I'm off on holiday to France (Vendee) for a couple of weeks on Monday. Last year I took my old MTB and the children's bikes on my cycle rack on the back which was fine. However, this year I'm thinking of being a little self indulgent and taking my road bike for a couple of early morning spins while I'm there. I'm not overly precious, but am a little worried about my Allez being scratched to bits with the childrens bikes laying on top in transit. Obviously will secure as tightly as poss, but are there any tips to protect my bike (was thinking of trying to get some of those foam protection tubes that are on new bikes (I knew I should've kept em!!). Afraid with a roof box on the top, not an option to put it on the roof, so stuck with the rear cycle rack for now.
Protecting bike on rack
- Thread starter Willo
- Start date
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Spinney
Bimbleur extraordinaire
- Location
- Back up north
Get some pipe lagging from your local DIY supplier - cut to length they make good 'foam tubes' for putting on your frame.
Padding, padding, padding....
Possibly some cardboard between the 'precious' 
and the other bikes (weather 
dependent, I appreciate).
As Spinney so correctly says - padding x3
.
I'm assuming you 'precious' will be going on last, being the lightest. It's also worth checking the hold-down straps after about 10-20 mins driving, to check they are still tight.
[hope this is not Granny/eggs
] 
and the other bikes (weather dependent, I appreciate).As Spinney so correctly says - padding x3
.I'm assuming you 'precious' will be going on last, being the lightest. It's also worth checking the hold-down straps after about 10-20 mins driving, to check they are still tight.
[hope this is not Granny/eggs
] 
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Never used a rack but I've found bits of old inner tube provide good protection of bike parts.
mr_cellophane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Essex
Off Topic, but if you are going to the Vendee you must not miss a day at Puy du Fou. I don't think you will be there for the Cinesenie, but the rest of the place is amazing. Speaking French will help, but it is not essential to enjoy the shows. Your kids will love it, especially the Gladiators (think Ben Hur live) and the Vikings (spectacular effects)
http://www.puydufou.com/en
http://www.puydufou.com/en
Cheers all - will check out the pipe lagging at the weekend, sounds ideal. Haven't decided 100% whether to take the bike yet; bit of a luxury item given all the other baggage (and have already got fishing gear to sneak into the roof box!!). However, I was in the same area last year and a bloke on the campsite went off for a cycle every morning before retiring to the pool that had me jealous. so it would be nice to sneak out early for a spin through the French countryside on the odd morning.
Have a voucher for Puy du Fou so will check that out
Have a voucher for Puy du Fou so will check that out
Thanks to the helpful staff in Cycle Surgery in Victoria, got my Allez nice and snug with some foam frame protection that they gave to me. After a little juggling, got the bikes on nice and securely and went for a quick test run down the M20 and all seemed good. Managed to scratch the car with my pedal (should've listened to the rag on pedals advice!) but it was the car and not the bike so that's fine:-) Looking forward to a spin or 2 in the French countryside now as haven't been out for 3 weeks or so.
cheers for the advice
cheers for the advice
