Traveling with bikes

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Traveling with bikes
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flag provin1327
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Posted: Mar 3, 2019 at 17:29 Quote
I'm running through options of transporting bikes on bike trips and am wondering how other people do it. Say I am flying to another state on a mountain bike vacation, taking my bike on the plane, and renting a car. How do you transport your bike while on vacation? From what I can see, none of the rental car companies offer bike racks. It seems to me that the best option would be to rent a truck and somehow cram my tailgate pad in my bike travel bag (impossible) or pick up some velcro straps and a yoga mat at a WalMart and create my own (janky). Packing two Bomber tailgate pads in my bike travel bag would work but now I'm buying something I would only use on a once a year bike vacation. This would still force me to rent a truck and pay a premium. Is there a way to do it with a car? Do bike shops rent bike racks? I also considered assembling and disassembling my bike after every ride and transporting it in the travel bag but that sounds like a pain in the ass and makes the bike prone to damage with all of the assembling and disassembling.

How do people travel with bikes during their vacations?
flag DugS
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Posted: Mar 4, 2019 at 8:51 Quote
If you plan to rent a pickup truck, you could stand up your bike in the box using two straps the way you would with a dirt bike, or just lay the bike down in the box.

In Hawaii I rented suv and folded the back seats down so I could just lay the bike down inside, mud and all. Hey it’s a rental.
flag Vulhelm
Posted: Mar 4, 2019 at 9:17 Quote
One of these would fit in a bike bag:
https://bomberstrap.com/products/blacker-bomber-strap

Edit: Didn't read post properly. Doh
flag PapaGordo
Posted: Mar 4, 2019 at 11:21 Quote
I know I have seen options for "bike carriers" when I've made reservations for rental vehicles in the past, although I can't remember which company that was. You may just need to make a special request when making the reservation. My guess it would be the truck-style of bike rack though. You're probably better off renting an SUV and doing what DugS suggests. Plus the bike can be locked inside the vehicle when you at the local watering hole refreshing after your ride.

If you want to rent a truck, check with United Rentals or possibly UHaul for the best prices and availability. You won't be able to pick it up at the airport though. Maybe a UberXL can get you there. You could also get moving blankets to use as a tailgate pad.

Since you are flying with your bike, remember to reserve cargo space with the airline and arrive even earlier than recommended. Have you thought about shipping it directly to your lodging accommodations? I bet costs between shipping through Bike Flights and flying with your bike would be competitive, especially considering the aggravation of navigating through airports with XL items.
flag provin1327
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Posted: Mar 4, 2019 at 12:39 Quote
Yes I did consider shipping with bikeflights.com plus I have the box my YT was shipped in which would save me from buying a bike bag. I did not mention I would be traveling with at least two bikes so the "fold the SUV setas down and stash bike inside" option does not work.

I think the Bomber Straps on the tailgate of a rental truck might just be the best option unless the rental company does in fact rent bike racks.
flag joelsman
Posted: Mar 28, 2019 at 19:44 Quote
Minivan with fold down seats, strap a bike to each side, still have plenty of room between them and they are locked inside.
flag seanondemand
Posted: Sep 14, 2019 at 8:20 Quote
joelsman wrote:
Minivan with fold down seats, strap a bike to each side, still have plenty of room between them and they are locked inside.
This! Rental minivans are usually cheaper than trucks and have gobs of room for 2 bikes/people.
flag iiman
FL
Posted: Sep 22, 2019 at 15:32 Quote
for a recent trip we fitted a spesh enduro 29er and a large kona process, plus all the gear and some extras in the back of a Mazda 3 just by folding seats and taking all wheels off, just a matter of how much comfort you're willing to give up. In more roomy cars you can even fit them vertically with just front wheels off.
Another option could be to buy a cheap bike rack at your destination and just leave it behind.
flag provin1327
O+
Posted: Sep 25, 2019 at 13:15 Quote
Renting a van seems like it's a good option except for having to strap the bikes down somehow plus the issue of loading a dirty bike into a nice rental van.

I think the car rental app Turo might be the best option. You can filter by vehicles that have bike racks and the price to rent on Turo is much cheaper than through a rental car company.
flag kennethmchin
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Posted: Oct 1, 2019 at 21:08 Quote
Some shops will rent bike racks. Here's an example:

https://www.racknroad.com/rental-rates.html
flag provin1327
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Posted: Feb 20, 2020 at 14:41 Quote
Following up here since I'm going on a trip to the PNW soon. I decided to use the Turo app to rent a Subaru that has a 4 bike hitch rack included in the rental. On future trips if renting a vehicle with a bike rack via Turo isn't an option I am either going to buy two Bomber straps or an EVOC Duo tailgate pad, throw the pad in the box I am shipping my bike in, and rent a truck with Turo.
flag finsterlee
Posted: Jul 16, 2020 at 13:29 Quote
joelsman wrote:
Minivan with fold down seats, strap a bike to each side, still have plenty of room between them and they are locked inside.
I'm adding to this as well since someone else may have the same question in the future. I was driving from Utah to Whistler last July for a few weeks- my kid has ski camp up on the glacier, and then he rides in the evenings, so we were loaded down. Just south of Seattle, my basically new car dropped its driveshaft going 80mph on the middle of I-90. Long story short- the local dealership had Enterprise call me to arrange a pickup from the Sammamish off ramp. Told the poor guy I had two 50 lb. dogs, a bike rack with two mountain bikes, a rocketbox on top of the car with two pairs of skis, poles, and ski boots, all kinds of bike and ski helmets and pads, a longboard, an inflatable SUP, and he needed to come get us in the biggest Yukon-Tahoe thing they had. He said nope, you need our Grand Caravan mini van. Collapse all the seats into the floor, and it turns into a cargo van basically.

He was right, AND he helped us load all our belongings off the side of the highway into the van. Bikes fit great, and held two big dogs and a shit ton of other stuff.
flag crj5
O+
Posted: Jul 16, 2020 at 14:36 Quote
Bomber straps are the move in my opinion. I own four straps just for renting trucks when on bike trips, and I don't own a pickup truck at home. It is so convenient to be able to just throw your bikes in the tailgate instead of wasting time and sacrificing comfort by taking off wheels to fit bikes into vehicles. As a bonus, I've had friends who have visited me and rent a truck so we can shuttle, then the bomber straps come out for that as well. The up front cost is annoying, but you'll have them for years and not have to worry about transporting bikes when on travel.

edit: I also prefer checking my bike on a plane instead of shipping it. Most airlines have pretty reasonable prices for it now. It does seem to depend on the individual agent who checks your bike in, but I am guessing its cheaper than shipping it. Its also nice to have the bike at the airport when you arrive instead of having to go pick it up somewhere else.
flag provin1327
O+
Posted: Jul 17, 2020 at 8:49 Quote
crj5 wrote:
Bomber straps are the move in my opinion. I own four straps just for renting trucks when on bike trips, and I don't own a pickup truck at home. It is so convenient to be able to just throw your bikes in the tailgate instead of wasting time and sacrificing comfort by taking off wheels to fit bikes into vehicles. As a bonus, I've had friends who have visited me and rent a truck so we can shuttle, then the bomber straps come out for that as well. The up front cost is annoying, but you'll have them for years and not have to worry about transporting bikes when on travel.

edit: I also prefer checking my bike on a plane instead of shipping it. Most airlines have pretty reasonable prices for it now. It does seem to depend on the individual agent who checks your bike in, but I am guessing its cheaper than shipping it. Its also nice to have the bike at the airport when you arrive instead of having to go pick it up somewhere else.

Who do you rent trucks from when you travel?
flag crj5
O+
Posted: Jul 17, 2020 at 8:52 Quote
provin1327 wrote:
Who do you rent trucks from when you travel?

I have points racked up with National from work
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