Bike rack or boot of the car?

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Hello folks

Fin from Lisburn (N Ireland) here. I made my debut on Cycle Chat last week when I was looking for advice on buying a new bike. Thanks to everyone who chipped in!

I've bought a Ghost SE1300 hybrid which, hopefully, will help me to lose a whole lotta weight and get me fit. I got a lot of good advice from similarly weight-challenged peeps here!

I took it out for a quick spin on the road last night but managed to fall off after a few yards, graze an elbow, slip the chain while struggling with the complicated gear changes and wobble badly for half a kilometre before returning home too scared to go on the main road again.

I'm going to stick to the parks and towpaths etc, but that leaves me with one more problem. Do I continue to remove and refit the front wheel and keep the bike in the back of the car, or do I invest in a high-mount bike rack? Does anyone have any recommendations/horror stories to help me make a decision?
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
It is probably simpler to put the bike in the back of the car than put on a bike rack (at least in our family it is ... but then 5 bikes don't fit in the back of our car), if it is just the one we do the stick it in the back of the car after taking off what ever is necessary.

Try to put it in the car with the rear deraillieur facing upwards. And when you put the front wheel back on, check that you have it centred (give the wheel a spin and check the brakes don't rub before setting off).

As for changing gears, if you are struggling with it at the moment, put it onto the middle ring at the front (left hand lever), and just leave that side alone if you are generally on the flat, and then gear 2 or 3 at the right? (Sorry if you have that sussed already but I struggled with gears when I first started). I also didn't realise that you couldn't just flick the left hand lever to change gears, that I actually had to hold it for a second or so to allow it to change.
 
OP
OP
Heavy Traffic

Heavy Traffic

Member
That's great, summerdays, thanks. I'm not keen on paying £70 for a rack that might not fit my car in the first place. If I'm driving to a biking location it seems easier to remove and refit the wheel rather than struggle with straps etc.

Thanks for the gears info; why didn't I ask the helpful chaps at Chain Reaction in the first place? :wacko:
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
The pedals need to be turning to change gear (either with you on it or doing it by hand and lifting the back wheel off the ground, whilst turning the pedals).
 
OP
OP
Heavy Traffic

Heavy Traffic

Member
Cheers, Larry, I just need to boost the confidence a bit more, so I'll maybe start with Wallace Park, the towpath and Hillsborough country park, just to iron out the wobbles and steady up.
 
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