Bicycle in or on the car? All info on bike transport!

Finally vacation time! Can your bike come along? Then you should consider in advance how to transport your bicycle in or on the car. A bike rack is a good transport option, but which one is the right one? There are roof bike racks, rear bike racks, or bike racks on the trailer hitch – but what are their advantages and disadvantages? It's even easier to put the bike in the car, but there are also a few things to note here. Here you will learn how to transport your bike safely.

Bike in the car and go? Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Especially if you ride an e-bike, transportation is not that easy! You can actually load the e-bike into the car like any other bicycle. But e-bikes weigh significantly more than regular bicycles, lifting an electric bike onto the rear car rack can be a real challenge, not to mention transporting it on the roof rack! Here you get tips for safely loading your bike.

 

How can bicycles be transported by car?

There are different ways to accommodate two-wheelers on or in the car. How you can best transport a bicycle safely in the car ultimately depends on your vehicle. But of course, the number of bicycles also plays a role, because naturally, one bike is much easier to accommodate than two parent bikes plus three children's bikes. You should also consider how many people and luggage will be traveling with you. You can put one or at most two in the trunk. More bikes then have to be attached to a bike rack outside the car.

This is how you can transport bicycles on/in the car:

• in the car, in the trunk
• on a rear bike rack
• on a roof rack
• on a bike rack on the trailer hitch

Transporting a bicycle in the car

A bicycle fits in many cars, at least if the back seat is folded down. Transporting in the trunk is certainly the easiest solution. Even in a smaller car, a bicycle usually fits if you remove the front wheel, as this significantly reduces the length of the bike. If you pack your bike more often, it makes loading easier if your axles can be opened with a lever and/or you have the appropriate multitool ready.

Very tall cyclists may also need to retract the handlebars and saddle, but then a bicycle should fit in the trunk. If you want to take more than one bicycle, it becomes difficult again, as two lying bicycles would get quite tangled in a normal trunk. With the back seat folded down, you also have to forgo more than one passenger. You can distribute some luggage around the bike, but often there is not much space left.

With pedal covers, you can protect your car from the pedal pins. Image © Granite

You should definitely secure the bike so it doesn't slip, the easiest way is with bungee cords. You should especially pack sharp-edged pedals so they don't damage anything. The bike's gears and drive must be positioned so that nothing bends or gets misaligned. Straps and pedal covers are definitely cheaper than a bike rack, and they are also easier to store.

It gets tricky with dirty MTBs, as they can really mess up your trunk. Many bikers have an old fitted sheet in the trunk for this case, as it can be easily wrapped around a bike (hook onto the handlebars and saddle, wrap around the bottom of the bike, hook back onto the handlebars and saddle). However, this doesn't help much with wet bikes, you then need a tarp under the bike.

You can also transport the bike standing inside the car if it's big enough. For transporters and vans, there are rails where bikes can be fixed to the car floor – the absolute professional solution. If this is not possible in your car, it is especially important to secure the bike load well with tension straps or bungees so that the bikes don't tip over and get damaged. Under certain circumstances, even two bikes can fit side by side; you should load them in opposite directions so the handlebars don't get tangled.

For shorter distances and trips without luggage, transporting one or two bikes in the car is a quick, easy, and cheap solution.

Attention! Since the StVO prescribes adequate load securing, you should secure the bike with tension straps or bungee cords. This way, the bike cannot slip and cause damage or scratch the car's interior.

The pros and cons of transporting bikes in the car at a glance:

Advantages:	Disadvantages:
✅ you don't have to mount and dismount a bike rack	❌ often only one bike fits in the car interior
✅ low to no additional costs	❌ less space for luggage or passengers
✅ the bike is optimally protected from thieves in the trunk	❌ the back seat may have to be folded down
✅ the bike is protected from rain	❌ dirty bikes dirty the interior
✅ you don't have to store a bike rack
✅ without a bike rack, you save weight
✅ there is no restriction on driving speed

• Cost: none
• Number of bicycles: one, maybe two
• Weight restriction: no
• Maximum speed: no

Transport bicycles outside the car on the bike rack

If you're not driving a bus or van, transporting the bike outside the car is a better solution due to space constraints, but then you need a bike rack. There are also other reasons to attach the bike outside the car, for example, if you like to drive off-road and don't want the dirty bike inside the car. There are bike racks in different versions, bicycles travel either on the car roof, at the rear, or on the trailer hitch.

The bike rack on the car roof – the roof rack

A bike rack on the car roof is the classic. Up to four bicycles can fit on the car roof. You need to get the bicycles onto the roof, and it helps if you have a step ladder at hand and a second person to assist. When transporting your bike on the car roof, you can reverse and park as usual, but you need to think about the unfamiliar vehicle height and observe height clearance restrictions. Usually, you buy a roof rack suitable for the car and then purchase the rails for bicycles separately.

Here, a distinction must be made between roof racks with a front wheel and roof racks without a front wheel.

You can transport your bike without a front wheel on the car roof. Image © Matthew Sichkaruk on Unsplash

• Roof rack “without front wheel”

These roof bike racks are rather rare, but we still want to introduce them to you. In a roof rack with “fork mount,” the bike's rear wheel is secured with straps, you remove the front wheel, and then you can attach the fork directly to the rack. This method has several advantages, for example, the bicycles are very securely housed, and the rack itself requires less storage space. One less wheel also means less weight you have to lift onto the roof. However, there are also disadvantages. The axle must fit the rack (or vice versa), the rack must be compatible with disc brakes (as most bikes today have disc brakes), and these racks are not recommended for carbon forks. Additionally, you always have to disassemble the bike, which is not everyone's preference. When you remove the wheels, you should pack them in a wheel bag so that the axles and spokes are not damaged, and the wheels do not dirty your trunk.

• Bike rack with built-in wheel

If you want to load the bicycle completely onto the car, you can mount a roof rack on the car roof. Depending on the design, the front and rear wheels are fixed with clamps, brackets, straps, or in a rail.

Dismantled wheels are well stored in a wheel bag when transporting a bicycle in the car. Image © Evoc

Overview of the advantages and disadvantages of transporting bicycles on the roof rack:

Bicycle racks on the car's trailer hitch

Attaching such a bike rack is very simple: the rack is clamped onto the trailer hitch. Many cyclists are initially skeptical here. How is a connection barely the size of a fist supposed to reliably hold several bicycles? But years of experience show: It holds!

These hitch carriers are very popular because the bicycles do not have to be lifted far, there are even "ramps" for heavy bikes and e-bikes. Since the bicycles are behind the car, they hardly negatively affect fuel consumption. Many of these carriers can be tilted even when loaded with several bicycles to access the trunk. There are also carriers that come with their own parking assistance.

Bicycle carriers for the trailer hitch are, however, the most expensive solution, as they must be built very robustly and require their own lights and even a license plate.

When you transport bicycles on the car in this way, there are a few things to keep in mind: Reversing is a challenge because the car is significantly longer than usual. The bicycles can block the view through the rear window, and you may not be able to use the car's parking assistance as usual. The driving characteristics of the car can also change due to the weight distribution. You need to be especially careful when reversing without bicycles but with a bike rack! Out of sight, out of mind... you don't see the empty rack in the rearview mirror.

• Cost: 450 to 1200 euros
• Number of bicycles: 3, rarely 4
• Weight restriction: yes
• Maximum speed: yes

When you look at our list of pros and cons, you might wonder: Why do these things exist at all, with all the disadvantages? The answer is quite simple:

A bike carrier on the tow hitch is the most convenient way to transport bikes outside the car, because with all other carriers you have to lift your bikes higher!

Bike transport on the car with the rear bike carrier

The rear carrier is the golden mean of bike transport on the car. You don't have to maneuver the bikes as high as a roof carrier requires, but you do have to lift them a bit higher than a hitch-mounted carrier would demand. These bike carriers do not make your vehicle significantly higher, it's just a bit longer than usual. However, this additional length is above many obstacles, which is the big advantage. They also have little weight of their own and are relatively inexpensive. However, they block the view to the rear, and they can also disable the rearview camera, but the parking aid usually works as usual.

To prevent damage to the tailgate, rear carriers often come with small stickers to protect the car's paint.

There are models with holding rails, but also versions where the bike frame is "threaded" onto two bars, available in stores. With these rear carriers, you need to ensure that the frame of your bike fits on the carrier.

The car transport of one to two bikes on a tailgate carrier is quite uncomplicated. Image © Brian Erickson on Unsplash

 

But of course, these bike carriers also have their disadvantages: If handled improperly, the car or the bikes can be damaged. And here too, it's relatively easy to steal the bikes.

You might be surprised that you rarely find rear bike carriers in bike shops, but there's a reason for that: Since rear carriers have to fit the trunk lid, they are often sold by car manufacturers to match the vehicles.

 

Overview of the pros and cons of the bike carrier on the tow hitch:

• Cost: approx 500 Euros
• Number of bicycles: 2, rarely 3
• Weight restriction: yes
• Maximum speed: yes

Which bike rack for e-bikes?

A luggage rack on the trailer hitch is usually the only travel option for e-bikes. With an average weight of around 20kg (usually more), very few people manage to get an e-bike onto a rear bike rack, let alone a roof rack. You can buy a rail for bike racks that are mounted on the trailer hitch, or – if you buy a bike rack specifically for e-bikes – the rail is often included. You can push the bike onto the bike rack like on a ramp over this rail, lifting is completely eliminated.

Special case: Bikes on the pickup

Pickups are rather rare in this country, but quite interesting for cyclists. With a tailgate cover, you can transport up to 6 bikes on the loading area of such a vehicle.

How fast can you drive with a bike rack?

The manufacturer of the bike rack usually specifies a maximum speed that you should not exceed with bikes on the car. Many bike racks are tested and approved up to a speed of 120 km/h, sometimes also tested up to 130 km/h. You can find information about the permitted speed in the bike rack's manual.

Weight problems? Support load, allowed payload of the car & the bike racks

Bikes are getting lighter, yet they are still rather heavy as luggage items. Especially an e-bike, a fully equipped trekking bike, or a fully loaded mountain bike with all the bells and whistles brings considerable weight. There is a lot to consider when traveling:

• Make sure to buy a bike rack that is approved for the weight of your bikes.
• There are bike racks for e-bikes that can withstand a lot of loading.
• With a loaded bike rack, you must not exceed the permissible total weight of the car.
• The trailer hitch has an allowed payload, and this must not be exceeded either.
• A car has a limited roof load, which you must consider when loading a roof bike rack.
• If your bike rack has a rail for each bike, you must not squeeze in additional bikes! It might be tempting, but "one more will fit..." is not a good idea.
• The heaviest bike always goes close to the car.

Also important when transporting bikes with the car:

• Always lock your bikes on the bike rack, otherwise they are easy prey at the rest area. Tips for optimal theft protection can also be found here in the Bike Blog.
• If you take bikes outside on the car, you must remove all loose parts like bicycle baskets, e-bike display, bicycle bags or child seats.
• After a certain distance (see manufacturer's recommendation), you should briefly check the fit of the bike rack.

Title image © SaiKrishna Saketh Yellapragada on Unsplash