Cycling UK Forum

I see there is a thread on bike racks going on, but I fold the rear seats down and stick my bike in the back of my car when travelling with it. Usually, I just take off the front wheel and remove the bike seat, and slide the bike in upside down. I get two bikes in this way. I feel more reassured that nothing will fall off and damage the car behind, I can leave the car parked up without the bikes being stolen, and I suppose fuel economy is not impaired as much. I'm in the position of needing to get a replacement car, and wondered what the smallest one is that can swallow two bikes in this manner. Those boxy old people's cars look rather practical, so can you do it with a Suzuki Wagon R, for example? Or is something bigger called for?

There's a certain long-standing poster on here who owns a Berlingo, bought for the very purpose you allude to.

We have a Clio, and my bike (just) fits in with the front wheel off, but it's more difficult when the mudguards are fitted. It goes in, but only just, and I wouldn't want to fit two bikes in there.

There's oodles of room in the original Berlingo and the current model looks even bigger. I bought one as a mobile bike shed some years ago. The Peugeot Partner is more or less the same thing. Mine must have been whatever is the French equivalent of a Friday-afternoon car because maintaining it was a black hole for cash (I had mine from new, 52 reg, and did 27,000 miles over some seven years.) Whenever I post like this, satisfied Berlingo owners shower me with the sort of hatred the faithful reserve for apostates.

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As I've been typing this, Mick F has posted. I got rid of the Berlingo and replaced it with a Yaris when Toyota were almost running bogof offers last year.

I can get my bike in the car with the front wheel off & the back seats down. I might even get two in. The problem comes in when I also have to get two kids (in car seats), another bike, a child seat for one of the bikes, Mr. V, luggage, camping gear, etc. in our poor little Fiat Punto.

When we last went camping, several total strangers stopped to ask us how we got all of our stuff in the car.

I do have a number of friends and clubmates who have Berlingo-sized vehicles or small vans just so they can carry lots of bicycles, easily. I used to drive (company car) a Fiat Stilo estate, which is both small and fuel efficient as far as estates go. I put up to 3 bicycles in that with the front wheels off, though it required some time to arrange everything just so. They went in on their sides with blankets between. Two bicycles were easy to get in. I quite liked that car, and may buy one, if I can find a decent one when it comes time to replace the Punto.

thirdcrank wrote:The Peugeot Partner is more or less the same thing.

My bike goes in the back of the Partner easily without removing any parts, even the panniers. I would think two bikes could be made to fit with little trouble.

The Skoda Fabia estate is worth a look. It's practically a city car in size, but has a capacious boot that'll happily swallow two bikes. The Greenline model will do 83mpg, which must make it a candidate for The Most Sensible Car In Britain.

Mondeo Estate (currently, but and I'll whisper, due for the breakers yard); SWB Tandem stood up with front wheel out, 2nd solo bike stood alongside it, single split seat up so child can occupy it, camping kit and the aforementioned front wheels.

Now I have a big fat cheque from solicitor/insurance claim, in next couple of weeks I will be looking in earnest for a decent sized van so I can put even more bikes in it

Out of interest the one I hired for holiday was cheaper on tax and more fuel efficient than my current Mondeo

Whenever I go to look at a replacement car (always a "well used" one that I need because the current one is due to go to the breakers) I take the bike with me and try it for size.

The current Zafira takes a bike or upright trike without removing anything and the tandem once the front wheel is out.

Thank you for these suggestions. I've noticed that cars with vertical tailgates make much better use of space than ones with sloping rears, so I suspected something Polo size might do to accommodate bikes. I think a Zafira might be a bit big for me, but one of the queer things about my perception of big cars and small cars is that when I look at the stats, there is rarely more than a metre difference in length between the biggest and smallest, and often it is a lot less. It must be height which adds to the presence of some.

I've got a Honda Jazz, which I bought because I was used to having an estate and the associated practicality, but needed something affordable with decent economy. I've had up to five bikes in the rear (with a pile of holdalls alongside). The petrol tank is under the front seats so the rears fold down fully flat - giving you a proper estate-style loading space (albeit a little shorter); or the fold up, giving you a floor-to-ceiling space behind the front seat(s).

I tend to take the front wheel off, turn the bars 90 degrees and bungee the bike(s) to the side of the car (flipping down one of the rear seats exposes the steel bracket they attach to, which happens to be perfect for this). For my (big) bikes I need to whip the seatpost out; my wife's goes in with just the wheel off.

I can also get a 63cm road bike in the boot (both wheels off, but seat still on) without folding the seats down at all - we've had three of us with a week's worth of holiday paraphernalia (including all the stuff you need for a two-year-old *and* his birthday presents) in there without needing a bike rack. I've done the same with four adults on a two-week holiday on one day (wasn't planned, but it worked out). I've even had the tandem inside (wheels out, front and rear passenger side seats flat, passenger sitting behind the driver - well, it's a stoker position, isn't it?) and it's carried piles of 8ft planks of wood countless times.

Also, it's a Honda, which means I've done over 80k miles in it and (touching wood like crazy) not even so much as a light bulb has gone wrong. Plus the insurance is cheap and if you're careful with the pedals you can eke 57mpg out of it.

FWIW I looked at the Wagon R when buying the Jazz and the two are virtually incomparable - the Suzuki looks more pracical on the outside than it is within. The flat loading space makes a massive difference - once I'd seen the seats folded it was (along with Honda's reputation for reliability) absolutely the deal-clincher.

I am fortunetely passed the point of needing a car with rear seats so have been using car derived vans for the past ten years. My racer fits very nicely in the back of my Vauxhall Combo. Took it away with me on holiday recently to the New Forest along with everyone elses luggage, one weeks food and one Jack Russell. All securely locked away and looking to the world from the outside just like any other work van. I can sleep in the back too if I go away for the weekend. I love vans!

Unless something has changed recently, one point about vans is that the VAT structure means that they tend to be level-pegging on price with the equivalent car. This may not be so obvious with car-derived vans, but when I bought my Berlingo, which is, of course a van-derived car, the equivalent van was a similar price.

I'm using van-derived car to mean a vehicle originally designed as a light van to which the manufacturer has added windows and seats and possibly a tailgate instead of twin doors, wih sometimes different interior trim. OTOH, a car-derived van is either a hatchback or estate whose rear side windows and seats have not been fitted. Sometimes, these seem to lack the defence against corrosion now almost universal on cars.

The Berlingo is car derived as is the Partner van. Both are based on the Peugeot 306.

Car-derived vans have "car" speed limits ie 60mph on the open road.

Vans have to obey lower speed limits ie 50mph on the open road.

This may be worth considering.

I've often wondered about the Berlingo vans as they aren't car-derived though have the "platform" of a Peugeot 306. Corsa vans are obviously Corsas for instance.

I picked up my Combo secondhand from the Post Office after they had their three year clearout. I paid 2.5k for it with no VAT, 60k on the clock, full service history and security locks. It is only a 1300 diesel so I dont thrash it but rather encourage it along, I think it is designed more for city driving. It returns great MPG if you keep it at 55 to 60 MPH and its very economical for my runs up and down to Cornwall. I believe the Combo is based on a Corsa floorpan?