# How do you transport your eMTB?



## noob2gnarly (Dec 16, 2018)

I've got my first ebike on the way this week 
Merida eOne Sixty...

I've been using a Yakima front loader roof carrier previously but have just seen it's only rated to a max 18kg payload. The e160 without the battery is a little under 20kg.

I'm sure they rate it quite conservatively, and thought perhaps with extra tie downs to support sideways movement it should be okay (if i can lift it up there) But "Should be" isn't really good enough i don't think.

What you are all using? Installing a tow bar isn't _really _an option...


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## Bizman (Oct 11, 2010)

I am in the camp of keeping my bikes out of the weather while traveling with them, so I went the 2018 Ford 250 Transit cargo van with mid roof. It hauls both mine and my wife's ebikes and anything else we need to take with us. We can stand up inside the van which is very nice for loading and unloading our bikes and changing our clothes. My wife calls it Clifford the big red van.:thumbsup:


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

Kuat hitch rack. No way I'm putting that thing on the roof or lifting it too high with my shredded shoulders!


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

I drive a plug in Prius, with an aftermarket 1 1/4" receiver hitch I put on it. Using some square tubing, I welded up a simple rack that just plugs in and out when I am carrying my 60+ pound fatbike. On long road trips, I take out the front passenger seat (which still leaves the rear seat, so can still haul passengers if needed) and I take my eMontague conversion. It fits on the floor where the seat normally would go, with plenty of room left over. I can be cruising down the road, see someplace that looks interesting, and 3 minutes later be parked and riding off to check it out. I also sleep in the car, (and have thermostatically controlled heat or AC all night, with minimal engine run time thanks to the big battery, they make great campers) and have a black out curtain to screen off the front end from the rear.  The material is flat black, no sheen to it at all, looking in at night you can't tell you're looking at black material, it's just BLACK, neat stuff. I had a big scrap left over, and when I feel the need I throw it over the folded bike, and then have an even stealthier bike hauler. Even looking in the dark tinted windows, you can't see anything. Plus I get over 50 mpg, and of course, I can charge the bike while driving or parked, with no worries of the charger's inverter running down the car's battery, as it will use the car's large high voltage traction battery to keep the accessory battery, the one the inverter runs off, topped off, after a long enough time the big battery may need charging so the engine starts and runs for a very minutes (at a super low fuel burn and very efficiently, totally unlike idling a conventional car) and then auto shuts down again. The Prius, and other hybrids I suppose, make a great ebike/road trip combo.


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

E bike on a roof rack?

I'm sure there stupider ideas out there, but i certainly have not heard any.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk


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## highroad 2 (Jan 24, 2017)

On a $1000 hitch rack attached to a $500 car.
I ride several times a week and its got be fast, easy and a safe rack


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## Jack7782 (Jan 1, 2009)

Please post a few pictures - of ebike on a small car like your Prius


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## kaleidopete (Feb 7, 2015)

Jack7782 said:


> Please post a few pictures - of ebike on a small car like your Prius


Home made rack


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

I use a thrift store couch cushion to protect the car from the bike, and I have a strap, bought online, that hooks into the top of the closed hatchback and has a quick adjust buckle. the other end of that strap hooks into the rack. Plus I have a back rope from the seat to the windshield blade pivot point, and the wheels are also secured to the rack brackets. Takes a minute to get on/off


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Same concept as the for the Prius!


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## KrisRayner (Apr 3, 2007)

Rocky Mounts has some nice hitch racks that have a solid weight rating for ebikes. Check out the monorail.


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## Jack7782 (Jan 1, 2009)

For now, I have been using my old "fork mount" hitch rack (1 1/4" receiver) to transport my new ebike. I remove the battery and front wheel to reduce about 10 lbs. Ideally I would like a 2" setup with a heavy rack like the Thule T2 etc.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

Another good option is a hitch-mounted motorcycle carrier. They're actually cheaper than bike racks in some cases. Before i had my pickup truck, I needed to haul dirt bikes and mountain bikes, and I had a hitch mounted carrier with a loading ramp. Couldn't be easier. Only thing is that you need to use straps to hold it, but that's not a big deal.


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## kntr (Jan 25, 2004)

Express van


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## JackWare (Aug 8, 2016)

As I've only got a Ford Focus hatchback but a Haibike FullFatSix, I take the wheels off and put them in a pair of Evoc two wheel bags that fit the fat wheels perfectly, then sling the frame into the back of the car (back seat down) with room to spare for a rucksack and other bits and pieces. The Sram derailleur makes removing the rear wheel an easy operation as long as you leave the bike in high gear (smallest cog).


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## FZBob (Apr 14, 2008)

E-Bikes can be a bit heavy...


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## FZBob (Apr 14, 2008)

Just kidding!

For long family trips,I hang it in the back of the Transit.








For local solo rides, it goes in the trunk of my Stealth Camry.


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## Maxeymum (Mar 2, 2017)

In the back of my Honda Element. I like carrying my bikes inside -- no bugs to wipe off, no weather to worry about, better gas mileage than a roof rack etc.

Here's a fat bike in my Element. The ebike fits no problem:










A couple of fat bikes. I've also had 3 bikes in there before:


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Any ebikes on Tesla roof racks? Probably be squirrelly. Maybe if you took the battery off?


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Gutch said:


> Any ebikes on Tesla roof racks? Probably be squirrelly. Maybe if you took the battery off?


 I can't imagine anyone with a Tesla, being so aerodynamically drag ignorant as to put a roof top rack on! A little aero drag snobbery there....from this Prius driver who's aghast when he sees a bike carried on the roof. As clean as the Prius is, carrying a bike up top would probably double it's over all drag. I look at it this way: some people in my area leave their skis racks on year round, as they drive Suburbans or other big suv's, the extra drag is a small percentage. The cleaner the rig, the bigger the hit, though it's the same amount of overall drag. I can tell the difference even with the rear rack!


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## Maxeymum (Mar 2, 2017)

I've seen Prius drivers with bikes and a cargo box on the roof going 85 mph before. I always laugh because they're probably getting worse mileage than my Honda Element under those conditions.


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

I personally prefer bikes inside a vehicle, I generally buy midsize SUV and lower the rear seats. The bike slides right in without taking anything apart. If I got to carry 2 bikes, I take the front wheels off and both bikes can still fit straight in. 

In a car, I'd get a rear hitch and I prefer 1-UP racks. Mine has worked flawless for over 5yrs. You can literally unload/load your bike into the 1UP rack in under 30secs. What's not to like?


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Jack7782 said:


> For now, I have been using my old "fork mount" hitch rack (1 1/4" receiver) to transport my new ebike. I remove the battery and front wheel to reduce about 10 lbs. Ideally I would like a 2" setup with a heavy rack like the Thule T2 etc.
> View attachment 1299619


You havent been pulled over yet?


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## Jack7782 (Jan 1, 2009)

matt4x4 said:


> You havent been pulled over yet?


Yes I worry about that here in CA. But never pulled over last 5 yrs with this rack probably because I use it less - inside the Element is my primary spot.


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## motox155 (Jan 27, 2006)

RickBullottaPA said:


> Kuat hitch rack. No way I'm putting that thing on the roof or lifting it too high with my shredded shoulders!


I have the same, 2 bike rack. I'm pretty sure it was designed with normal bike weights (25 lbs approx) in mind. Have you had any issues, weight wise, with putting two ebikes on it since they weigh about twice as much?


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Maxeymum said:


> I've seen Prius drivers with bikes and a cargo box on the roof going 85 mph before. I always laugh because they're probably getting worse mileage than my Honda Element under those conditions.


 Ha! Yeah, they're probably only getting 30 or so MPG. 
Those Elements are cool little rigs, I can see them making a great bike hauler. I also have a receiver plug in home made rack on my beater RAV4, and sometimes I pull my fat ebike's front tire, and stick a 6" toy plastic tire on there that has the same axle size to make it easy to roll it in and out. I have the rear sear of the 4 permanently out, so it's real roomy back there. It get's almost exactly half the mileage of the Prius FWIW.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Gonna mount a hitch on my Tesla. It can be removed simply. All electric set up!


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## jbsocal (Feb 12, 2011)

*Thule Insta-Gator*

I try not to get hernias lifting it into and out of the truck bed...


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

jbsocal said:


> I try not to get hernias lifting it into and out of the truck bed...


Oh I know what you mean there, with a Nissan Frontier truck, for a while I was having a lot of flats and needing a ride. It sure was a pain in the arse to always be lifting my ebike into the bed of the truck. Now with a front dd hub, I have gotten no flats at all! I guess all my weight on the back wheel was always getting pinch flats. I may buildup a mid drive this winter with the c4k and see how it goes with whatever controller I choose.

Lots of people use the rear hitch rack, suprised the cops havent been cracking down on law breakers.


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## highroad 2 (Jan 24, 2017)

Been using hitch rack for years including almost everyone else in my area.
Never known of a law issue.
Is the potential law issue have to do with the rack and bikes partially obscuring the tail lights?


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