This is Max we are talking about here. If one can find a way to hem and haw about something, Max can! Google 944 bike rack. Some nice options...

Putting a bike in a car repeatedly gets old really quick. It's a pain, you end up with grease on the on the seats. If you have a bike with the new disc brakes, you will invariably manage to hit the front brake handle while the tire is off, clamping the brake pads together. I have found that a credit card works nicely to push them back out. :rolleyes: As for a bike getting wet?? Um, that's what they do.

I don't ride offroad so it stays pretty clean unless I ride in the rain. But it has to be light rain for me to ride, otherwise it is too unpleasant for me and I go for a hike with an umbrella or just stay inside and work the arms.

I hauled the bike inside the BMW E21 -partially in the backseat, partially in the front seat. Did that for years before the rack. It had its pluses and minuses. I nearly burned up a tire shortly after getting the rack and made some spokes brittle by derping and not realizing where the tailpipe was under that big bumper. Also The bike tends to bounce and pivot such that the pedals either hit the back of the car or the bumper. It left a couple little dents/scratches on the back, and I didn't like the thought of the fatigue cracks growing on the bottom bracket. I've broken at least one. This bouncing happened with the bike as secure as I could get it. Straps, closest peg, etc. Wind would do it, as would just driving like I do.

While my lower back doesn't really appreciate it, the hatchback is a much better way to transport a bike. And I don't have to take off the rack to put something in the trunk, or to avoid it looking silly without a bike on. And the rubber feet don't rub the paint.

I want to drive one just to see, but I bet I'd like it. ;) and I hear a rumor there will be a turbo version soon, if not I'd bet there are a few bolt on turbo kits available.

I don't doubt that it would be. I've out a ton in mine, bit its a bit higher than the trunk of my corolla, and I foresee some gnarly scratches if you loaded a bike a lot. I was hauling mine almost weekly and hated it. I was actively searching for a rack, just hadn't found one I liked on Craigslist.


Good point Dave, the logical easy solution will never work. ;)

Guess the cantis have their advantages. ;)

I put the bike chain side up on its side, doesn't get grease on the carpet in the hatchback.

If I am going to use a bike rack I am going to get a Boxster.

Feel silly with an empty rack??? How's that possible!?! I found it's a great way to keep people off your tail! My rack has foam, no rubber.

I guess my rack is too cheap. It is a Thule. Raceway I think? Bike on the rack did more damage to car and bike than bike in the back of the Focus has done.

As for rain, the paint on my frame has rust bubbles. I really should strip it and repaint it before it gets worse, but I'd like to slow the spread of the cancer.

Very rare and expensive, only 3 were built by Porsche...

http://flatsixes.com/wp-content/uplo...5.44.46-PM.png

These are 1 off custom jobs...

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog..../08/134c_1.jpg

There are getting in the under $10K range...

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...1M3R3cE54PxVJA

Got this for $800...

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_..._large.jpg?v=0

I ain't driving no truck. I want to be sitting on the gosh darn floor with my eyelevel at about hub-height. 944 shooting brake would be on my list if it weren't so expensive.

Thinking BMW Z3 shooting brake is top of the list, but 944s appear to be more affordable.

Uhhhh you live in LA. How often would your bike get rain on it? And why not get a new bike, it would be cheaper faster and easier. Probably could get another like yours for less than a couple hundred.

My rack is made by Rhode Gear. Alarick has been letting me use it, since he has two. I have no idea what he paid for it, but it works and can hold 3 bikes, though I think two is plenty. Since almost all modern bikes are carbon or Al, rust isn't a concern. :D

Often enough. Such as, if I want to bring it to Monterey and it rains on the way there.

It also helps keep the tires from dry-rotting in the harsh sun if I am transporting it long distances or it sits parked.

I like the bike I have, thank you very much. I really should treat it better but I have too much fun riding it.

:rolleyes: Still an invalid argument max. Water on the paint for a few hours isn't going to ruin the bike, same with the sun. A few says here or there won't ruin the tires.

Oh and I'd fix that rust sooner than later. Hate to find out its more than surface rust and break the frame on a hard climb.

I'm going to go hug my aluminum bike now...

I think the main thing is how much the bike would swing and thwap the back of the car. Despite using the strap included with the rack and an additional bungee cord. It made me sick watching it go bonk-bonk-bang in the wind back there in the rearview mirror. Made me drive super carefully (slowly).

Aluminum may not rust (except at grain boundaries in the high strength alloys), but it doesn't have nearly the fatigue life of steel. Carbon doesn't resist impacts well and heat (like sitting in the sun) reduces the strength of the resin.

There is no perfect material.

Then you need a different rack. I've seen cars on the highway with bikes back there that looked rock solid.

Max, for some reason, my heavier bike floats at about 66MPH, while Alarick's does as well, his can take a little more speed. I didn't like the idea of the pedal's hitting the trunk, so I too use two bungees. I have it setup now so that the bike does not move, though I still keep it at 65 on the freeway. I also use some velcro straps to further secure the frame to the rack. It's really not difficult to secure the bike. You can also wrap the inner pedal...

I'd rather put the money towards a better car that can hold a bike without a rack. I have the 911 to play with and really what I want for a toy car is a formula car with a 550 spyder body on it. Sort of like that "Frankfurt Flyer" special. Boxster would be fun since that was the first car I drove, but it's not my dream car.

Just stop, Max. Stop countering every thing that we post. You've asked questions and have been given a plethora of answers/options that are all valid. Today's carbon bikes just do not break frequently. The mtn bike guys wail on theirs these days. Both the road bikes and mtn bikes also spend a lot of time in the sun with no harm. As long as they are painted or a UV clear coat is used over the raw carbon, it just isn't a problem.

But to me all that is so much more hassle than opening a hatch, taking the front wheel off, and ploping it in the back of the car. Rear seats down of course.