Hatchback - bike in boot?

[budster]

Evening all, looking to replace my MK II Octavia later this year and considering the Superb.

Currently in the Octy (hatch), I can lower the large section of the rear seat (so I don't have to move my son's car seat), take the front wheel off the bike and stick it in the boot relatively easily.

 

I'm assuming an estate would make this a lot easier due to the upright rear window, but I am wondering if the estate is necessary in the Superb given the hatch has a larger boot already, if you see what I mean?

 

I don't have anything against the estate but I'll be buying used and there are more hatches available and they are obviously cheaper.

 

So, are there any Superb hatch owners out there that regularly put bikes in the back? How much of a ballache is it?

[Steviedakota]

Do a lot of MTB so got a removable towbar fitted. A Maypole bike rack then fits on and off in seconds. I could get me bike in, but the car would be trashed, and scratching the bumper is inevitable.

[budster]

10 minutes ago, Steviedakota said:

Do a lot of MTB so got a removable towbar fitted. A Maypole bike rack then fits on and off in seconds. I could get me bike in, but the car would be trashed, and scratching the bumper is inevitable.

Thanks, I had a brief look at towbars but there seemed to be a vast array and the cost was somewhat prohibitive (like £400+ just for the towbar and fitting) which seemed a bit much. However, my boot lip is wrecked! 

Which towbar do you have and do you recall how much it was, including fitting? 

[Steviedakota]

Mine is a Witter, invisible when the Swan neck is removed. Was €520 fitted. I used the rack a lot so could justify it, but not cheap as you say.

[Bud]

Fill the boot with an old quilt cover and or movers blankets and lay them out and especially over the bumper when loading bikes.  No scratches to bumper, no mud in the car, no problems.

 

Can also sit on/in the boot when getting changed putting shoes on etc.

 

 I get 2 bikes in the boot MTB or road without taking anything off  

[Whenwillilearn]

Depends on what bike you have, it's wheel size... 26, 27.5, 29 etc. 

I have a hardtail medium frame with 27.5 wheels. I remove the front wheel and thankfully the seat pin is a dropper post so that can lower right down easy. 

I do however lower both rear seats. I find it easier loading the bike. 

The only niggle with hatch over estate is the raised boot lip on the hatch to overcome. 

 

The estate will provide more vertical height in the rear but I doubt you will be standing your bike vertically. 

[hwr1983]

I have a estate and to get my bike in i still have to lower a seat and you won’t get it in with the wheels on stood up.

 

we went with a factory swivel away tow bar as we had a factory removable tow bar on our mk2 superb estate for our tow bar mounted bike rack. Expensive but worth it for ease of use.

[El Dingo]

I have a 29-er MTB and remove the front wheel. Drops straight in.

I also have a plastic load liner to catch the mud... 

[Mickey43]

On 02/02/2019 at 19:17, budster said:

Evening all, looking to replace my MK II Octavia later this year and considering the Superb.

Currently in the Octy (hatch), I can lower the large section of the rear seat (so I don't have to move my son's car seat), take the front wheel off the bike and stick it in the boot relatively easily.

 

I'm assuming an estate would make this a lot easier due to the upright rear window, but I am wondering if the estate is necessary in the Superb given the hatch has a larger boot already, if you see what I mean?

 

I don't have anything against the estate but I'll be buying used and there are more hatches available and they are obviously cheaper.

 

So, are there any Superb hatch owners out there that regularly put bikes in the back? How much of a ballache is it?

 

Don't know about the hatch as I have an estate, but I don't think the boots are that different in size?

 

I've got a fairly big road bike as I am fairly tall.   Goes in the boot with back seats down no problem WITHOUT taking the front wheel off.  

 

Have to carry kids bikes about too so ended up getting roof bars and carriers.  Much easier.

 

 

Edited 4 February, 2019 by Mickey43

[budster]

17 hours ago, Whenwillilearn said:

Depends on what bike you have, it's wheel size... 26, 27.5, 29 etc. 

I have a hardtail medium frame with 27.5 wheels. I remove the front wheel and thankfully the seat pin is a dropper post so that can lower right down easy. 

I do however lower both rear seats. I find it easier loading the bike. 

The only niggle with hatch over estate is the raised boot lip on the hatch to overcome. 

 

The estate will provide more vertical height in the rear but I doubt you will be standing your bike vertically. 

Embarrassingly, I'm not sure what size the wheels are, I've had it for quite a while. It's a hybrid and a quick google of hybrids suggests wheel sizes of 700c, which didn't really help much.

Yet more googling suggests that is somewhere between 27 and 28", so probably the same size as yours.

 

I agree, the boot lip is a pain although it has sometimes been useful to wedge things in the boot and stop them shifting around.

 

The estate should fix that problem but I have see a few on autotrader that don't appear to have a flat boot floor so I'm assuming that is not actually standard. I'll be looking at 2016on SE L Exec or Sportline. An L&K would be lovely but they tend to be out of budget.

 

 

[Mickey43]

58 minutes ago, budster said:

Embarrassingly, I'm not sure what size the wheels are, I've had it for quite a while. It's a hybrid and a quick google of hybrids suggests wheel sizes of 700c, which didn't really help much.

Yet more googling suggests that is somewhere between 27 and 28", so probably the same size as yours.

 

I agree, the boot lip is a pain although it has sometimes been useful to wedge things in the boot and stop them shifting around.

 

The estate should fix that problem but I have see a few on autotrader that don't appear to have a flat boot floor so I'm assuming that is not actually standard. I'll be looking at 2016on SE L Exec or Sportline. An L&K would be lovely but they tend to be out of budget.

 

 

 

My boot has the lip and its an L&K estate.  A bit of a pain but you get used to it.

[edwards]

Stock combi boot has a lip, adding the variable floor allows you to level it up and have some storage underneath. I can get my road bike, with front wheel in, in the back with the floor up and the back seats down. 700c wheels, approx 1m wheelbase and 770mm centre-to-saddle height if that helps to get an idea of bike size.

 

[edwards]

Towbar rack is the way forward if you can afford it though - this is my Buzzrack tilting rack with 4 road bikes on. Note dog bike trailer on roof of car. I get to tow the idiot spaniel when we do family rides. he has a memory foam mattress to lay on when he is knackered from running. Someone is getting a poor deal out of things and its not the blinking dog!

 

[penguin17]

2 hours ago, edwards said:

Towbar rack is the way forward if you can afford it though - this is my Buzzrack tilting rack with 4 road bikes on. Note dog bike trailer on roof of car. I get to tow the idiot spaniel when we do family rides. he has a memory foam mattress to lay on when he is knackered from running. Someone is getting a poor deal out of things and its not the blinking dog!

 

Ha ha!  Perhaps you are now driving the Smugline 

[budster]

23 hours ago, edwards said:

Towbar rack is the way forward if you can afford it though - this is my Buzzrack tilting rack with 4 road bikes on. Note dog bike trailer on roof of car. I get to tow the idiot spaniel when we do family rides. he has a memory foam mattress to lay on when he is knackered from running. Someone is getting a poor deal out of things and its not the blinking dog!

 

 

 

At least you know your place in the family pecking order

[PSM]

The boot in the Superb is really no bigger than the Octavia (only a few cm in length different). If you bike fits in the Octy OK then it will fit in the hatch Superb. Since the Superb has more space between the rear of the boot to the back of the front seats you may even find that you can get the bike in without having to remove the wheel.

[budster]

46 minutes ago, PSM said:

The boot in the Superb is really no bigger than the Octavia (only a few cm in length different). If you bike fits in the Octy OK then it will fit in the hatch Superb. Since the Superb has more space between the rear of the boot to the back of the front seats you may even find that you can get the bike in without having to remove the wheel.

OK, useful to know. I had assumed the boot was substantially bigger.

[IJWS15]

Have had both my old MTB (26" wheels) and the new road bike (700 wheels) in the boot with no problems.   

 

Wheel size is irrelevant as the frame is different, both of these have the same seat height.    The new one is a large size Giant frame.

 

THis one was preceded by a '15 Octavia and the boot is bigger but only by an inch or so each way - I am over 6 feet and struggle to reach the back.

[drewellis]

When I bought my Superb hatch, I spent a fortune on top of the range roof bars & bike carriers (Thule wingbars with Thule proride carriers).

 

But I can report that when my brother & I go mountain biking up at Whinlatter, I quite often just put both bikes in the back of the car as it's easier/more fuel efficient/less noisy.

I have a 19" Boardman pro full sus, and my brother has a GT Fury (not sure on the size but it's similar to mine).

We just take the wheels off, pack them all in with sheets etc between and off we go.

And, there's still an absolute cavern of space for all our kit/lunch etc

 

Roof racks are a good idea and I use them if there's 3 or 4 of us, but they do create a lot of drag which uses loads of fuel.

[drewellis]

23 hours ago, budster said:

OK, useful to know. I had assumed the boot was substantially bigger.

FYI

Superb hatch vs estate: 625 vs 660 L seats up, 1,760 vs 1,950 L with seats down

Octy hatch vs estate: 590 vs 610 L seats up, 1,580 vs 1,740 L with seats down

[Steviedakota]

My issue with bikes in the car, apart from muck and the potential for scratching things up, is what they are going to do to the occupants if you are in crash.  Outside is safer, cleaner and easier.

[drewellis]

19 minutes ago, Steviedakota said:

My issue with bikes in the car, apart from muck and the potential for scratching things up, is what they are going to do to the occupants if you are in crash.  Outside is safer, cleaner and easier.

Good point yes, thule and many other bike carriers are all crash tested these days I believe

 

One car manufacturer I forget which, maybe Land Rover - made an internal bike carrier system which secured them in place in the back, and slid them out with the press of a button a bit unnecessary if you ask me

 

sort of like this but electric

[Mickey43]

22 minutes ago, Steviedakota said:

My issue with bikes in the car, apart from muck and the potential for scratching things up, is what they are going to do to the occupants if you are in crash.  Outside is safer, cleaner and easier.

 

I agree.  Putting the bike inside the car is such a faff around.  Roof rack and carrier is so much easier.  Yes it drags the economy down a bit but heyho

[Whenwillilearn]

Putting the bike in the car is much more secure though. Park up somewhere and the bike is locked away inside. 

 

 I have seen bikes fly off external bike carriers in the past which is not healthy for said bike especially if a 25Te truck is following. 

 

Simple fact is the superb either in hatch or estate has a large boot thus why have a large car with a large load bay and not use it? I find it illogical if in transporting a single bike one chooses to go fit it on the roof or a tow bar then happily transport that huge boot full of air. Simply 'un clever' 

[IJWS15]

There are tie down points in the boot - safer than the bike falling off a rack.  Simply clever