What Car? The Cycling Edition

In today's "What Car" thread we will be discussing my insane desire to buy a car that can carry a second mode of transportation.

Background. I have had Miatas for the last ten years and I am currently drive an NC. Love the car yet I have also been consumed by cycling. Now I think a car that can carry a bike. Ok, yes the obvious answer is to keep the Miata and get a rack but the reality is the parts on my bike are expensive and easy to remove even while it is locked up on a rack.

Here is what I am trying to achieve, drives as close to a Miata, can carry a bike inside and is under $20k.

Cars that almost fit the bill.

FRS/BRZ/FT86 - love that it drives like a sports car and I can get my road bike inside but it is very tight.

Ford Fiesta ST - love how it drove and I know I can easily get a bike. Yet they are a fancy b segment including the ugly.

Veloster Turbo - fits a bike but has the driving dynamics of oatmeal.

Mazda3 2014 and up - fits a bike and drives like a Mazda which is good but I unfortunately think they are too ugly to love.

So what am I missing? Where have I gone wrong? Help

Ok one note, I was born in Germany and love German cars. Yet I am deeply afraid of the cost of ownership so no need to recommend a nice 2010 Audi A3 or a kiss ass MINI Countryman.

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

Does the cost of ownership preclude a GTI?

I love the GTIs yet the recent thread about why do new VWs suck and a story from a coworker about having his year old GTI turn off on the freeway makes me leary

I can take the front wheel off my road bike and then it fits in a CRX. It's not great for front passenger space, but it fits. A C5 Corvette should be easy if you can pull both wheels easily (velodrome bike?)

While the 997 Carrera 4S probably doesn't fit in the budget, lots of other things that look surprisingly ok with a roof rack probably do.

Miata and a closed bike trailer of your own design?

Trade your bike in on a Dahon?

Volvo C30?

Welcome to hot hatch territory. I'd vote Fiesta, but GTI, Volvo, or Focus are all great choices.

Pretty hard to dispute that the king of bicycle hauling is an Element.

They will swallow road bikes with ease. No need to remove wheels or adjust the saddle down or anything. Just roll them in and shut the tailgate.

Two Miata choices do spring to mind.

1. A cheap bike. Just carry a cheap bike that you don't really care about getting stolen.

2. An enclosed bicycle carrier sitting in a receiver hitch on the Miata. Make your own, or buy something like a gearspace-34.

S52 m coupe

How much disassembly is allowed in the "can fit a bike inside"? Front wheel only off? Both wheels off? Your options improve a bit if the latter. Do other people have to fit in addition to the bike?

My first thought would be a Focus hatchback.

How about a Fit? I don't know how easily a bike fits in one, but should be able to handle on if a Fiesta can.

How much do you leave it sitting around? I bike all of the time and almost never have the bike sitting on the rack for an extended period of time where the car is not moving.

Honestly, taking a bike in and out of a car all of the time is rough on both the car and the bike. Is there any way in your budget for a cheap Bike carrying car like an old XB for Element? That way at least you can stand it up and build out a setup to tied the bike down so it doesn't move around. We can fit both of our bikes inside an Xterra with no issues. .

Chaparral Great user name! Finding a CRX that hasn’t been had 75lbs of fiberglass glued to it is the challenge. The CR-Z on the other hand loves very interesting. A C5….huh……I wonder if a C6 would be in my budget…..

Mike

I saw a guy on one of those bikes a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think I could bring myself to trading my BH for a folding bike.

Love the C30 idea! A quick CL look and I found a few that looked good but lacked a third pedal. I will add a C30 to the list!

Tom

The Fiesta ST is crazy fun. I was texting with a Ford salesman last night trying to find out if Ford has any end of the year incentives. I do like the Focus ST as well but coming from a Miata they feel huge.

Cousin Eddie

I agree that Element would be great for hauling bike as would the Transit Connect but I am not sure they would be all that fun to drive.

Foxtrapper

1. While love the idea of getting a fourth bike, the idea of riding a cheap bike for a 100 miles seems all that appealing.
2. That is cool! I haven’t seen something like that. I have thought about getting the super small HF trailer and building an enclosure…….

Captdownshift No Germans

Szeis4cookie

I don’t mind taking off the front wheel at all. The rear is a maybe if I really had to have the car. I guy I have ridden with has a Countryman and he takes both wheels off. I really like the Countryman sadly they are German.

T.J.

The Fit will easily take a bike. I’m not sure they will be much fun to drive but I am running to the Honda dealer today during lunch to check the Fit and CR-z out.

Bmw88rider

Honestly I have asked myself that question, how much time will it be sitting unattended. I don’t know the answer.

As for a getting another car, my wife and I already have three cars. But I love the thought of more cars

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give your input!

One more idea that I'm guessing is not on your radar. What about a Mazda 5 with the seats out of it? Yes it is sort of a minivan, but it is not really like other mini vans. It may be worth it to at least look at one.

Just for information, with the rear seats folded down I could get my road bike with both wheels still attached into my 2012 Focus. It is nice to park somewhere and have the bike secured and even way from prying eyes if you through a blanket over it. I don't know if the Fiesta has the same ability.

T.J. I have always liked the older ones but have discounted them because they don't look like much fun to drive. Maybe I should take one out for a spin.....

Co worker has a C30 that he transports his bike in frequently. I have a 2013 fit and would be willing to sell. I'm 6' and each of my bikes can be tossed in the cargo area without removing wheels (26" mtn, CX bike, 29er). The tightest is the 29er. In a pinch I had 2 26" mtn bikes in the back. Fit is fun to drive as in driving a slow car fast.

500 Abarth? Wrx wagon? IS300 wagon? How sporty cam tsx (wagons) be made to feel?

Sultan, I understand exactly how you feel about this. I not only need bike transport, but secure storage for the biggest thief-magnet I own. I have used a Toyota Tercell hatchback, an Accord sedan with fold-down rear seats, a Saab 9-3 with fold down rear seats, two different E9X sedans with fold down rear seats, a Jeep ZJ, and a BMW X3 with fold down rear seats.

My view on this settled down to a couple things. If I have to take the rear wheel off, it's just not long-term viable. Too messy, too many wheels rattling around. And whatever my passenger situation is going to be, the bike can't get in the way of that. In other words, if I have one back seat passenger, or two back seat passengers, the bike and the passengers have to fit in easily.

Small pick up truck. That Tacoma sport model that could outrun a 350Z should be good fun and with a fiberglass camper top you have perfect space to store your bike and sweaty gear in a place you don't have to smell. In fact whenever I see "active outdoors" people gather, the most popular choices are Subaru wagons and small pickups with caps.

Wait, people steal components off of bikes when they are locked up to cars?

I vote just get a roof rack. Lock it to said rack. Nobody is going to stand on your roof with a set of tools to swipe your crankset or derailleurs. If the bike is that expensive that its worth it to do that, someone will just as easily break into your car and remove it.

OR just get a minivan, tint the windows, and call it a day.

Sultan wrote: T.J. I have always liked the older ones but have discounted them because they don't look like much fun to drive. Maybe I should take one out for a spin.....

For a minivan, as long as it's one with the manual, they are quite fun to drive in the "slow car fast" way. But you do feel the weight and the height, so "close to a Miata" it's not. That said, you don't even need to take the seats out to get a road bike into it. With the third row folded, it will go straight down the middle upside down, no disassembly required, second row doesn't need to fold. So very convenient.

I vote for putting a rack on the car you have. Get a black material cover (motorcycle cover) with a drawstring and a lock to hide the shiny bits from meth heads and to make it impossible for knowledgeable thieves to identify the target without a bit of a hassle.

I used to stuff a mountain bike into a hatch and it's a pain in the ass. It tears up the interior, dumps a lot of mud/dirt in there and does not secure the bike so derailleurs and/or shifters are bouncing on the weight of it without the wheels on. Unreccomendable.

Huckleberry wrote: I used to stuff a mountain bike into a hatch and it's a pain in the ass. It tears up the interior, dumps a lot of mud/dirt in there and does not secure the bike so derailleurs and/or shifters are bouncing on the weight of it without the wheels on. Unreccomendable.

I hate sticking my bike inside the mini van. Rack all the way.