| Home > Misc topics > Recumbents > Transport |
Transporting a recumbent by car can present a challenge. Long wheelbase and tandem bikes are generally too long to put on an ordinary trunk rack sideways. Even short wheelbase bikes may not hang on trunk racks very well, due to their general layout. Don't let me stop you from trying it, though. Rooftop racks that combine a wheel tray and fork mount work best for many recumbents.
If you have a pickup truck, SUV, or van, there are simple fork mounts, available from multiple sources, including your Local Bike Shop, REI, and Nashbar, for about $20. These are basically just a fork mount incorporating a flange with bolt holes for mounting to a surface; some allow you to secure the bike with a padlock. You can mount several to a piece of plywood, put it in the pickup bed or inside the SUV/van, and attach your bike forks. That will keep the bikes upright, and you just have to fasten them down with cargo straps. If you're really trying to cram multiple bikes in, attaching the fork mounts at an angle may help you avoid handlebar interference.
I think the best of these are Delta Bike Hitch Pro fork mounts, with a slot and a red rubber washer in the middle, which keeps the skewer position centered for easier fork mounting. (Otherwise you need two hands to control the bike, and a third hand to adjust the mount skewer.) Upright riders with pickups sometimes attach these fork mounts on top of the front wall of the bed, and this will likely work for long-wheelbase recumbents and tandems as well. Of course, if you have a short-bed pickup and a long bike, you might want to check on how much is going to stick out the back.
You may be able to put your recumbent on public transit bus racks. This might work with a SWB Burley or a Rans V-Rex, although the seat struts on the Rans might turn out to be a problem. I've done this successfully with a SWB ASS Vision R40, which had an unencumbered rear wheel. I have not actually tried it myself with a Rans or Burley.
The commonest type of these racks has a wheel tray made of steel tubing and a pivoting spring-loaded hook, which normally goes over the front wheel of an upright bike. With a SWB recumbent you'd put the bike on facing the other way and put the hook over the rear wheel. I did this twice a day with a Vision R40 in 2000 with no problems; I got static from a bus driver only once. I didn't even take the seat off unless it was an express bus that was going on the freeway. With your bike, perhaps if you're putting the hook on a 20-inch wheel, you might find you want to remove the seat and take it inside.
I used to think this was restricted to 26-inch wheels, but apparently the racks are used a lot with mountain and stunt bikes with 20-inch wheels. This opens possibilities for more recumbents; certainly the Rans Rocket becomes a candidate. For CLWB bikes with 20-inch rear wheels like the EZ-1 and the Rans Tailwind, the question would be if the wheelbase fits into the rack lengthwise or not. There's no way to know for sure short of taking the bike to a bus zone and trying it. If there's a transit center or "park & ride" close by where the drivers take a break and the buses sit for a while, that would make your testing easier.
Your local bus people will probably want you to get a permit to use their racks. Here, they make you watch a short video about how to use them before they give you the pass.
site feedback