What car would your bike live in?

[GLC1968]

OFF TOPIC! How did you get it in the MINI? I tried to get my XS Giant OCR C3 into the back of mine with only the front wheel off and it was like a game of tetris gone horribly awry. Granted the dog thought he was going for a ride too and complicated things, but I would like to know your secret.

Move the passenger seat all the way forward, take the front tire off the bike, turn the bars all the way to the right and put it in with the left drop over the 'shoulder' of the passenger seat. It helps if your bike is light, as it's kind of hard to lift it off the seat from the angle of standing at the back (not sure if that makes any sense). Once I got the hang of it, it was quick and easy. Makes it hard to take someone else in the car with you as they'll get a handlebar in the back though.

Once it's in, there is room for other stuff in the back, too. I tried it with my H's bike and it wouldn't work. His was a 56cm. Mine is a 48cm.

[Irulan]

Not the Mazda Speed. Just the plain 'ol 3 with 160 HP.

But seriously... I bought the Mazda... for my bike. I wanted a car that I could put my bike into easily and get out of easily. I wanted it to be peepy, fun to drive, and not look like a complete family mobile. I even took my bike when I went to test drive it. It took me 6 months of searching, but I finally found a sweet ride for my bike!

The reason I asked is that you'd linked to the Speed.

Here's mine, nothing like a BC road trip...

[GLC1968]

Yay, the gen vibe forum is back up! Here's the post about fork mounting bikes in the Vibe:
http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=28162

And one of his pics:

Looks like he has a rubber mat down over the plastic.

PS- you want an 08 or earlier. 09 gets worse gas mileage (tho is more fun to drive), is smaller (less head room for my 2 Bernese) and the rear glass won't open (how am I supposed to get a 2x4 in there then??). Oh, and my mileage quotes are for the base manual (cause manual rocks!)

We tried this with our road bikes in the Matrix. Mine fit fine, H's wouldn't fit without removing the saddle and he didn't want to have to do that all the time (his is a 56cm). We actually used a 2x4 with the fork mounts on it from our old Toyota pick up. We sawed off the ends to fit the car and it did not need to be bolted down. It fit snugly enough to be stable on it's own. I would imagine you could do the same with the Vibe.

[JennyPi]

34 mpg (although the newer ones have bigger engines and worse gas mileage)--can't complain about that!

< ----- jealous of your gas mileage.

I have the new Scion XB and it's .... 23mpg! That Camry engine is costing me a grip and I could actually do without it. My bike fits in there nicely although the BF and I prefer putting both of our bikes into his Toyota PREVIA. Yes, the Previa; that early 90's minivan that you still see everywhere. We call it the "egg mobile" because it's white.

[bluebug32]

I have a subaru outback sport (cheaper outback than the usual one), and my bike happily rides in the back. My bf has a toyota carola, and if I take the wheels off my bike, it actually fits in the trunk in its entirety.

+1 on the Outback Sport. I can fit my road bike inside without taking the wheel off and the mtb will just make it, too. I've been getting 28/31 lately. Not bad for AWD!

[Fujichants]

Hm...I tried putting my bike in my VW Golf and it just required too much energy. My back seats don't fold completely down so there is a weird slant that just complicates things more.

When I put it in my Jeep, it is just a pain in the butt to get it in there, since I have to lift it up and then shove it in. Sure, if I had a 16 lb carbon bike, this would be fairly easy, but my bike is quite heavy!

I saw a woman put her bike in her BMW 3 series convertible in Beverly Hills. Not a bad idea!

[tygab]

Another Element owner... gas mileage is ok, not horrible but not great either. But ours has both rear seats out and can take two bikes rolled in and five days of biking/camping gear with space to spare. that still leaves the roof for kayaks or other stuff too. Anyway we love ours. Bikes and Elements make a good pair... Previously had a Subaru wagon and while the bike fit there was some wrestling involved..

[bmccasland]

I drove a PT Cruiser for 2 months while my car was in the shop (someone hit me to the tune of $7,000 worth of damage).

I have to say, I didn't really like that car. It had no get-up-and-go, compared to the Mazda. And the gas mileage was aweful. I did a road trip in it, and it got MAYBE 25 mph. For as slow as it was, I really expected better gas mileage.

I traded a Dodge 4x4 PU for the Cruiser, 6 years ago. I did not test drive a variety of cars prior to picking out the Cruiser, as I had decided I that was the car for me. As for handling, my comparison was to a truck. I constantly have to remind myself that I'm not driving a 4x4 (especially on ground clearance issues). Still driving my 2002 Cruiser, she's been a good car, and I haven't left the oil pan behind yet!

[tulip]

Amy, you might want to look at the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris. I understand that the Yaris now comes in a 4-door hatchback in the US (it was available in Canada but not the US). All get very good mileage, are hatchbacks, and are reliable. The Honda Fit has the most cargo space of the three.

[amy]

Amy you bought a house in the city of Los Angeles?!?!?

you guys all sure love your cars.

Yes... technically our house is in Altadena, but that's an unincorporated part of LA. Not all of us LOVE our cars. Some of us would love another option but the public transportation is terrible and there is little respect for bikers (and everything is really spread out).

[Trekhawk]

I love Honda Elements but unfortunately they do not sell them in Australia.
So we got ourselves a Honda CRV on our return to Aust and my bikes fit nicely inside. I must admit though when I have the three kids and the dog inside the car the bikes must go on the roof.

[IFjane]

Another Element owner... gas mileage is ok, not horrible but not great either. But ours has both rear seats out and can take two bikes rolled in and five days of biking/camping gear with space to spare. that still leaves the roof for kayaks or other stuff too. Anyway we love ours. Bikes and Elements make a good pair... Previously had a Subaru wagon and while the bike fit there was some wrestling involved..

Another one here, too. I love it. Last weekend I took three bikes (with front wheels intact!) and assorted gear over the mountain to our LBS. One rear seat is out, but the other is in, and I folded it up against the side. Love the element - if I needed another vehicle I would buy one all over again!

[twin]

I packed two bikes all kinds of bags and food for my trip to CO. last week in my Fit. My bikes like the Fit. My nephew is sitting where the food basket went.

[Tuckervill]

I have a picture like that of a big custom van that I packed for camping, but in place of the nephew, tucked in a corner under a box, was my Jack Russell, Percy, ready to go! She was not going to be left behind!

Karen

[twin]

cute! I imagine your puppy was glad to go with you.