Vehicle for transporting bike???

I haven't been around for a while. My SO hadn't been feeling well since last July and finally towards the end of December was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. He passed away January 21. I am doing well and getting my life back in order. I really am looking forward to riding my bicycle again . . . 54 degrees in Minneapolis, MN today!

I can get my bicycle in my 2013 Passat with the seats down but it is a pain even though I don't have to take the front wheel off. I don't want to use a bike rack anymore because I really don't have anyone to help me anymore to get it off and on the car hitch.

I plan to sell my 2013 Passat (only has 25,500 miles on it) and his 2009 EOS. I decided that cross-overs are a little too small and want to purchase a compact SUV. I want to be able to travel a bit and haul my bicycle around in the vehicle. So what are you all driving? I have just started looking so any advice would be great! Thanks!!

I would love to get rid of the car all together but my life style doesn't permit it. I like to spend time with my grandson and I need a vehicle to do that. My family is also scattered all over the Twin Cities as well. I don't do a lot of driving though. My Passat will be 4 years old in April and I will probably have 26k miles on it by then.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Welcome back, kajero. I'm sorry about your SO.

I can't really help with your question -- I'm driving a 2007 Prius with 126k miles on it and hope to keep driving it for many more miles. And if I had to replace it tomorrow I'd get another Prius. I will say that I can get my bike into the car with both wheels on but prefer to remove the front wheel because it's easier that way. I put it in front wheel first; a friend who drives a VW station wagon finds it easier to put his bike in the car rear wheel first.

So sorry for your loss, Kajero. Glad to see you back though.

I could easily fit bikes in the back of my Subaru Forester, it was a nice size for a smaller SUV, the smaller Crosstrek is very nice too. And Subarus handle the snow like nobody's business.

Glad you are back and sorry for your loss.
Why don't you like putting the seats down and putting your bike in the back? I had a small BMW sedan for 10 years and I loved the fact that I could just open the hatch and shove my bike in. In fact, my rear seats were permanently down, as they are now in my Audi station wagon. My car is bigger than I wanted, but since I hardly drive at all (my office is 2.3 miles away), I am keeping it. My main concern is room for a bike and AWD. DH just got a Rav 4 Hybrid, AWD, but he has a bike rack he only puts on if it's more than one bike.

Almost embarrassed to say it, but we drive a 2008 Toyota Highlander SUV. Definitely not me. I prefer smaller vehicles or even no vehicles at all, but my husband loves it and 4WD is very practical, up here. Also, can squeeze in any bike without needing to take off the wheels and still have room for groceries and so on.

Eh, people in my cycling group made fun of my little BMW. But when I pulled out my bike, wheels on, or drove through snow or ice, they shut up.

My favorite bike hauler that we sold was a Honda Element. I am so bummed that they are no longer made. I still see a lot of them around, though. They are really perfect for hauling bikes, though because of their boxy design were not good on gas. Since then we've had a Honda CR-V, which was okay, but we did have to remove the front wheels and put the back seat down if we didn't want to lie the bikes down on their sides (not a fan of that). We also really liked a Kia Soul we rented not too long ago. Those tiny cars have a lot more room inside than you'd expect, and the gas mileage was great. You can easily carry a bike (front wheel off), but once again will have to put the back seat down.

I hope you find what you're looking for!

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Why don't you like putting the seats down and putting your bike in the back? .

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It's just hard to get the bike in. The car is a Sedan. I only put the bicycle in the car twice this summer. It seemed a lot easier the second time.
Also, I have never picked the car out, he always did. I didn't care because I don't drive much and he liked to.

I would also like to travel some. If I get tired I want to be able to pull off the road somewhere and take a snooze. I figured it would be easier to sleep in a small SUV.

Kathy

Maybe I will go look at Prius. My spouse's son has a Prius and loves it. I don't need to do anything right away. It's just that I want to sell his car and don't really want to do it myself.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

We have a Honda Fit and you can put a bike in the back with the seats down- no problem. It's our second one, and very reliable, great gas mileage and quite a bit less expensive than a Prius if price is a factor.

Kajero, my BMW was a sedan, too. But, it had a hatchback, so once you put the seats down and opened the trunk, the bike slid right in. It was no more difficult than the station wagon I have now.

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

I'm very sorry for your loss.

We have a Honda Fit and you can put a bike in the back with the seats down- no problem. It's our second one, and very reliable, great gas mileage and quite a bit less expensive than a Prius if price is a factor.

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I like the Fit, they are ubiquitous around here so I look at them often and think if we ever give up the truck, it might be a good way to go.

We too have a CR-V and we can put our 2 bikes inside with the front wheels removed though. That is mostly used when we are on the road with our motorhome in tow. We do need to have the back seats down. So no room for any one else. Not even our dogs. :)

If we are just using the CR-V we got an easier option and it was to purchase a Yakita hitch rack. Perfect for our carbon road bikes or our cyclocross. Not cheap, but it is very good, well built, comes with a lock. And putting them on or off the rack is so easy. So this maybe another option for those who are space limited.
https://www.yakima.com/ca/holdup .

This is our 2nd CRV. The first one we loved but someone in a BMW car rear-ended us while we were stopped in rush hour traffic. he was looking at his phone (texting) and never saw the car stopped in front of him. So our vehicule was a total loss and we needed another with towing capability for our motorhome. We tried various models and it was one of the only ones to have our bikes standing up without issues (front wheel removed of course).

late to this thread.....kajero, i've had a honda crv for a couple of years now and have luv'ed the size for the ease of putting a bike into and out of the back without lowering the bikes seat or taking a tire off. My city/commuter spends the most time in the back and it's the heaviest of my bikes. We do sometimes use a roof rack for two bikes, or a third too, when we need the room inside. The crv has a comfortable ride, 30+ mpg on the highway, enough room inside to sleep in the back if you want (the front seatback goes down far enough for a rest stop nap). It's got a good navigation program with a good screen that's also used for a nice wide-view back up camera too. Mine's a 4wd for going off paved roads for work in the desert or just to go exploring.....would be good for winter's in cold climates too. No problems or service needs other than oil and air filters in 3 years. Alex brought a porsche boxster into the marriage so we have fun and practical now.

At least the crv is another one to look at in the smaller suv category...I had an audi a3 sportback before the crv and liked that too especially for the handling, ride and interior but it turned out to be too small for two/three people trips with bikes and gear.

oops, duplicate post

Thank you everyone for all the advice.

I can’t handle selling the car right now. I am thinking maybe i will just keep it. It is four years and only has 27k miles on it. If I sell it I will lose around half of what I paid for it. I am not sure I want to have car payments this year either.

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Originally Posted by kajero

I can’t handle selling the car right now.

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that's understandable....and with that low mileage you should still have lots of worry free miles left on the car.

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Originally Posted by kajero

I haven't been around for a while. My SO hadn't been feeling well since last July and finally towards the end of December was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. He passed away January 21. I am doing well and getting my life back in order. I really am looking forward to riding my bicycle again . . . 54 degrees in Minneapolis, MN today!

I can get my bicycle in my 2013 Passat with the seats down but it is a pain even though I don't have to take the front wheel off. I don't want to use a bike rack anymore because I really don't have anyone to help me anymore to get it off and on the car hitch.

I plan to sell my 2013 Passat (only has 25,500 miles on it) and his 2009 EOS. I decided that cross-overs are a little too small and want to purchase a compact SUV. I want to be able to travel a bit and haul my bicycle around in the vehicle. So what are you all driving? I have just started looking so any advice would be great! Thanks!!

I would love to get rid of the car all together but my life style doesn't permit it. I like to spend time with my grandson and I need a vehicle to do that. My family is also scattered all over the Twin Cities as well. I don't do a lot of driving though. My Passat will be 4 years old in April and I will probably have 26k miles on it by then.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

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... Sorry for your loss :(
I drive what I get from Enterprise as a rental, and use zipcar a couple times a year -- or, I did 'til my brother handed down an inherited Toyota Avalon. Sounds like you drive a bit more than that (our bus system gets me to the local stuff).


I got the car and ... just as when I had a Mazda hatchback... I have to make myself take it out (and I need to keep track -- don't know if it's been 2 or 4 weeks since the last rainy Monday!)

I have been thinking that I might as well get something big and old that I could throw *anything* in. (Oh, my bikes are long.)

Kajero, I'm so sorry for your loss.

I have a Jeep Wrangler, 4x4. I know - horrible gas mileage - but, two people and 2 large labs can sleep comfortably in the back with the seats down! No need to take the tire off my bike if I don't want to put the bike rack on the trailer hitch. And....I am one of only three people who can make it up our 1.5 mile long, 17% grade dirt road in the Winter.

So sorry for your loss Kajero. I have a Nissan Rogue AWD and I love it. When I was shopping for a new car, I made sure my bike would fit. It slides easily in and out and I don't have to remove the front wheel. It's a comfortable ride, handles nice and gets good gas mileage.

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Originally Posted by kajero

I can get my bicycle in my 2013 Passat with the seats down but it is a pain even though I don't have to take the front wheel off. I don't want to use a bike rack anymore because I really don't have anyone to help me anymore to get it off and on the car hitch.

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So this isn't a car recommendation, but a bike rack recommendation. When I was looking for a hitch mount bike rack, I didn't want one that was going to be heavy and cumbersome to put on and remove either. And I found one that has worked great for me. It is the Saris T Bones rack. I got the 3 bike version, and I don't think it weighs more than 10 - 15 pounds. There is an adapter that goes into the hitch and putting the rack on and taking it off can easily be done by one person, even me and I'm 5 feet tall. The only problem is Saris doesn't make this rack anymore, but you may be able to find one on ebay or craigslist. Here's a youtube video where a guy demonstrates it.

My DH bought one for his RAV 4, that is by Thule. It's a 2 bike platform hitch rack, that is so much easier to take on and off than the old Saris one we had. Maybe you can look at that. I can easily lift it up and carry it into its resting spot under our sunroom.