Transporting a converted bike?

[ScottS]

How do you transport your converted bike? I finished mine today and need to take it somewhere flat to learn to ride... No way to make it fit on the Saris rack, won't fit in the trunk of my car, even with the seats down and the rear tire removed. It will probably fit in my wife's small SUV, but that's not really a viable solution. The conversion was an old Mongoose with 24" wheels, nothing too unusual about it from what I can see in other threads. As for the need to transport it, there isn't any flat ground anywhere near my house (except in the garage), and the closest parking lot is about 5 miles away, so too far (along a busy highway) to walk.
Suggestions?
Scott

 

[John Tolhurst]

turned the front 180

If you turned the front 180 degrees, would it not fit on the saris rack then?

 

[ScottS]

Jigsaw puzzle

John, I tried it forwards, backwards, everything but upside down. The problem is that the Saris rack won't fit into the frame anywhere, except the conversion triangle. Writing that, it seems like I'll have to get another rack that does fit, but I just got the Saris a few months ago.

Don't want to give it up as I finally have something that'll hold both my recumbent trike and my wife's DF MTB at the same time. The only other solution I can see is to slide off the steerer tube extension and fold it down along the conversion top tube (plus remove the rear wheel).

 

[Doug Burton]

Hmm...

If you loosen the stem and turn the handlebar 90 degrees, and remove the rear wheel, will it fit in the trunk?

Also, if this bike has a rea swing arm, can you disconnect the rear shock and fold the swing arm up under the frame?

You could probably substitute a seatpost quick release for the shock bolt to make this an easier operation if it needs to be done frequently.

These bikes can usually be made pretty small for packing...

Cheers,

Doug

 

[ScottS]

Doug, turning the handlebar

Doug, turning the handlebar is no help, it's the height of the steerer that's a problem, however, removing the shock bolt did the trick. At first I didn't think that would work because it won't swing all the way around, only goes about 90 degrees, but that's enough to shorten the overall length. And to make sure not to ignore the obvious for anyone else reading, the rear tire does have to come off.

The only real issue with this is that the rear brake cable has to be completely disconnected to allow the swing arm to move far enough. The obvious answer to that is to lengthen the cable enough t allow free movement, but I'm not sure if that will leave a large loop of excess cable when the bike is ready to ride. I'll let you know how it works out.

Other commenters in other threads were right, learning to ride an MBB bike is like learning to ride all over again. At least this time I haven't left any skin on the pavement.

Scott