I just bought a roof rack for my car and have yet to travel a long distance with a nice bike. I don’t want to mess it up. What sorts of things should I do to prepare it for the long haul?
If you think you will encounter rain maybe take the seat and computer off. Other than that, nothing.
Make sure you cover with plastic bags and tape, the side of your bike that will be facing the wind. Otherwise when you get to your destination, your bike will be full of smashed and dried flies and bugs, which sometimes are not so easy to get off.
Wash the bugs off as soon as possible.
Don’t leave computers on, water bottles and saddle packs are OK for short trips. I take them off for cross country.
Check the fork QR and other attachment points twice, no make that three times!
When you take the front wheel off, it leans against the driver door until it is in the vehicle. Diversion from this rule will lead to disaster.
Go ahead and check the QR and attachment points one more time.
Your automatic garage door opener goes in your saddle bag or bike bag ALWAYS. Never reachable from the drivers seat when you get home at 2:30am.
That mostly covers it. You might check the QRs and other attachments one more time though…
edit: Oh, I forgot the seat cover. Get a plastic seat cover and slap it on when it looks like rain.
How ghetto
How about …
So here’s the thing with bras. You have to make absolutely sure they don’t interfere with the QR attachment. The kind that fit into the dropouts can, and I know someone personally that learned this lesson*.
*Not me on this one, but have I mentioned checking the QR and attachment straps? (Yeah, that might have been me…)
If you have a nice bike, take off both wheels and put it in the trunk. Use a blanket to cover the bike before laying wheels on top.
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Don’t “drive thru” the fast food restaurants. Been there done that. The crashing sound really sucks.
Now-a-days -------the bike is taken apart and put in the Back Seat!! Wheels are placed in wheel bags and placed carefully on top of the frame. Everything else we have, luggage, stuff, etc is in the trunk!!
If you insist on wrapping your bike in plastic, use syran wrap and make sure it is not flapping in the wind.
I want to put a plug in for the bike bra. Nerdy and overpriced, yes. But my bike has traveled 1000’s of miles on the roof, and I think the bra really helps keep it (esp the STI levers) clean. Neither of the 2 I have bought interferes with the mounting mechanism.
The beauty of the roof rack, provided you take the cautions the others mentioned, is that you get there, pull it off, put the front wheel on and you’re ready to roll. No adjustments or anything.
Also, my husband has decided that he’s not willing to take the risk of putting his TT bike up there with the disc wheel on back (we have a fork mount), although I have travelled short-mod distances with my Hed3 on back.
Get a cervelo and sub 9 disc. The aero benefits will improve gas mileage!
All kidding aside, def recheck the QR
My friend recommend this one for me, I ordered it earlier this week and I should be getting mine today. I’m not sure if this is the same BigV was referring to.
http://jensonusa.com/store/product/RA409C49-Skinz+Aero+Bar+Road+Bike+Protector.aspx . They have a waterproof model for 10-15 dollars more. I’ll post pictures when I get a chance.
They have a frame / rear wheel cover for 90 bucks or so, but you still need to get the front cover also for total protection (here is a link to their site: http://www.skinzprotectivegear.com/bicyclegear.html ).
Spec
Does anyone know if there is any sort of roof-rack (or attachment for existing roof racks) that actually allows you to lay the bike down on the roof? Given all the dangers of driving under something that is low hanging and destroying one’s bike, I would expect that there would be some product out there that might enable this.
Take the pads off the aerobars as they can sometimes be launched.
Oh and BTW your mileage will suck. We just drove 2100km with 2 bikes on the roof, and instead of the usual 500-600km per fill-up, we were lucky to get close to 400km. 
AP
Don’t travel with a disc on, wash bugs off sooner than later, watch low overhead clearences like drive thru, and garages. Nothing is worse for a good bike than a concrete overhead wall at 10mph. No, i’m not speaking from personal experiences, rather than horror stories.
If you are in a pinch (we lost a bolt on the rack half way to destination), use a spare tube to tie things down. Saved my butt.
I just drove to Napa, CA and back from Portland, OR (about 1100 miles) and I used the Skinz bra cover on my bike. It kept the bugs and debris off quite. It seems like a rip-off that it is 60 bucks for an over sized speedo to protect your bike, but considering how much your bike costs, it is a worthy investment. As for my friend’s bike that was on the roof as well without the cover…he may never get the bugs off!
Don’t forget to check your QR and if your it has locking capability, make sure it is actually locked! And gas mileage will suck. When from 26ish to 21 with 2 bikes on top!
Remove the pedals. Or make sure they’re tight.
So I had to take the front wheel off of my bike this weekend to load it into my Mom’s car and take it to the local shop to inflate tires (I was visiting for the weekend and forgot a pump). I’m used to the roof rack on my car where no wheels come off and as I was loading it back into the car after getting the tires inflated, I was explicitly thinking about THIS SPECIFIC post:
When you take the front wheel off, it leans against the driver door until it is in the vehicle. Diversion from this rule will lead to disaster
I chuckled a bit, and then proceeded to go ahead and drive off with my wheel leaning against the back bumper. Didn’t notice the missing wheel until the next day when I went to ride. Luckily there was no damage to the wheel and somebody had taken it into the bike shop from the parking lot, so it was easily retrieved.
Pretty funny.