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So, I have a Cannondale Bad Boy 5 and I'm LOVING it.

bike

I'd like to understand how to transport it. I have 2014 BMW 4 Series coupe. Even though I folded back seats (to maximize trunk storage), bike won't fit there (well at least not all the way anyway), so I gotta take one of the wheel off. The wheels are 700c discs and the fork is a Cannondale Lefty fork (i.e. attaches only on one side).

my main concern is since i cannot easily take off front wheel due to lefty fork and i can use quick release to take the rear wheel off; What's better way to handle derailleur (without ruining your cloth, car, etc).

Ideally I'd like to:

  • use quick release to remove rear wheel,
  • place chain into some sort of container (suggestions?),
  • place bike along with separated wheel (derailleur up) inside of the car,
  • go to wherever, and revert procedure.
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  • There's always the bike hanging out of the trunk approach.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 11:19
  • What is the problem with taking one of the wheels off?
    – paparazzo
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 12:07
  • @Blam - The front wheel is using a special axle and doesn't come off readily. Removing the back is messy -- some scheme would have to be developed to control the chain. And removing wheels on disk brake bikes is always a bit touchy.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 17:16
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    Also when removing wheels with disc brakes you need to be extra careful not to squeeze the brake lever or better still put a spacer in between the pads once the rotor is out.
    – DWGKNZ
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 20:03
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    Removing the back wheel may not save the space issue. When you remove the front wheel it lets you lie the handle bars flat. removing the backwheel leaves this height (600mm) on a flat bar sticking up.
    – DWGKNZ
    Commented Jul 5, 2014 at 5:30

4 Answers 4

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None of the other answers deal with the OPs desire to keep the bike inside the car, i.e. not on a rack.

To put the bike in the car, you have to take off at least one of the wheels.

Pedro sells a "chain keeper" which is designed to keep the chain on or near the derailleur when the rear wheel is off:

Pedro's chain keeper enter image description here

This should help you considerably (along with old towels and maybe a moving blanket) to put the bike cleanly in the car with the rear wheel off.

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  • I have one, they are awesome for cleaning the chain when on a bike stand.
    – sjakubowski
    Commented Jul 4, 2014 at 16:05
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If cannot fit the bike in you have four options:

  1. Remove the front wheel and lower seat, this makes the bike much smaller. This is the no cost, no change to car and medium effort to get wheel off and on and get bike in and out of car. enter image description here

  2. Mount a roof rack and use a carrier. This is a medium cost, semi permanent (roof rack can be removed) and medium
    effort to get bike up and down. enter image description here

  3. Install a trailer hitch or tow bar and use a hard mount rack. This is an expensive permanent solution if you don't have a trailer hitch installed. You can remove rack however and bike is very easy to get on and off rack. enter image description here

  4. Use a trunk mounted rack. This is a cheap temporary solution. Medium effort to mount rack on trunk easy
    to get bike on and off.

enter image description here

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  • 4
    Also, a lot of roof mounts use the front fork as a mounting point - with a lefty fork, this means an additional adapter if your roof rack has a compatible one (Yakima and Thule seem to make them for their racks). And it should be noted that you can get a bit of security by getting a lock to the rack. But really, a coupe (especially a small one like the BMW 4 series coupe) is highly non-ideal for moving a bike (or really, anything more than 2 people)...
    – Batman
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 5:48
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    @PeteH In many cases also an old blanket to wrap the bike into does the job fairly well...
    – Benedikt Bauer
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 14:44
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    One needs to be a little careful when getting a hitch receiver for use with a bike rack. The rack produces a fairly substantial "lever arm", and if the hitch is not totally rigid and secure it can bend or poop off. (And I think $400 is closer to a realistic price to get a hitch receiver installed.)
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jul 2, 2014 at 17:22
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    @mattnz - I've never heard of anyone being hassled for having the license plate obscured by a bike rack in the US. I'm sure there are a few tight-pantied cops Out East who might do this, but it would be rare.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 2:21
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    @GaryE - Presumably you don't drive a brand new BMW.
    – Batman
    Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 3:52
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The BMW roof rack system can be found for ~120$ USD, and 140$ USD for the touring bike carrier.

Works extremely well.

On my 1 series

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1

If you literally mean inside then: If you are going to remove a wheel and lefty makes front difficult. Then remove the rear and place derailleur up and near rear of trunk. Why place the chain in a container - just leave the chain on the bike. You still have dirt to deal with from front wheel but better than grease from derailleur and chain. Get a rubber trunk mat. Weathertech makes one for a BMW 4 Series Coupe.

I think it is bit conservative but Cannodale has some very specific recomendations regarding racks.

14_Cannondale_Owners_Manual.pdf See page 101 Type of rack design

Cannondale Type OR Rack Design

This is one rack that is wheel only
YakimaFrontLoader

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