Hauling a bike? Here are 4 common ways and 1 genius way

So you want to get out on a bike more. Not just around your neighborhood, but everywhere, getting the absolute most value out of your bike by using it for commuting, health, and recreation every chance you get.

Excellent idea! Now comes the reality planning… How are you going to take your bike places? Unless you are completely tied into mass-transit infrastructure, eventually your bike is going to need to coexist well with a car.

Lots of people do this a variety of ways, but the best solution–last on this list–may be something you’ve never heard of.

1. The hitch-mount car rack.

In this method, you buy a bike rack designed for a trailer hitch and then attach your bike, or multiple bikes, to that.

But first, you need a trailer hitch. Many trucks come with them already. If you don’t have one, that’s an additional expense. Then you either have it professionally installed, or use some cheaper work-around. For example…

Instead, let’s make a leap here and say that you prefer to have your hitch professionally installed. How much will that cost? That depends on where you have it done and how much custom work is needed, like welding and bumper-cutting.

It will cost less at a place like U-Haul, which installs a lot of these, and more at a car dealer (often as much as $1,100). According to HowMuchIsIt.org, the average hitch installation price is from $225-625, including hitch parts.

Then you’ll also need the bike rack itself, which is relatively inexpensive at $100-200, unless you’re buying one that swivels sideways out of the way so you can lift the hatchback and actually get into the rear of your vehicle. Some cheaper racks also advertise” folding”, which really just folds the entire rack down and plops the attached bikes down onto the dirt or pavement. Obviously, open carefully, and always re-check the latch before hitting the freeway!

Overall, here’s the hitch-mount rack scorecard:

PROS:

• Relatively secure attachment (with a professionally installed hitch)
• Relatively easy owner access
• With large rack, you can haul lots of bikes (sometimes up to 6)
• Removable: The owners can just take it out of the hitch

CONS:

• Removable: Non-owners can just take it out of the hitch, unless locked in.
• Relatively easy non-owner access (AKA stolen and vandalized bikes)
• Much longer parking space needed
• Cameras and motion sensors may be obscured (just when your parking spots are tighter)
• Hitch installation may involve cutting into the rear bumper
• Relatively expensive: expect $500 if you have to install a hitch too.
• Bikes can bang into each other or the rack
• Bikes traveling outside get covered in road grit, especially close to the road.
• Non-transferable: one car must always be “the bike car” unless both have hitches

2. The trunk-mount car rack.

In this method, you buy a bike rack designed for the trunk of a vehicle and strap it onto the trunk.

Installation is as easy as strapping it to your trunk. That also makes theft of your bikes as easy as cutting the straps with a pocketknife. Even the most secure locking to the rack can’t eliminate that risk.

Back-up cameras and sensors are generally–depending upon the bike mounting–fully operational. That’s worth checking to verify. When mounting your bike on the rear, it’s also critical to check the sides. How much does your bike stick out?

With a trunk-mount, your hatchback is more accessible, as long as you don’t mind your tailgate being heavier by the weight of one or two bikes every time you open it.

A trunk-mount rack can be moved from one car to any other trunk-based car with some effort–loosening and recinching straps. Just be aware that any car it is installed on may experience wear on the weather-stripping around the edge and body paint where the pads sit on the outside of the car.

Overall, here’s the hatch-mount rack scorecard:

PROS:

• Relatively easy owner access
• Lowest cost solution
• Cameras and motion sensors usually not obscured
• No hitch or bumper work needed
• Transferable from one car to another (AKA multiple “bike cars”)

CONS:

• Very easy non-owner access (AKA stolen and vandalized bikes)
• Slightly longer parking space needed
• Pads and straps can wear paint and weatherstripping
• Bikes can bang into each other or the car paint
• Bikes traveling outside get covered in road grit, especially close to the road.

3. The roof-mount car rack.

When you see bike races like the Tour de France, this is what you see–a crazy number of bikes, all smooshed together tightly on the roof of a support car.

If you’re a pro racer or rider support member who needs to carry the maximum number of bikes on one vehicle without them bashing each other, and still need to park the car easily, this is hands-down the best way to do it.

And yet, there are reasons not to do it. As I discovered before my shoulder surgery, a roof-mount bike rack on a truck is a long way up and can literally be a pain at times. And if your car is low-slung and more convenient for you to access, then it’s more convenient for anyone to access; one night, my daughter actually had her roof bike rack stolen off the top of her car, without even a bike involved!

As with a hitch-mounted car rack, there’s a dual purchase expense here: the roof rack (the crossbars that attach to the car, which can run $500, especially with a locking system), and the bike rack that goes on top, which can cost $250 (with its own lock).

Also, the bikes are still outside the vehicle, so this phenomenon common to all cars also applies to the bikes carried around outside them.

Overall, here’s the roof-mount rack scorecard:

PROS:

• Bikes are secure from wobble and each other
• Tougher for non-owners to steal or vandalize (especially with a locking system)
• Store lots of bikes on one vehicle
• Cameras and motion sensors never obscured
• No hitch or bumper work needed
• Can park in same size spot (but watch the overhang!)
• Does not harm car paint
• All car doors are easily accessible

CONS:

• Tough (and possibly painful) to access bikes overhead
• Beware of driving into the garage (literally!)
• Worse gas mileage on longer trips or windy days
• Relatively expensive: Expect $700+ for a recognized brand
• Non-transferable (one car is always the bike car)
• Bikes traveling outside get covered in road grit

4. The bike-friendly car.

Generally, we don’t buy an entire car just to carry a bike. Not explicitly, anyway. We buy a car that matches our lifestyle that includes biking, doing lots of fun outdoor stuff, and hauling all those things related to biking, after researching and verifying that our bikes fit.

So yeah, we’re really doing this–buying a $30K car as an accessory for a $2K bike.

(One quick note… If you’re going with the bike-on-the-side approach, there are now space-saving options that keep your pedals and bars from scraping the car’s upholstery on the way in and out–options that also help in an apartment or garage. We call it house-training your bike.)

If you’re OK with your bike more accessible to others and exposure to the elements, you can even go with the pickup bed approach, often with the bikes turned and hanging over the tailgate.

Overall, here’s the bike-friendly car scorecard (inside-bikes only):

PROS:

• Bikes are secure from theft or vandalism (Someone has to break into the car)
• Bikes are safe from the elements and road grit
• Cameras and motion sensors never obscured
• No hitch or bumper work needed
• No effect on parking
• No effect on gas mileage or car handling
• Does not harm car paint
• All car doors are easily accessible

CONS:

• Most expensive solution: costs as much as a car!
• Non-transferable (one car is always the bike car)
• Limited space in vehicle for other stuff or passengers

5. The car-friendly bike.

Everyone has heard of folding bikes. And for some people with extreme space constraints, they’re great. For others, the small and fragile folding frames with wobbly handlebars and pothole-sized wheels make for an awkward and unreliable ride, especially on hills or rough terrain.

But there’s another category of folding bike that most people haven’t heard about–one that completely dispenses with these common detractors of folding a bike.

The goal of a full-size folding bike is not to optimize for space by fitting into the smallest space possible. It’s to optimize for convenience by taking a great-riding bike and folding it in half for easier transportation and storage.

But first… some skepticism remains, thanks to the reputation of folding bikes. How can a bike with a folding frame be reliable on rough trails? How rugged is it really?

With a CHANGE bike, these questions are easy to answer. The main frame latch, shown open below, isn’t even what holds the bike frame in riding position. Above it, you can see that the frame itself meshes into position under the seat post, and even the simple act of adding rider weight helps keep the frame secure.

How rugged is it? Enough to pass the ISO-4210 destruction test for mountain bikes. So yes, a full-size folding bike is truly in a class of its own.

This means you can have a modern hardtail with hydraulic brakes, 1×11 drivetrain and dropper post, ride it with wild abandon, and then fit it away securely in your car trunk. Then actually enjoy your post-ride meal while everyone else is keeping one eye on their vulnerable bikes hanging off cars in the parking lot.

Astute observers may notice that the folded bike above has no pedals to get in the way. This quick change is done using a quick-release mechanism called pop-off pedals, standard on all CHANGE bikes, but also available separately.

The convenience of a full-size folding bike means that any car is “the bike car”. A car for carrying a bike doesn’t need to be big, or have a trailer hitch, or have extra equipment strapped or bolt to it. It just needs a trunk, or hatchback, or even a backseat with a towel on it for under the tires.

Full-size folding bikes are available in several styles, including Folding Off-Road MTB, Folding Gravel Bike, Folding Adventure Bike, and more.

Overall, here’s the full-size folding bike scorecard:

PROS:

• Bikes are secure from theft or vandalism (Someone has to break into the car)
• Bikes are safe from the elements and road grit
• Cameras and motion sensors never obscured
• No hitch or bumper work needed
• No effect on parking
• No effect on gas mileage or car handling
• Does not harm car paint
• All car doors are easily accessible
• Transferable (any bike can be the bike car)
• Foldaway approach also helps with inside storage in garages or apartments (and keeping it inside helps your bike last longer)

CONS:

• Requires a special bike. Available in aluminum frames only
• Price of a quality full-size folding bike may be out of range for some riders
• Carrying multiple bikes takes up the back seat, limiting space in the vehicle for other stuff or passengers

Which method works best for you?

In the end, you’ve still got the same wonderful, ambitious goal–to get out, explore the world around you, go places, and stay healthy because you’re out cycling everywhere. How you do it is a matter of choice, as you balance the different variables of cost, bike security, gas mileage, ease of parking, how many bikes you’re carrying, what bikes you need to carry, and more.

Which option works best for you?

See you out on the trails, wherever your car takes you.

Bob Forgrave is president of Flatbike, an
ecommerce company offering full-size folding bikes
and kits to make any bike take up half the space.

425-985-6219