What do you haul your bikes on?

[CCinSC]

Long story short-we are looking for a new car! We've narrowed down the results to either a Tahoe or a Cadillac CTS (car). I know, they are COMPLETELY different!!!

So here's the thing, he thinks that putting my bikes (road and Mt) on the back on the CTS is completely ridiculous . I don't care either way on what they go on, as long as they are safe and comfy . He wanted me to ask you all what you think about a bike on the CTS and what you drive to haul around your bikes?

Your answers will determine the fake of our car buying experience!!!

[spokewench]

I didn't know what a Cadillac CTS was, but i see that it is just a sedan. I have a roof rack that I carry either or both mountain and road bikes on the top of my sedan. It is a Subaru Sedan. People, in my experience, just find a way to haul their bikes on whatever vehicle they own. So, you will see roof racks on sedans, or those trailer hitch type of racks on the back of a sedan.

You don't have to have a truck to own a bike! LOL

[DDH]

When we go on rides together that we have to haul our bikes we take the truck which is equipped with a camper shell and that enables us to put all our stuff back there and not worry about anything blowing away. DH has made a holder out of a piece of wood that enables us to take the front wheels off and put front forks down on and tighten down.

I have a Honda civic and a bike rack that I can take on and off on days when I want to haul it somewhere and it's just me.

[KnottedYet]

I have a little Subaru Impreza station wagon, and the bike rides inside the wagon. If I have more than one bike to take somewhere, I put on a Thule trunk-rack.

I see a lot of sedans with roof-racks and hitch mounted racks. You might want to bring along a little step-stool for using the roof-rack. (Trek420 has a roof-rack on her Oldsmobile Alero, and this great little stepstool that makes putting the bikes up pretty easy!)

If I were likely to be taking more than one bike around all the time, I'd consider a hitch mounted rack. (mainly because I *know* I'd forget the bikes were on the roof and I'd cause some sort of bike damage.)

[onimity]

I usually haul my bikes around on their tires To me, the bike is first & foremost a means of transportation.

In the rare cases that I've put bikes on a car, we have a rear rack that works perfectly on a small sedan for up to 3 bikes. Seriously, as the others have said a sedan is *more* than sufficient for hauling bikes around, and you have a lot of options as to how you do that (without damaging the car).

Why does your husband think that hauling a bike on the sedan is ridiculous? Is it for aesthetic reasons? Or because it isn't built for 'sport' and 'utility'?

I assume that you are going to be using the car for more than just transporting your bikes, you may want to consider that the Tahoe has much poorer gas mileage than the CTS and you're going to be stuck with that beyond the trips you take with your bikes. That makes a big difference beyond just the (financial) cost of gas.

To my mind what is ridiculous is to justify an extremely inefficient form of transportation because you want to haul bicycles around on occasion...but I am a little opinionated on the subject.

Anne

[bike4ever]

I have a Honda CRV. I carry the mtb on the roof. I carry the road either on the roof or in back.

There are no roof options for the Cadillac STS with Yakima, Thule or Saris. These companies also do not recommend you use a trunk mount to carry bikes. It looks like the only option for the Cadillac is to had a receiver hitch to carry bikes.

[KnottedYet]

Those hitch mounted racks are pretty nice. When you take them out of the hitch reciever, you can't even tell there's anything "on" the car. (the reciever sits low, under the bumper.)

If your husband is worried about how the car will look when it's NOT carrying bikes, the hitch mount could be the way to go. And if it's the only thing that will fit on the Cadillac, well, peachy...

(putting the rack in and out of the reciever is pretty quick and simple.)

You get to have a sedan that can carry bikes, and he gets to have a sedan that doesn't look "completely ridiculous"!

[kelownagirl]

This isn't a helpful answer but - we have a minivan. We usually only have one seat in the back and carry our bikes inside. I don't like the idea of them hanging off the back. (My friend has a rooftop carrier and has hit his bike twice going under things that were too low. )

[ibcycling]

Actually the Caddie doesn't get that great of mileage either. I've got a Suburban and I'm happily surprised that I average 16-17mpg. The CTS is rated as 17/24 on the site I looked at.

Like you said, they are very different vehicles. Look at why you want each one and what the benefits/drawbacks are. Good luck and have fun car shopping!

Right now I haul my bike in the 'burban. We do need the big beast to haul kids, dogs, and horses around so we'll be keeping it. I'd really like to get a more efficient vehicle to cruise around in though and would prefer that it be able to hold my bike. Do any of you have PT Cruisers? I'm not sure if they're bike compatible or not but that's what I'm leaning towards.

Lora

[wannaduacentury]

Long story short-we are looking for a new car! We've narrowed down the results to either a Tahoe or a Cadillac CTS (car). I know, they are COMPLETELY different!!!

So here's the thing, he thinks that putting my bikes (road and Mt) on the back on the CTS is completely ridiculous . I don't care either way on what they go on, as long as they are safe and comfy . He wanted me to ask you all what you think about a bike on the CTS and what you drive to haul around your bikes?

Your answers will determine the fake of our car buying experience!!!

My car is a volvo 4 dr sedan and I have a 1 1/4" hitch with thule 4 bike rack on it. It works great whether I haul 1 or 4. Jenn

[Tuckervill]

If you get the Cadillac, put a receiver hitch on it and use a bike rack, instead of a trunk mounted rack. That way you don't have to take a chance on scratching up the paint, etc. Lots of the receiver hitches are virtually invisible when not in use.

I have an Element, but there are times when I need to haul the bikes on the back (like last weekend, when I hauled 3 bikes to the Big Dam Bridge ride and bought another bike while I was down there!). So I used the cargo tray with fork mounts attached, even though I have a Yakima Kingpin. Two bikes went on the cargo tray, and two bikes went inside.

The reason I like the cargo tray best (or one of those racks that the bikes sit on instead of hang from) is that both bikes were vintage and I didn't want them scratched up. Hanging off the Kingpin, they sometimes come in contact with each other.

ETA: I can't reach the top of the Element, and I don't want to haul a stepladder, and I can't imagine how many times I would hit my bikes on stuff after I forgot they were there! I have trouble remembering the kayak is up there.

Karen

Long story short-we are looking for a new car! We've narrowed down the results to either a Tahoe or a Cadillac CTS (car). I know, they are COMPLETELY different!!!

So here's the thing, he thinks that putting my bikes (road and Mt) on the back on the CTS is completely ridiculous . I don't care either way on what they go on, as long as they are safe and comfy . He wanted me to ask you all what you think about a bike on the CTS and what you drive to haul around your bikes?

Your answers will determine the fake of our car buying experience!!!

[sundial]

I have a Honda Element and if it's just me and my bike, I hang the seat out of the way and put my bike in the cargo area. If hubby is joining me for a ride, I put on the Thule hitch mount rack to carry our bikes.

[singletrackmind]

18/26 vs 14/20 mpg if you don't have roof racks. Assuming the 2008 CTS reviews are pretty good on both. GM is doing better in long term reliability and some are even showing up as used car best bets (though I don't believe either of these are one of those). The sedan would prolly be a more reasonable car for driving clients around in, the Tahoe would prolly work better for hauling stuff inside such as bikes, signage and whatnot.

There's several good car sites, I'd check out edmunds.com, kbb.com, carsurvey.org, maybe fueleconomy.gov to get as much info as possible, including looking at older models with the same engine to find out about potential problems or excessive maintenance/repair/reliability issues.

I drive a 4runner. Excellent reliability, not too hard to repair when stuff does come up, I'm expecting to go at least 300,000 miles, poor mileage (18), too small a gas tank, half-decent off-road capability. Carries everything from kids to garden equipment to bikes. If it weren't for the off-road part a wagon would suit me as well.

[MomOnBike]

I know what not to get. Anything like our Neon with the rear spoiler. Bleh. We can't fit a bike rack on the thing 'cause of the spoiler. (and that's just one reason that I hate the car...)

My other problem is that DH & I ride honkin' big recumbents, just about the size of a tandem apiece, with those big comfy seat backs and my fairing that act like sails. Not something I want on top of the Neon.

What I'm thinking of doing, therefore, is putting a trailer hitch on the Neon and renting the smallest U-Haul Trailer for those times we need to take our bikes longer distances than we wish to ride. Bikes are covered and out of the way, gas mileage suffers, but not on a permanant basis, and the trailer Goes Away when we are done. No storage headaches.

Something to consider. It might just free up your car considerations a bit.

[KnottedYet]

Wow! The trailer is a great idea! Don't have to worry about the bikes getting stolen or nastied up!

And those trailers aren't too expensive, and oh so convenient!