- You want to transport your bike or bikes by car,
but you don't have a roof rack,
or perhaps you don't want to use a roof rack.
Well in this video,
I'm going to show you how you can fit a bike or bikes
inside a car.
I'm also going to give you a few tips
in case you've got a particularly small car
to make it fit,
and also some advice on how not to damage
your bikes or car when you're doing it.
But before I do,
if you want more cycling-related advice,
then you can help support GCN
by clicking Subscribe and also the bell notification icon.
(booming music)
Now I'm sure many of you will already
know how to do this.
However, if you've not done it before,
or are unsure about damaging your bike,
then this video will help.
Now first up, if you've got a big car,
like an estate or station wagon if you're American,
then you've got it easy.
'Cause what you can generally do
is slide the bike in whole
if you just drop the rear seats down.
So one thing to do
is to make sure that you put the bike in
drive side up, like I'm doing here.
This means that the gears here,
the weight of the bike is not resting on them.
Doing that can actually damage them.
So just slide it in gently.
And also, just be aware that the chain rings
and the chain don't catch on the side of the car.
Also, it's a good idea to just have a sheet
or an old rug that you can then cover the bike with.
It's quite good for security,
but also it just stops dirt getting elsewhere.
Sometimes you might want to put a sheet down
underneath the bike as well.
I generally keep a few sheets
in the back of my car all the time.
(upbeat instrumental music)
But what if you want to transport
other items in your car,
such as maybe kids,
or you just want to use the back seats,
or maybe your car is smaller than this.
It's got a smaller boot,
or trunk if you're from America.
Well, I'll show you how you can do it.
We preferentially removed the front wheel
over the rear because,
well, it's a little easier to take out.
And by leaving the rear wheel in,
if you've got space,
it actually helps protect the rear mech a little bit
and also stops the chain falling off.
Now, to remove the front wheel,
if you've got a quick release like on this bike,
you can undo the quick release.
And then also, you can undo the cam
on the caliper brake here.
It's usually something like this.
You just twist it 'round,
and this opens the brake blocks slightly,
which helps the wheel come out more easily.
Then what I suggest you do
is just carefully put the wheel to one side,
and then put the bike in as you would before.
Twist the handle bars 'round like this,
but take care that the handle bars
don't strike the top tube.
So it's good to hold onto the bars
or the stem of the bike.
And we place the bike in again.
The best technique for this
is to put the bike in first,
drive side up as before,
and then put the front wheel in on top of the bike.
But don't just rest the wheel on top of the bike,
as this can scratch it,
especially if it slides around slightly
as you're driving along.
So again, put a sheet over the top
and just rest the wheel on,
and that should be fine to protect it.
If you have a disc brake bike like this,
then wheel removal is really easy.
They usually have a thru-axle.
Now sometimes, they have a lever
on the thru-axle like this.
To remove the wheel you simply just turn it,
undo it, and pull out the thru-axle (axle zips) like that.
And then you can lift out the wheel.
Some thru-axles, though,
don't have a lever built onto them
and instead they usually require an Allen key,
usually a five mil such as this.
Sometimes it's a six mil.
Then you can use an Allen key or hex wrench
to remove the thru-axle that way.
Once you've taken your thru-axle and your wheel out,
put your thru-axle back in the bike.
The reason for this is, well,
firstly it helps out a bit of structural integrity.
It helps make the bike a little bit stronger.
But also, it stops you losin' it.
These things are really easy to lose.
Speaking from personal experience,
I've driven off on holiday
having taken them out and left them on the roof of my car.
They weren't there when I got there.
I know I'm not the only person
to make similar mistakes like this.
Don't be like me.
Put your thru-axles where you're not going to lose 'em.
When you put a disc brake wheel
inside the back of a car,
you need to be a little bit more careful,
and that's because if you knock the disc
or if you place a heavy object on top of it,
it can actually cause the rotor to bend slightly.
And this will mean that when you
go to put it back in your bike,
the rotor will rub with every revolution
on the caliper,
making a cuh cuh cuh sound.
Ugh, it's really awkward to fix,
and sometimes it means you need a new rotor.
So to avoid that,
always put it in rotor side up
and avoid putting objects on top.
Another tip if you're using hydraulic disc brakes,
is that you should put something inside the caliper
when you take the wheel out.
This is because when you pull the brake lever
and there's no rotor inside the caliper,
it can cause the pistons to push out
and then close the pads against each other.
You can force them back open,
but it's a bit of a faff.
So you can simply put in a dedicated piece of plastic,
those special plastic stoppers you can buy.
Or if you don't have one of those,
you can just use a folded up business card.
Some older bikes hold the wheels in by way of bolts.
Now, to remove these,
you'll need a couple of spanners,
but thankfully they're not very common these days.
It's a bit of a faff,
but it's still perfectly fine
to be able to remove the wheel.
If you have a smaller space still
then you may need to remove both wheels
to make the bike fit.
But fear not, this isn't a problem.
And you'll be amazed that with the seats down
and both wheels removed from the bike,
how many cars will fit a bike into.
I mean, Renault Clios, Fiat 500s,
Porsche Caymans, you name it.
There's very few cars that won't fit a bike in,
if you really want to.
If you're going to take both wheels out
the easiest way to do this
is to turn the bike upside down.
Now, many road cycling purists
think this is sacrilege,
and hate the idea of doing this,
and will tell you not to do it.
But, they're wrong.
And you can simply put a sheet down,
so that it doesn't damage your bike
and keeps it nice and clean.
(light instrumental music)
To remove the rear wheel,
it's easiest if you put the rear gear
into the smallest cog at the back.
Undo your quick release lever or thru-axle,
pull the rear-derailleur back and up,
and let the wheel drop out.
Once you get to your destination as well,
it's much easier to put two wheels back in a bike
if it's upside down like this too,
so just do the same thing again,
but in reverse.
If you're going on holiday
or perhaps just loading all the luggage
into the back of your vehicle,
then I'd recommend putting that in first
and then layering the bike on top,
especially heavier items.
Put those in first.
The reason being that it's easy to crush your bike
and as mentioned before
you can damage those easy-to-bend areas
such as disc brake rotors and the rear mech hanger.
As before use plenty of sheets, rugs,
bubble wrap, whatever you want
to cover and protect your bike.
And also it's a good idea to try and cover up
the drive train from the chain,
as it stops getting oil and dirt on your other items.
If you're wanting to pack more than one bike
into the back of a car,
then it's fine to stack frames
on top of one another.
Just use plenty of padding in between
and they shouldn't get damaged.
And I'd recommend that you put the frames in first
and, again, the wheels in after on top,
as they're lighter.
And if you're lucky enough to have
a really impractical car,
well, then you can sometimes make it fit,
but you might have to remove extra bits
such as the seat post, the pedals
and sometimes even twist the bars 'round.
I hope you found this video useful.
And if you have, then please give it a thumbs up
and share it with your friends.
And to watch more cycling advice,
you can click down here.
And also, let us know in the Comments section
if you've got any tips or advice or hacks,
for when you pack a bike in the back of a car.