Bike-mounting accessories

What does the average person need for a good holiday? "Swimsuit, a change of clothes, and a few bottles of something warming" would be the most common answer. But some people need other essential accessories too, without which they simply can't leave the house. We're talking about outdoor enthusiasts who can't imagine a holiday without a bike, a skateboard or a surfboard. These devoted souls might forget their toothbrush at home, but the object of their affection will always be with them. At car dealerships, these people are easy to spot. They spend ages studying the car's boot, measuring the towbar, and working out where they'll fit their favourite toy.

The biggest of these modes of transport, and accordingly the one that takes up the most room in a car, is the bicycle. Carrying a two-wheeled steel friend inside a car with a large boot (a Chevrolet Cruze, say) isn't hard. But it's not exactly convenient either, since you risk getting the interior dirty, and you'll have to fold and unfold the bike every time before loading it in. On top of that, this way of transporting a bike means you can't use the boot for what it's meant for — the bags packed for the trip simply won't fit. That's why special bike carriers for cars have long been widely used around the world.

There are several types of racks for carrying bikes:

• bike mounts fitted to the car roof,
• bike mounts fitted to the car's towbar,
• bike mounts fitted to the rear of the car,
• a separate category of mounts designed for crossovers, SUVs and minivans that lets you attach the bike to the spare wheel.

The first and most common way to transport a bike is a roof-mounted bike rack. These mounts are fitted onto standard roof bars. The bike is secured by its wheels to the rails using clamps and special straps. There's also a holder variant that involves removing the front wheel and clamping the fork dropouts. This process takes a fair bit longer and needs extra room to store the front wheel. But, as car owners' reviews suggest, it does improve rigidity and reduce aerodynamic drag.

Another option has the bike sitting on both wheels in tracks and secured further by a special strap around the frame. There are also models designed to hold the bike wheels-up. The price of roof bike mounts can vary depending on the material and weight of the unit, whether or not it has an anti-theft lock, and the design of the clamp that grips the frame. There are even mounts that will help lift the bike onto the roof for you, though naturally their price will be considerably higher than a budget option.

Such extras aren't needed by car owners who have a towbar. There's no need to spend effort hoisting the iron steed onto the roof. But these mounts cost more than their predecessors, since they can carry several bikes. Exactly how many depends on the number of posts provided, held together by the clamping mechanism.