Transporting bicycles inside

[Jamboree]

OK, I know this is an odd question but I'm sure someone out there is just as crazy as I am.

I plan to take my bicycles (up to 2, 1for me, 1 for companion). with me on certain road trips.
I have Alway's transported my bikes INSIDE the vehicle with me. Of the years / cars I've owned - I've only used 1 rack consistently - but that was for a very specific purpose.
My current Subaru Legacy (and previous Outback, Volvo 740 and 8xx, VW passat....) have all been able to handle 2 road bikes (and mine is BIG) comfortably and safe -- so as crazy as you think I am, I know from experience.

So on to my question:
* Has anyone found a way to comfortably mount their bikes inside the MP.
--- YES I do realize what I'm saying and I do realize I will be restricting access to amenities inside the vehicle....
* Do you have any images you could share.

Details:
* Bikes: Road or Gravel bikes
* I'm comfortable removing both wheels, but NOT pedals or Handle bar

Will I buy a Hitch rack -- NO, NO I do not plan on it unless I can't avoid it --- I can't imagine every buying one, even if you gave me one for free - I can't ever see using it..
1st of all - I don't like how any of the European hitch racks work with bikes
--- I'm sure MANY will explain to me how great the hitch racks are (and safe) - you can NOT sell me on the racks i've seen
--- I have seen 2 hitch racks that I would accept, but I think they are only legal in the USA
2nd I think the hitch racks are extremely bulky and cumbersome
3rd I really HATE placing my bikes behind the vehicle (or on top of such a large vehicle)
4th the two bikes I'll be carrying are valued to me more then any car.

 

[Richard Dee]

Thats the same as me, hence I owned a Vito dubliner with leather, swivel seats etc. Now I have the Marco, I can take the front wheel off push the seat right back and stop it in the middle. I am out next week so will think this through too...

 

[Ridgeway]

Jamboree;
Your question is not as daft as it seems, I had the same issue and didn't want to buy a rack or fit a tow bar etc. However, I had to resign myself that I couldn't sensibly get my road bike in the vehicle so my wife and I bought a Brompton folding bike each and store each one in a plastic case and have them side by side on the rear shelf in the boot. We've even considered removing the rear shelf that houses the table and chairs for long trips to make more space but decided it would be too much hassle. The Brompton bikes allow us flexibility to get around but don't take up the space of a normal bike.
Good luck and hope you do find a solution.

 

[Method7]

I’m sure if you remove the bed extender and push the seat as far forward as you can you could get two bikes in the space behind the seat. I spend some time experimenting with our Horizon. The floor runners have a unused set of fixings, I guess for the third row of seats found in the V-Class. I eventually had to move the seat forward onto these fixings because they were stopping the seat from moving all the way forward. This does leave a huge space in the boot that would certainly take two bikes with the front wheel removed, maybe even complete. I guess this would be similar on the Activity.

I have been looking at moving the entire bed forward into the living space so that I can store bikes across the back of the boot space. However, the extra seat mounting points hinder the positioning of the bed extender and I would need to add some sort of additional support for it since the latches are left behind at the tailgate. I’m sure it would work if I can remove the seat mountings from the runners.

I’m not sure how wide the bed is in the Activity or if you could fit a frame laterally in the boot space, either way it’s going to be a bit of a faff, pushing, shoving, huffing and puffing if you want to use the bed while transporting bicycles inside the cabin unless you can get them under the bed, I would think two frames would fit under there but I haven’t tried this since it feels uncontrollable and I, like you value my bikes and don’t want them damaged.

We do have a folding bike rack that fits on the tow hitch, it has its advantages but sometimes we want crash out on industrial estates and in services where the bike rack would give us away and possibly attract unwanted attention.

So sorry because of the differences between our vehicles I cannot give you a definitive answer but I thought you might find it interesting or even useful.

As @Ridgeway suggests the Brompton fits well and is a surprisingly capable bike but maybe not so much fun on a Sportive..

 

[Jamboree]

Thank you everyone for your help. I, hopefully, am taking ownership of the MP this week and will go through my normal "how in the world do I get all my stuff into this box" routine. I will re-look at your thoughts / suggestions / comments as soon as I can map out the interior. I'm confident both bikes will fit - I'm just very hopeful it's with minimal disruption.

 

[Mr & Mrs F]

Thank you everyone for your help. I, hopefully, am taking ownership of the MP this week and will go through my normal "how in the world do I get all my stuff into this box" routine. I will re-look at your thoughts / suggestions / comments as soon as I can map out the interior. I'm confident both bikes will fit - I'm just very hopeful it's with minimal disruption.

My wife and I are just coming to the end of a 3 week trip around France and Italy. We share your dislike of carrying valuable road bikes on the outside and with it just being the two of us have travelled without the seat / downstairs bed ( a hefty lump to remove! ) Without this we have travelled around with 3 bikes inside. I attached three front axles with Q/R skewers to a length of board spaced so that the handle bars overlapped optimally. The front wheels are in wheel bags which fit between the bikes, the rear of the bikes are pulled together as much as possible leaving room to access the rear cupboards. The rear wheels come roughly to the opening of the side door. We secure them with straps to a few tie down eyes that fit into the seat rails. The Picknick table has had pipe lagging slipped on each side and then bungee strapped on edge against handle bars. We have also carried a mini portaloo around in a padded storage box, this has proved invaluable when preparing food in the absence of the rear seat. Hope this helps and hope you have as much fun in your MP as we are doing. PS our next trip will involve our tandem... Watch this space!

 

[Jamboree]

My wife and I are just coming to the end of a 3 week trip around France and Italy. We share your dislike of carrying valuable road bikes on the outside and with it just being the two of us have travelled without the seat / downstairs bed ( a hefty lump to remove! ) Without this we have travelled around with 3 bikes inside. I attached three front axles with Q/R skewers to a length of board spaced so that the handle bars overlapped optimally. The front wheels are in wheel bags which fit between the bikes, the rear of the bikes are pulled together as much as possible leaving room to access the rear cupboards. The rear wheels come roughly to the opening of the side door. We secure them with straps to a few tie down eyes that fit into the seat rails. The Picknick table has had pipe lagging slipped on each side and then bungee strapped on edge against handle bars. We have also carried a mini portaloo around in a padded storage box, this has proved invaluable when preparing food in the absence of the rear seat. Hope this helps and hope you have as much fun in your MP as we are doing. PS our next trip will involve our tandem... Watch this space!

This is very encouraging. I have tested out MY bike in the MP and it fits (just not as good as I would like). Next is to test out my and the wifes bike -- i can see how it will work, but I need a few more times to get my comfort level up. Do you by any chance have an image of how you did yours. I can visualize it in my head but a picture would be appreciated. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Mr & Mrs F]

Sorry for the delay, initially foiled by file size issues! The board has a layer of 3mm rubber gasket material bonded to the underside to reduce slippage and scratching to the floor. If you can live without the rear seat / bed then our 3 week tour is testament that it can be done.

 

[Jamboree]

Sorry for the delay, initially foiled by file size issues! The board has a layer of 3mm rubber gasket material bonded to the underside to reduce slippage and scratching to the floor. If you can live without the rear seat / bed then our 3 week tour is testament that it can be done.

perfect - thank you for the image. Now I need to figure if that will work for me. but again - this is perfect.