Bike transport hall of shame

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Permalink Reply by Jared on October 1, 2014 at 2:50pm

I was driving so I couldn't take a picture but I saw a bike laying in the middle of one of the expressways near O'Hare.

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Permalink Reply by Haddon on October 2, 2014 at 4:14pm

How often does this type of procedure damage a bike? There must be times, with a bungee cord the hood bounces and damages a bike? Is this something mechanics see from time to time?

H

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Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on October 2, 2014 at 5:17pm

For people who own a small car and no bike rack, this seems like a perfectly reasonable solution for a quick trip to the forest preserve (assuming it's unsafe or uncomfortable to simply ride your bike there.)

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Permalink Reply by The Korn on October 2, 2014 at 5:44pm

You consider the trunk lid being held down by gravity, and the bike not strapped in at all, to be a safe way to transport a bike?

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 2, 2014 at 6:39pm

I've ended up needing to replace a rear derailleur more than once after putting a bike in a vehicle (better said, letting someone put my bike in a vehicle.)

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Permalink Reply by Tandemonium on October 2, 2014 at 7:24pm

Break my derailleur once, shame on you; break my derailleur twice.... :P

h' 1.0 said:

I've ended up needing to replace a rear derailleur MORE THAN ONCE after putting a bike in a vehicle (better said, letting someone put my bike in a vehicle.)

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 3, 2014 at 1:36am

Tandemonium said:

Break my derailleur once, shame on you; break my derailleur twice....

...break, we won't get breaked again!

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Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on October 3, 2014 at 9:09am

Is it held down by only gravity?  How do you know there aren't bungee cords or something on the inside helping to hold everything in place?

Assuming this person doesn't have a bike rack or the tools to disassemble the bike, what would be the preferred way to haul this bike?

The Korn said:

You consider the trunk lid being held down by gravity, and the bike not strapped in at all, to be a safe way to transport a bike?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 3, 2014 at 10:04am

At the very least, there should be some sort of cushioning above and below the bike to protect it from the edges of the trunk. Something like an old towel or blanket is suitable. I've done that in a pinch and was able to protect the bike from damage.

BruceBikes said:

Is it held down by only gravity?  How do you know there aren't bungee cords or something on the inside helping to hold everything in place?

Assuming this person doesn't have a bike rack or the tools to disassemble the bike, what would be the preferred way to haul this bike?

The Korn said:

You consider the trunk lid being held down by gravity, and the bike not strapped in at all, to be a safe way to transport a bike?

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Permalink Reply by The Korn on October 3, 2014 at 11:06am

I don't know for 100% certain that there aren't interior bungee cords.  However given the lack of any other equipment, it'd be out of character for there to be any.

The larger solution is to not transport the bike to the FPDCC in the first place.  Sometimes you just don't have the basic level of required equipment to do something safely, and I'd say this was one of those times.

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