That is the only way to shop for a car is to take your bike with you ;)

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-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
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ask to take the car home for a bit. They will let you take it for am extended test drive. Then you can play around with your bike in the back and different placements without anyone watching in the showroom.

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Springy
Kingman, AZ

http://www.valdoracycles.com

if you want them upright and not leaning over, you likely have to drop the saddle height, unless both bikes have really short riders. alas, most SUVs cannot accommodate upright bike with one wheel removed. it is a little easier if you put them in fork first, but that is a pain in the rear as well. a bike can lay flat without wheel removal.

damn non-flat folding seat suck

ps have they fixed the issue with the passenger side rear brake mechanism locking up and warping your rotors yet? seems to be a common complaint on websites of complaints, plus the various rattles and noises. I am not impressed with the quality of quality of said vehicle, only plus on mine is that it was manual and gets 35mpg highway in the summer.

edit: as ugly as the ford escape is, it has a hell of a lot more room in back for upright bikes

my bikes went with me for all the serious contenders when i was car shopping. i went from a honda element (baller for bikes) to a honda crv (would have been an element again if they were still making them). road and TT bike fit in there, standing up with the front wheels off.

I have a Mazda3 and can fit one bike with both wheels on in the car laying down (with seats down). Like others said - you MIGHT need to drop the saddle but it will be close in that car.


As an aside - I would seriously think about going for the 2016 over the 2015 lots of updates to the infotainment center. That was what pushed me towards the 3 over the CX5 last year.

I drive a 2014 CX5. Don't think there is much difference between the 2014 and 2015. I can get my bike in laying down with both wheels on. I haven't tried standing it up. I had the dealership put on a hitch, and use a rack on the back.

A few notes about the cx5 that i wish i knew before buying. the ipod and bluetooth connection sucks for music. also the coin tray(may seem like a small thing), but if you are reaching into the centre console for something, and your hand hits the coin tray, your money will go everywhere. happened more than once. other than that i love the car. drives really nice.

Finding something that easily could carry my bike was one of the variables I looked at when I bought my F150 last summer, since I was getting back into tri. After getting my Shiv build up a month ago was happily surprised to find I can fit it in the back of my crew cab with front wheel on no problem.

I rented one to drive from Chicago down to New Orleans for a race. I feel in love with that car. Now just need some money so I can actually buy it! I think I would take the better gas mileage over the sedan/hatchback over the convenience of the SUV, but that's also because I don't really need an SUV. But the CX5/7 do look pretty damn nice too. Now time to win the lotto!

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I have a 2014 CX5. I have a large Shiv and a 58cm Tarmac. My bikes could not fit as is in the car standing up with a fork mount. In fact it wasn't even close to standing up. It was about 9 months ago I tried, but if I remember correctly I could have lowered the seat or taken the seat posts completely out and it MAY have fit. Not really sure because I gave up as soon as I realized it wasn't close to standing up and I would have to mess with my setup. I didn't really care too much as I rarely need to travel with both bikes at the same time and usually lay the bike I am traveling with in the back on a blanket.

As others have mentioned, If you have a smaller frame I think it would fit. I would just go to the dealer with the bike and try it out for yourself.

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"Just don’t abandon everything you’ve ever learned because of something someone said on the internet." - Eric McGinnis

I use a small / 52mm frame and can not stand it up without removing the seat post, which is not worth the trouble IMO. Fork mount inside is probably not going to work.

I drive a similarly sized car (2014 Subaru Forester), which has best in class interior space, and bikes can't fit for me that way. I just lay my bike in the back or use a roof-mounted rack,.

Absolutely love the mileage - around 30-31 mpg in mixed driving. Compared with my older Subaru Outback XT it's a huge difference. Do miss the turbo, though!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
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Take a look at the not-yet-released Honda HRV. It's a smaller CUV based on their Fit, and will easily take two bikes upright inside.

I'm holding onto my 2005 Scion XB (which also takes two upright inside) for another two years, until the HRV has an established track record.

--Gene

The Honda Fit will take most bikes upright without removing or lowering the seat.

How often do you NEED to have the bikes with you when you are out with the car?

I get it that triathletes and cars need to go together, but NO ONE actually asks this question.

That's why I always suggest the modular approach with a roof rack. Get the car you REALLY want to drive, that handles really well, with the lowest MPG you can find and the highest reliability index. Done!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Depending on your saddle height, yes. What you have to do - remove the rear floor cover, then pull out the hard foam piece(s) around the spare tire. This lets you place the rear wheel as low as it will go against the metal floor of the cargo area. You can do this on both sides of the spare for two bikes, although you will have to find another place for the jack as it's set into the right foam piece. Fit my bike this way with clearance, but I have just an average seat height.

This trick also works on an Escape and a RAV4. A CRV and a Fit will take my bike standing up without removing the floor, although see comment above re. my seat height.

I'm really interested to see the HRV when it comes out, that might tick most of the boxes for me. Loved the design of the Fit, hated driving it.

Brian

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive

Thanks for all the info. My son's friend's girlfriend has a 2014 that she is bringing over tomorrow so we can experiment. My wife and I do 2 or 3 travel races a year and we thought it might be nice to have vehicle that has the bikes inside for security. It isn't a show stopper, just seemed like a convenient thing to be able to do.

Right now they get strapped to the back of a passat, in the rain, sun, and at times bird poo.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I been waiting for the release of the Honda HR-V. It looks to fit everything I want in a car. Good gas mileage, AWD and I can fit my bike inside for under 25k. And if you are willing to wait a year or so you can get it in turbo.

Except some of us prefer high MPG over low MPG ;)

I was thinking about getting a new Accord but I like the look of the HR-V. I'll test drive it when it comes out.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I would say the major updates for the 2016 are annoyance fixers, which become really annoying when you drive the car every day. Also - the carplay system is rumored to be coming to the Mazda line which is intriguing for me.

But to each their own- I test drove the cx5 and the mazda 3 and the infotainment sold me. It's not much but it's a luxury touch to a relatively cheap car. The 2016 CX5 will probably win best interior for under 30k at the crossover level as the 2015 Mazda3 did this year.

Yes. Thank you. I had that backwards.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

http://www.reddit.com/r/mazda/comments/2xstqo/any_cx5_owners_fit_their_mountain_bike_in_the_back/

Thanks. A medium Transition and a 52 Slice fit just fine with the front wheels removed. No screwing with the seats required.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"