can be used for transport or leverage.

There a a million different designs of racks and just as many theories, but I wouldn't lay it flat on your roof rack, too much potential for damage/chafing. Get the best you can afford it will save you upgrading when you go to carbon (think big)

Another option I guess would be, both wheels off, upside down on the back seat which also gives you an excuse not to invite some people along cause you only have room for one passenger.

[Killer]

I can fit two road bikes with the front wheels removed in the back of my series III SWB, with a folded down front facing dickie seat running across the top of the wheel arches. I suggest you try the bike in the back and make sure it doesn't fit, you may be surprised. I didn't think I would fit one let alone two bikes into mine.
Failing that, there are rear carriers on the market that swing open to allow the back door to open.
Cheers, Mick.

[clubagreenie]

If I could carry two whole bikes and 3 sets of wheels in the back of a Renault 8 when I was racing then you can fit it in the back of a Defender.

[Leroy_Riding]

I got a 2 bike carrier from anaconda for $60 and strapped it to the spare tire.

the bike does fit in the defender yes, but not once you fill the car with the camping gear :)

Leroy

[rick130]

Had hydro discs since 2000 and never had an issue using fork mounted racks, ever.

(we can all see I've just set myself up for a monumental fail here, can't we! :angel:)

[Marmoset]

I think the big issue with fork mounted racks was that people were putting twisting forces on the fork dropouts by not removing it squarely years ago. I know Fox recommended not using these type of racks purely because of operator error rather than the forks not being able to hold the bike upright on them.

I use a towbar mounted wheel try rack (an atera strada I brought over from the UK) as it'll generally hold any shape of bike, slides away from the car without unmounting and is carbon friendly :D

[Leroy_Riding]

some photos of the bike on the carrier.

not a fan of the weight on the tire but was really my only option for my budget at this point in time.

Leroy

[s7000]

I try to never remove my wheels unless I'm changing a tyre.


That's insane! Removing both front (for travel) and rear (for trainer) is easy! Just be careful(ish). The pads are easy to put back in, as stated above, you can get a plastic piece which once the pads are inserted you can press them against to re-place them.

I've had more spoke and chain problems then pad problems in my few years of riding.

OP: as for fitting in the back. Pretty sure even with a fridge you can twist it in. A bit of careful manhadling has never hurt mine. :D

[Leroy_Riding]

havent ventured into this part of AULRO for a while,
but I got mself a new bike after loving it so much.
back to the how to carry the bike issue though haha! new bike doenst fit ont he old rack, so I got a spreader bar, then i got a new car and the old rack doesnt fit *sigh*
ill jsut pull the wheels off, so much easier!

anyway, new Bikes
Scott Genius 940 in Large, my knee is getting pretty bad, but im going to keep riding till the doctor gets angry at mehttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/913.jpg

[Homestar]

Sooo, you bought a bike... and want to drive it around in the car.... right....;):angel::wasntme:

[s7000]

Front wheel off, throw it in the back. :)


Sooo, you bought a bike... and want to drive it around in the car.... right....;):angel::wasntme:

Gotta take them to the good tracks. ;)

[Homestar]

Yeah, I know, just having a stir...:). Too good an opportunity to pass up...:D

[4xsama]

Rip off the QR wheels and seat, chuck it all in the back.

Use some sheets or towel so you don't rub on metal and go for it. I take a spare few water bottles to wash off the dirt before it goes in (to my 110) and load up. Wash the seat post before you thrust it down the frame or better still don't move it at all. Be careful of the derailleur too - they bend. Load it flat if possible.

Nice looking bike by the way.

(Don't let your mates load up their bike on top of yours either. Trashes them)

[Dougal]

Had hydro discs since 2000 and never had an issue using fork mounted racks, ever.

(we can all see I've just set myself up for a monumental fail here, can't we! :angel:)
Same here. I've never had a lever bump stop me getting the wheel in.

If there is room in a vehicle I drop the seat, take both wheels off and sit the bike upside down on the bars and seat. This is stable, clean and easy to tie down.

[Leroy_Riding]

So for the past few months with my new Lr (D3) ive been using an old 80's tow bar mounted monstrosity and spreader bar.
I now have a second FS bike (Norco Revolver) with a spreader bar too.

its becoming frustrating though not being able to access the back of the car with bikes on.

all the good carrier cost a mint too. so ive been considering going DIY, though a few factors to consider!

a. I want to finish my 1967 mini and once its finished will be my daily drive and the bikes will go roof mounted, so is it worth getting a new tow bar carrier for the next 6 months or jsut deal with the old school immovable thing?

b. how to carry the bikes on the Camper trailer? if i mount them on the back i then run into the same issue as on the D3 as the camper is the rear end of a Series 3 and most things accessed via the back, has a hard shell roof top tent with solar panel ontop, would using roof rack mounts and the bikes ontop of that block out too much sun for the solar panel to be effective?

c. Im a cheap arse so dont want to pay $500 for a swing away bike rack or fold down wheel clamp rack.

Leroy.

[JoeFriend]

So for the past few months with my new Lr (D3) ive been using an old 80's tow bar mounted monstrosity and spreader bar.
I now have a second FS bike (Norco Revolver) with a spreader bar too.

its becoming frustrating though not being able to access the back of the car with bikes on.

all the good carrier cost a mint too. so ive been considering going DIY, though a few factors to consider!

a. I want to finish my 1967 mini and once its finished will be my daily drive and the bikes will go roof mounted, so is it worth getting a new tow bar carrier for the next 6 months or jsut deal with the old school immovable thing?

b. how to carry the bikes on the Camper trailer? if i mount them on the back i then run into the same issue as on the D3 as the camper is the rear end of a Series 3 and most things accessed via the back, has a hard shell roof top tent with solar panel ontop, would using roof rack mounts and the bikes ontop of that block out too much sun for the solar panel to be effective?

c. Im a cheap arse so dont want to pay $500 for a swing away bike rack or fold down wheel clamp rack.

Leroy.

If you are going to go roof mount on the mini, you can just buy a roof mount kit for any car and transfer it across - provided you have roof racks on both cars. Heaps of companies do them the only bit that can't be reused is the roof racks themselves.

On the camper, you could fabricate so.ething so they fit sideways, with a front tire removed (depending on what front axle you have you may need an adaptor). If mounting directly on top of the solar panels it would block it a bit, but you should have enough room to mount the bike towards the front of your camper without too many issues.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Leroy_Riding]

the roof mount on the mini is why i 'thought roof mount' to my camper trailer either side of the solar panel maybe?
i think roof mounted on the D3 would be a wee bit too high haha!

sideways ontop of the Camper would still be ontop next to the solar pannel though. . .

both bikes are 15mm through axel 29ers, might have to have a 'play' with locations.

Leroy.

[JoeFriend]

There are a few options with roof mountings. You can have either front wheel on or off - if I were you I would go wheel on, mostly because you then won't need to find a place to put the wheel. Brassknuckle is a rack I would look at from the states/Canada, fits a lot of sizes including DH bikes so it can carry heavy bikes and take some punishment. Designed by guys from the North Shore (BC Canada, not north sydney).

RE solar panel, my physics on this are fuzzy, but I would say that covering them would severely affect their abilities (cover half and lose 2/3rds would be an off guess). You would just have to factor in how long you would have the bikes on there driving, how much energy they collect and how long it takes to recharge your batteries from flat. Pretty simple test you could do while you are at work though, you would only need to test it as of you were driving with the bikes on the whole day and not using power.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app