Looking to buy a new/used vehicle that I can put my TT bike inside of, standing up, with the front tire removed. I do not want to deal with removing or lowering the seat post.
One of the options I’ve been looking at is the Jeep Wrangler 4 door. I know its not the quietest nor most economical, but the ruggedness is cool and it will mostly be a driveway queen as I use a company car most days. Question is, will a TT bike fit in it with the front wheel removed? Is there another vehicle option that may work? I have a Santa Fe Sport now and the bike will not fit standing up.
Any pictures of your setup would be super beneficial as well.
Honda Element. Don’t even have to take the front wheel off. And you certainly don’t have to mess with the seat post. I barely even have to tilt the bike over to clear the seatpost, and the clamshell rear closure makes for a nice seating area before/after rides and such.
While I appreciate the Mini Van suggestions, not going to happpen… I have no kids and don’t want to be “that creepy guy” in the neighborhood. I do understand the usefulness of it though.
I bet you wouldn’t even have to remove the front tire to put it in the back seat area, but not positive. I know on my extended cab truck it fits back there easily with front tire on when you fold the back seat up. So if it won’t fit in the jeep look at a 4x4 truck.
I’ve got a Honda Element that I absolutely love. It used to be my primary car but at the moment it’s our kid car. My 22 year old drove it, now my 17 year old drives it and my 14 year old will drive it when it’s his turn. When they are done with it it will be all mine again. I’ve even got a custom license plate for it (“Bike Box”). Kids gave it to me a few years ago for Father’s Day.
I drive a 2 door Wrangler TJ, the older one smaller than the current design. Size large bikes, road and tri, fit in the back with the front wheel removed. No other changes, just the wheel removed. And that’s with the rear Jeep seat folded. With the rear seat removed completely (easy) we’ve gone on road trips with the bike and lots of luggage loaded back there too.
I usually strap the frame to the rollover cage for longer trips, and place a folded hoka insole under the fork where it sits on the floor.
FYI, completely redesigned 2018 wrangler is expected in a few months.
I went through this process about 8 months ago - brought my P2 to every dealership and did a test fit before any test drives. My requirements were that I needed to be able to fit two bikes, upright, INSIDE the vehicle, with space for at least one more passenger and our luggage. Inside the car, and not a soft-top, was a big sticking point for me that dealers didn’t seem to appreciate (the Bay Area is just too risky for bikes outside!).
Ultimately I bought a 2012 Ford Escape - fit my size 54 P2 upright, no adjustments to the seatpost and the front wheel removed without a problem. It doesn’t fit in the newer body style Escapes in the same manner - the floor to ceiling height is smaller in the newer models.
I lay all of my bikes down just fine in the back of my Ford Edge (with back row seats down obviously). Few duffle bags of gear, throw in the bike, I’m good to go. Most SUVs are the same way. If you don’t have kids, why does the bike need to go in standing up?
I drive a 2 door Wrangler TJ, the older one smaller than the current design. Size large bikes, road and tri, fit in the back with the front wheel removed. No other changes, just the wheel removed. And that’s with the rear Jeep seat folded. With the rear seat removed completely (easy) we’ve gone on road trips with the bike and lots of luggage loaded back there too.
I usually strap the frame to the rollover cage for longer trips, and place a folded hoka insole under the fork where it sits on the floor.
FYI, completely redesigned 2018 wrangler is expected in a few months.
Thanks for the information! Good to know about the redesign too. Thanks
I lay all of my bikes down just fine in the back of my Ford Edge (with back row seats down obviously). Few duffle bags of gear, throw in the bike, I’m good to go. Most SUVs are the same way. If you don’t have kids, why does the bike need to go in standing up?
Because I hate laying the bike down in the back. Also forget putting any luggage back there, at least with my Santa Fe Sport with the bike laying down. Typically when my wife and I go race, its not in and out thing, we make a racecation, so we have luggage and 90% of the luggage isn’t mine…
Suburban - done. If you can’t fit whatever you need inside you don’t need it. Also when you do have kids you will have room for all the c**p that goes along with that. Road trip with 4 of your friends and their bikes and all your stuff - no problem.
For me, the Xterra worked great. I bolted a fork mount to the back of the resr seat when folded down and the bike for just fit perfectly mounted inside upright by the fork. Now, I’m 5-9 and my saddle had about 1/4" from the touching the headliner.
Now, My girlfriend at the time was bit taller and longer legs, her bike wouldn’t fit on this same mount.
I have a 2017 Tacoma now, but when shopping around for a truck/suv, I figured I’d take my bike to the dealerships and test if it would fit upright.
Because I hate laying the bike down in the back. Also forget putting any luggage back there, at least with my Santa Fe Sport with the bike laying down. Typically when my wife and I go race, its not in and out thing, we make a racecation, so we have luggage and 90% of the luggage isn’t mine…
Me and my wife both race and we easily fit two bikes, all the tri gear, a couple of suit cases, etc. in my Volvo V60XC, yes, bikes are laying down. Heck, we even fit two bikes and all the tri gear plus a suitcase in her Volvo C30 (no longer made, but an awesome car!).
If you’re hell-bent on the bikes standing up, Volvo XC90 would fit your bill. The T5 model is pretty darn fuel efficient and fun to drive.
