Two Bike Boxes in a 3 Series?

[RobM77]

This is a bit of a long shot, but has anyone out there fitted two bikes boxes in the back of an E90 3 series? I've got a really good towbar carrier which we use for muddy bikes or short journeys, but my wife and I don't want our road bikes on the back getting filthy driving thousands of miles across Europe or long UK trips, so wanted to get hard case bike boxes, which would also be useful for flying abroad. I currently have an E90 saloon, but may upgrade to an estate if necessary.. I know that one will fit, as I've seen photos online, but has anyone tried two?

thanks

[agentnomad]

not a 3 series but I can get a 56cm track frame in the boot of a 1 series and a road frame on the back seat of my 1 series so it is quite possible to get a bike box in/on the back seat a bike box in the boot could be a tight fit but you may get two on the back seat as I have had two road frames on the back seat but not in boxes.

What about soft bike bags

Again my car is a 1 series 2 door saloon

Edited by agentnomad on Friday 27th February 11:07

[snowdude2910]

I have an e91 if you want any measurments from an estate or have the measurments for a box you have in mind just give me a shout, personally I'd just chuck them on the roof though, towbar mounted carriers are crap they all bounce no matter how tight you tighten them, roofracks hold the bike down by the wheels so no bounce and the frame is held to prevent side to side movement, they don't move one bit.

[jamiebae]

Do you have folding back seats? Without them it's a definite negative unless you can slide a box onto the back seat.

[stongle]

I've got an f30 touring and got 2 scicon boxes into the back before, rear seats down though.

[RobM77]

Thanks for the replies guys.

jamiebae said:

Do you have folding back seats? Without them it's a definite negative unless you can slide a box onto the back seat.

Yes, I have folding rear seats. I would just measure, but it'll be so tight it's hard to tell! I'm currently awaiting a reply from a guy who makes custom sized boxes, which may be that little bit smaller that we need. Two boxes will fit, it's getting them in that'll be hard.

agentnomad said:

What about soft bike bags

Because it'll be for longer trips and holidays we want to be able to put all our other stuff in the car, and don't want the bikes damaged by the weight of other things.

snowdude2910 said:

I have an e91 if you want any measurments from an estate or have the measurments for a box you have in mind just give me a shout, personally I'd just chuck them on the roof though, towbar mounted carriers are crap they all bounce no matter how tight you tighten them, roofracks hold the bike down by the wheels so no bounce and the frame is held to prevent side to side movement, they don't move one bit.

Thanks. A friend of mine at work has an estate, so I'll measure that sometime soon. We don't want the bikes exposed on the roof for thousands of miles across Europe. The tow bar carrier we have is great though, so we'd just use that for shorter trips in the UK. One option is to put a bik box on the roof, but my windsurf board is noisy and mpg damaging enough - I dread to think what a massive great bike box would be like!

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 27th February 08:48

[AyBee]

Vry much depends on the bike boxed you're planning on using. If it's the moulded ones, you'll probably be ok, it's it's the square ones, I'm not so sure. Managed to get 2 big square ones into an Alfa Guilletta with the seats folded but only just!

[RobM77]

AyBee said:

Vry much depends on the bike boxed you're planning on using. If it's the moulded ones, you'll probably be ok, it's it's the square ones, I'm not so sure. Managed to get 2 big square ones into an Alfa Guilletta with the seats folded but only just!

Thank you. We'll wait and see what the dimensions of a moulded one are - I e-mailed "Bike Box Alan" last night.

[Kell]

Have you thought about a LARGE roof box?

I can get two bikes in mine without too much fuss.

For the record, mine's an old Mont Blanc RBX5400.

[AyBee]

RobM77 said:

Thank you. We'll wait and see what the dimensions of a moulded one are - I e-mailed "Bike Box Alan" last night.

In which case, I think you might be ok. I have the Deluxe version from here which is quite chunky for a bike box.

[RobM77]

Kell said:

Have you thought about a LARGE roof box?

I can get two bikes in mine without too much fuss.

For the record, mine's an old Mont Blanc RBX5400.

Thanks. I can't look at the photos at work, but I'll check them out when I get home. A roof box is an option, yes - I already have roof bars. If possible I'd like to avoid doing long distances with the noise and mpg reduction that something on the roof would bring, but it's probably cheaper than changing from a saloon to an estate. How do you get the bikes in? (unless the photos show that!) - do you disassemble them as with a bike box?

ETA: I'm home now - looks good. How much extra noise and how much less mpg does it give you?

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 27th February 18:08

[TwistingMyMelon]

When I had a saloon , the boot itself was quite big for the car, but the opening was a PITA , as it was oddly shaped and small for the car.

Depends if you will use the versatility of the estate other than one trip a year?

[RobM77]

TwistingMyMelon said:

When I had a saloon , the boot itself was quite big for the car, but the opening was a PITA , as it was oddly shaped and small for the car.

Depends if you will use the versatility of the estate other than one trip a year?

Not really, no, which is why I don't have one now. My windsurfing masts and sails, cello and guitars all fit in the saloon diagonally with the seats down, as do most things I carry as one offs from time to time. If I had to go back to motor racing (which I may do) an estate might be a bit more useful for spares, fuel etc, but I could probably manage with a saloon ok.

[Beyond Rational]

Would bike bags do the job well enough instead of boxes?

[S10GTA]

Beyond Rational said:

Would bike bags do the job well enough instead of boxes?

Read the thread, and the reply from OP at 08.44