UKC

I can get my bike in car if I put down seats and take off front wheel.

It's an old car but anybody got any suggestions for a padded bike bag, preferably that will take bike with back wheel on. Mainly to protect car rather than bike as the bike gets battered to hell far more in use.

Thanks

Know it’s not quite what you’ve asked for, but I put my MTB in the back of our car with back wheel on and lay it on an old bedsheet that I then fold around the bike. Seems to work a treat in protecting our car. 

I just used bits of old carpet to protect the car from the greasy / sticky-out bits.

The Citylink busses up here will take bikes in the luggage compartment and they provide bikebags.

You maybe try to pick up one of these.

https://www.citylink.co.uk/conditions-of-carriage/bicycles/

I have used old sheets / carpets but have now cut most of the base of a builders dumpby bag out and restitched so it is about 1.8 wide and 0.9 high. Takes a mountain bike with front wheel off and with the original handles easy to sling into the van or car.

Keep up the UKC tradition!

I have some bedsheets and an elasticated cover (looks like what citylink use, but wrestling required to get the bike into it).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Outdoor-Stretchy-Protection-Mountain/dp/B0...

Thanks all.

That's a good idea.

It works well.

Not pretty but fits in with my ideal of useful product at no cost out of a builders skip.

Did you sew it by hand?

Sewing machine.

The bag material is easy to stitch two layers together just not through the original seams.

Slight gaps ie holes in the base but not an issue.

Go to a mattress shop and see if they have any old mattress bags spare.

Also works a treat for flying with a bike for touring - just pick another one up before you fly back.

Bags2cover.co.uk

I sent these guys a sketch of what I wanted from a bag to cover/transport my MTB in my vehicle and they made it.

Lie your bike on the ground in the configuration that you'd like it to be inside the bag, draw around it or just take the measurements. Send off your sketch to them.

What has worked really well for me has been the band that they stitched to the open end. This had many had grips that helped to manouver getting the bike into the vehicle.

I use  a heavy-duty PVC/fabric table cloth.  Waterproof, wipes down.  Also make excellent tent footprint, gear dumping area, picnic cloth etc.  Universally useful

Not any help to you, but hope you don’t mind a bit of nostalgia and memories. I thought I would mention what I still use in the car. It’s a circa 1940s, original motorbike cover I was told, which I inherited. My late father used it on his motorbike, and after his motorbike it was used for many things and had a hard life before I got it.

It is padded, and thickly woven on one side, and a heavy duty canvas cover on the other. Originally the canvas was coated with something and was waterproof so would keep a motorbike dry and the padding was to protect the motorbike and to retain some heat in cold weather to help with starting. Long time now since the majority of the coating had disintegrated so not waterproof as all now.

It’s going strong for car/push bike protection. Robust still to take a bike frame and wheels being pulled and pushed over it. Laid on the boot floor and on folded down back seats it takes all the mud, water drips, oil drips or whatever from my bike when transporting. When it gets drips it just soaks the water in so boot carpet never affected. I just let it dry and with a shake of dirt off it’s good to go again. Stays in boot folded in half and cushions anything I throw in and stops things sliding about.

An old curtain, bedsheet around wheel and elasticated bike cover worked ok. I think the cheapest solution is an old duvet or even a new one - bulky but as little as 6.50/8.50 for single/double at Asda.

In a pre midlife crisis stage I bought a 2 seater convertible Porsche. If I lowered the convertible roof I could fit my mountain bike (wheels removed) in the front seat. I never used a bike bag, just a few old bed sheets to cover the seat.  It was a bit of a faff but worked well. I also made a flat platform so I could put my dog's bed on the passenger seat. Needless to say I sold the car for a lot less than I bought it for.

After a couple of years I saw the light and bought an estate which can accommodate 2 bikes with front wheels removed. I just chuck them in the back without a cover now. 

Get to your local Decathlon and buy some very cheap karrimats for padding.