Bikes on Cars in Ferrys

[Andrew_P]

Brill responses, thanks all!!!

I guess if I had the choice, I'd prefer the roof mounted option for reasons as per @Rooster1 kindly pointed out, plus it looks cooler

a lot of money but the proper 3/4 bike tow bar ones are brilliant. Sturdy fixings both the bikes and the to the car, number plate and indicators brake lights. You can release the mount to get access to the boot/hatch with the bikes on the mounts. I take 4 bikes 2 adult two kids 20" down to the SW coast without even considering them on the back. Normal motorway speeds etc. The cost is dependent on how much use.

I have the older version of this it has an extender for the 4th bike http://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rb...carrier_no_929/Qx@w,6M42VAwp3@Rb{~cC4ure5xbIp

 

[Deleted member 35268]

Towball ones are best

 

[John the Monkey]

I realise that I'd not answered the question - we use roof mounted racks, either 1 x bike with a roof box, or occasionally 3 x bikes with no box.

Our roofbars usually cost around £100 (from Roofbox.co.uk) - we defray a little of the cost when changing cars by selling them on, usually getting between £40 and £60 for them. (They're always removed between trips, so are usually in very good condition). We used Cruz Bici bike carriers initially (£20 each) they're fine, but a bit agricultural. We now have a Thule Freeride, (£60?) which is excellent, and used for the bike that travels most. The cost of towball mounting has, up to now, been prohibitively expensive for us.

Travelling from Dover - Calais with P&O, we've not been charged extra for the ferry trip - we're usually loaded with the caravans, and occasionally with the trucks. Further to the height restriction issue mentioned above, for some reason the credit card lane on a lot of Payages is height restricted, so its useful to have both coins and cards available.

 

[User269]

It's an extra £16 (return) for a rear mounted carrier with Brittany, on the Portsmouth - Caen route,
and an extra £60 for roof mounted (over 1.85m).

We've tried different mounting options over many years, for long, fast drives across Spain, Italy, and France.
Inside the car is best.
But we happily use a towbar mounted rack now, which includes rear lights, no. plate, and can easily be folded down for boot access.
Our least favourite option was roof mounted; difficult to access, raised the vehicle height to 2.5m, limited our use of toll lanes on autoroutes, service areas etc., increased fuel consumption and interfered with handling and stability in wind conditions.

 

[Julia9054]

We have taken 3 bikes on the back of a Passat estate Dover - Calais without being charged extra. At 5ft 3 1/2 roof mounted is just not an option for me!

 

[Cubist]

Many years of using a towbar mounted, folding Thule so I can access the boot. We travelled to Fance via many different ferry routes and the chunnel. At motorway cruising speeds the MPG if anything appeared to improve, and I'm no physicist, but suspect it had something to do with disrupting the sucking effect of a slab-ended Discovery. We could average 34mpg on a couple of thousand miles of motorway travelling from Yorkshire to Biarritz or the Midi and back. You need to declare extra height on some crossings, and the Disco was always over the 1.83m limit, but they always put us with the cars anyway, and on some crossings you need to declare the overall length. They'll ask when you book.

 

[Oldfentiger]

True dat - thats why Indy cars go round oval tracks in pairs, quicker than on their own.

Even more prevalent in NASCAR - known as bump-drafting

 

[Deleted member 35268]

@User269 "We've tried different mounting options over many years"

Sorry, but the idiot in me had to laugh a little at this. I know @Fnaar would.

 

[pawl]

Have booked myself a ferry trip with the car (Portsmouth - Cherbourg)....

I didn't tick any boxes as regards bike transport, figuring I'll sort this later. So was wondering, what's the best (or cheapest) way of transporting the bikes, on the roof or a rear carrier? Do the ferry companies (Brittany in my case) charge extra?

Any experience gratefully received!

Hight may be a problem. If i remember correctly on some car decks there would not be clearance for roof mounted bikes.
I believe some car decks have clearance for caravans.Dont the ferry companies ask about hight on the booking forms.
I would check with the ferry operator giving the hight of the vehicle with the bike on the rack.

 

[User269]

@User269 "We've tried different mounting options over many years"I

Sorry, but the idiot in me had to laugh a little at this. I know @Fnaar would.

I've no idea what you're talking about, although I should point out that we find our mounting options rather limited these days.

 

[Milkfloat]

Many years of using a towbar mounted, folding Thule so I can access the boot. We travelled to Fance via many different ferry routes and the chunnel. At motorway cruising speeds the MPG if anything appeared to improve, and I'm no physicist, but suspect it had something to do with disrupting the sucking effect of a slab-ended Discovery. We could average 34mpg on a couple of thousand miles of motorway travelling from Yorkshire to Biarritz or the Midi and back.

I remember reading a paper that described the effects of road surface on fuel efficiency, it stated that France autoroutes offered better fuel efficiency than UK motorways.

 

[Oldfentiger]

I remember reading a paper that described the effects of road surface on fuel efficiency, it stated that France autoroutes offered better fuel efficiency than UK motorways.

And then there's the fact that the air's warmer, and therefore thinner, so there'll be less air resistance.
Ah but then if the air's thinner, the engine will be less efficient cos there's less oxygen.
Or would a turbo negate the effect of reduced oxygen?
Complicated innit?

 

[andrew_s]

Just to be clear here - Brittany Ferries will charge extra with cycles on the roof. There is no charge if your total height is below 1.83m, but there is a charge if you go over (up to 2.6m). It will add an extra £50-60 to your crossing. You can see all this when you book your ticket on their website.

What I have done (as the passenger) is to take the bikes off the roof carrier and lay them flat to bring the height down below the limit, using a bit of old carpet to protect the car from stray pedals, and a generous helping of straps.

 

[Mr Celine]

We took two bikes on Brittany Ferries Portsmouth Caen last summer. Remove wheels and pedals, one bike fits in the back with the rear seats folded down and mine fits inside a roof box. The roof box is a low wide one and brought the height of the car up to 1.84m by my measurement. The person who checked us in at Portsmouth insisted it was too high, or that any roof load had to be declared, but didn't charge any extra. She didn't charge any extra for me either, Mrs Celine having forgotten(?) to put me on the booking.
We've previously travelled on that route with the car similarly laden, paid extra for the height just in case, and then been put in the low height deck anyway.

Transporting the bikes in this way has the least effect on fuel consumption and is more secure when leaving the car if you want to stop en route.

Bon voyage!

 

[tatr]

You could just make your kids cycle to France, frees up space the car