Taking the bike

[Hornet3D]

28 minutes ago, rich146 said:

Ive recently purchased an ADO A20F folding Ebike of which should fit still albeit a fat tyre bike.

I would be surprised if it didn't fit, there is still some room left in the Aygo with both ours loaded so you should be fine.

[rich146]

4 minutes ago, Hornet3D said:

I would be surprised if it didn't fit, there is still some room left in the Aygo with both ours loaded so you should be fine.

Thanks thats encouraging to know. The weight might be an issue though exceeding 30Kg!

[Hornet3D]

Just now, rich146 said:

Thanks thats encouraging to know. The weight might be an issue though exceeding 30Kg!

I doubt it, our two are 12Kg so 24Kg for the pair but that is not a lot different to having my in-laws in the back and it is an either all not the in-laws and the bikes.   I find I do need to change gear a lot earlier when driving and keep the revs up other wise no real hassle.

[Parts-King]

On 5/22/2022 at 9:35 AM, dartrader1997 said:

We were hoping to get two 20inch folding electric bikes in the rear of ours but it's just not an option. Although they will phyisically go in through the hatch their weight is too much to lift through without the possibility of damage to either the car, bikes or my back. They weigh 21kg each and the opening through the hatch is too tight to guide them through with any precision due to the weight. If I had another person to help then maybe it could be done without any damage but my wife is disabled and can't lift. We are now considering a rear carrier that mounts on a towbar as a towbar is available for this purpose only, not approved to tow trailer as you all probably know.

Just be careful when doing that. The nose weight of a bike carrier, plus the weight of an electric bike usually means you can only legally carry one bike as the nose weight is exceeded with two bikes 

[dartrader1997]

4 hours ago, Parts-King said:

Just be careful when doing that. The nose weight of a bike carrier, plus the weight of an electric bike usually means you can only legally carry one bike as the nose weight is exceeded with two bikes 

That's something I had'nt thought about so will have to do some calculations. The batteries weigh 2.15KG each and can be removed and carried in the boot and I can remove the seats from each bike but that's about it really. I am not sure yet what the max nose weight is for the Aygo but I suspect it's around 50KG like the Yaris according to what I found on a website earlier. If that's the case then I don't see this as an option to be honest, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[davidif]

22 hours ago, Hybrid21 said:

Quite a few bad reviews on the e-brompton David. Seems that they have a few issues with the electrics.

I’ve been following this quite closely and just as it seems that Brompton has fixed things someone else has yet a different issue although much of it seems to be the connection to the Battery. 
Hopefully by the time I make a decision they’ll have fixed everything. 
Sorry to derail the thread. 

[rich146]

23 hours ago, Hornet3D said:

I doubt it, our two are 12Kg so 24Kg for the pair but that is not a lot different to having my in-laws in the back and it is an either all not the in-laws and the bikes.   I find I do need to change gear a lot earlier when driving and keep the revs up other wise no real hassle.

I’m referring to lifting the bike in and out of the vehicle. Could be tricky with manoeuvring . Will see  . 

[Hornet3D]

On 5/24/2022 at 12:29 PM, rich146 said:

I’m referring to lifting the bike in and out of the vehicle. Could be tricky with manoeuvring . Will see  . 

Sorry I misunderstood, I can imagine something twice the weight of our bike might be difficult but then I am close on seventy and I have never been a Mr Universe type.  With ours I can managed to lift the bike onto the ledge and just tilt the bike slightly and slide it in.  I have a cover that goes over the lip of the boot which was taken from the CRV before we sold it and the bikes are in carry cases so there is not much chance of damaging the bike or the boot lip.

[Hornet3D]

Here are the bikes now they are prepped for use, we have added lights, gear protector, pannier bags and trip computers followed by a full check around to see everything is tight and adjusted correctly.

 

 

[Parts-King]

They look smart 👍

[Hornet3D]

2 hours ago, Parts-King said:

They look smart 👍

Thanks, I must have read hundreds of reviews before deciding on these, they needed to look good, be a reasonable weight and be strong enough not to collapse while riding.

[davidif]

19 hours ago, Hornet3D said:

Here are the bikes now they are prepped for use, we have added lights, gear protector, pannier bags and trip computers followed by a full check around to see everything is tight and adjusted correctly.

 

 

They look very smart, I do like a folding bike.

[Hornet3D]

4 hours ago, davidif said:

They look very smart, I do like a folding bike.

Thank You.

[Donrald]

I have similar problems. My bike is a Tern Vektron. I have a new Aygo X Extreme coming in the next 14 days. My first thought was simply put the bike in the boot. Our existing car is a 13 year old Aygo. I tried a dummy run yesterday and age has caught me up. The bike is too heavy for me to lift in. I came up with two solutions. The first is buy a GoCycle G4, light enough to put in the boot. Just a little problem of the cost!  The second will be have a Brink tow ball fitted that can only be used for a bike rack. No towing. And get a bike rack for one bike. There are a couple around. Whilst the specs of the car indicate no towing it would not be used for towing, impossible to do so, and it would not be illegal.

[Cyker]

Bwaaaa! I'd love one of those but they cost more than every car I've owned (Aside from the Mk4...) and I just can't do it!  

[Hornet3D]

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

Bwaaaa! I'd love one of those but they cost more than every car I've owned (Aside from the Mk4...) and I just can't do it!  

They are a lovely bike but wow, what a price. 

I looked at the Brompton range of folding bikes which fold don very much smaller than our present ones but a two speed version was more that three times the price of the seven speed we finally purchased and I just could not justify that.

[Hornet3D]

4 hours ago, Donrald said:

I have similar problems. My bike is a Tern Vektron. I have a new Aygo X Extreme coming in the next 14 days. My first thought was simply put the bike in the boot. Our existing car is a 13 year old Aygo. I tried a dummy run yesterday and age has caught me up. The bike is too heavy for me to lift in. I came up with two solutions. The first is buy a GoCycle G4, light enough to put in the boot. Just a little problem of the cost!  The second will be have a Brink tow ball fitted that can only be used for a bike rack. No towing. And get a bike rack for one bike. There are a couple around. Whilst the specs of the car indicate no towing it would not be used for towing, impossible to do so, and it would not be illegal.

I think my concern would be the validity of the insurance with when the bike was on the back, to the insurance company it could still be regarded as towing and a reason to null and void the policy.

[Cyker]

Plus when you get bikes at that level you probably need to get them their *own* insurance!!

[Donrald]

17 minutes ago, Hornet3D said:

I think my concern would be the validity of the insurance with when the bike was on the back, to the insurance company it could still be regarded as towing and a reason to null and void the policy.

I don't see that as an issue provided that you have notified the insurers of the modification/addition. It is certainly not towing in any event.

[Donrald]

9 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Plus when you get bikes at that level you probably need to get them their *own* insurance!!

No, there is no problem putting them on the normal household policy, which is how mine is insured, and it is much much cheaper than having separate cover.

[Hornet3D]

37 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Plus when you get bikes at that level you probably need to get them their *own* insurance!!

Yep, I would really worry about where I could leave it at any point but separate insurance would be a must.

[Hornet3D]

29 minutes ago, Donrald said:

I don't see that as an issue provided that you have notified the insurers of the modification/addition. It is certainly not towing in any event.

I take you point and agree with you but I also know that some insurance companies who's first reaction to a claim is how they can wriggle out of it.

[Hornet3D]

29 minutes ago, Donrald said:

No, there is no problem putting them on the normal household policy, which is how mine is insured, and it is much much cheaper than having separate cover.

Possible but my model seam powered railway engines were a no no and had to have separate insurance.  Very different to bikes I know and most household policies will include them but I suspect some may reach a price that the household insurance would prefer not to cover.

[Donrald]

57 minutes ago, Hornet3D said:

I take you point and agree with you but I also know that some insurance companies who's first reaction to a claim is how they can wriggle out of it.

"Some insurance companies"? Most!

Most policies have single item limits and if you come within that little more is needed. If the value exceeds that then it is noted as a specific item moon the policy. I am rewired to have the bike locked to an immovable fixture at home (it is shackled to the garage wall) and obviously properly locked when parked up.

[Donrald]

1 hour ago, Hornet3D said:

Yep, I would really worry about where I could leave it at any point but separate insurance would be a must.

As said for most people separate insurance is not necessary. It is surprising how much in value your household policy will cover you. Same with musical instruments and mobile phones. Separate insurance can be very expensive for the same cover.  But read the policy terms before singing up! You can tell a comparison site what you want and when you go for the cheap quote they come up with, if you do not check the terms you often find you are not getting the cover you thought you were.