Learn how to fit a bike in a car in 5 easy steps. 

After reading this blog you’ll be able to transport a bike or ebike without a car rack.  It can seem like a difficult puzzle to take apart your bike and how to fit a bike in a car.

But we’ll show you how this can be done in a matter of minutes.

With a little practice and these 5 steps you’ll be able to easily transport your bike and be on your way to having new riding adventures. 

 

Step 1 How to fit a bike in a car-cleaning

 

To prevent your car from getting dirty, first clean your bike with wet wipes or bike wipes. Here are wipes specifically made for bikes. 

Next, remove all clutter from the space where you will be storing your bike. It’s easy for the bike to get stuck on large and small items stored in your car.

Once the bike is in the car you can stack items around the bike if storage space is needed. 

In this example I removed the heavy 48V Lithium Ion Battery from the ebike before lifting the bike. 

 

Step 2 How to put bicycle in car- front tire removal 

 

After the bicycle is clean, we will prepare the bike by removing the front wheel.

Bikes might fit in some cars without removing the front wheel, but to ensure a fit in our car we removed the wheel in this example.  

We transported a 1000Watt Mid Drive Ebike with 4 inch fat tires in small two door car.

*Take a reference photo of the front wheel on your bike before removing it.  Take a look at this photo later to make sure the brakes line up and everything is in the correct place. 

How to take off wheel

Depending on which type of bike you own the front wheel removal will differ. Some tires have a quick release lever.

If you have a quick release lever, simply pull the lever and loosen the nut opposite the lever. You do not need to fully remove the nut and lever from the bike frame in order to remove the wheel. 

If the lever is stuck you can try to unscrew the nut by turning it counterclockwise.  These levers might be very tight because they are responsible for keeping the wheel on the bike!

Other tires are connected to the bike with a bolt. If this is the case, you will need a pair of large pliers, an adjustable wrench, or a ratchet set in order to loosen the bolt. 

If you have ANY questions about how to remove bike tires check out this  blog and video.  Once you know how to remove your bike tires, you can quickly get your bike into the car. 

After the front tire is removed, place it in the trunk on a towel or in a bike wheel soft padded storage bag. 

We are interested to learn how you transport your bike. Tag us in a photo on Instagram. 

 

Step 3 How to fit bike in car- adjusting seats

 

In order to make your bike easier to work with, you will want to remove the seat. 

*Take a photo of your bike seat height or make a mark on the seat pole to ensure the same height on install. 

In order to take the seat off you will need to use the quick release lever or a hex key set.

Once you’ve removed the bike seat, place it in the trunk near the wheel.  

After the bike seat is removed, you will adjust the car seats to create the largest opening for the bike. 

The car seat position will differ among two or four door cars.

Fold your back seats down if your car has this option.

 

Notice we created a large opening in this car by moving/tilting the drivers seat and passenger seat forward.

Move your seats in the direction that will create the most space to place the bike in the car.

 

Next we will show you how to position the bike in the car. 

 

Step 4 Fitting bike in car carefully 

 

Before putting the bike in the car, wrap the bike in a large blanket or sheet. For three reasons: 

• Prevent the bike frame from being easily scratched by the car
• Protect the car upholstery from being damaged by the bike
• Decrease the chance that the bike will get stuck on parts of the car.

Next turn the handlebars sideways so they are flat against the bike.  Now you have a bike that is much easier to maneuver. 

 

Make sure the passenger door is fully open and lift bike. 

In this example we inserted the bike handlebars first because of the massive size of the 4” wide tires.   

Your car may require the tire to be inserted first. It might be easier to have your seats tilted front or back. See which way creates the most space to fit your bike.

Once you’ve successfully fit your bike in your car, make sure to snap a photo as a reminder for next time. 

 

Step 5  How to fit a bike in a car adjusting 

 

Work slowly and carefully while adjusting your bike for perfect fit. Adjust the sheet or blanket so that the front fork of the bike doesn’t get stuck. 

 

Don’t push or tug on your bike, instead walk to the drivers side and adjust from this position.

If working solo, it may require several back and forth adjustments between passenger and drivers side to get the bike in a perfect spot. 

Once the bike is in your car, carefully move the driver’s seat back into a comfortable driving position. In this example, there wasn’t space for a passenger to ride in the car. 

Fitting a bike in a car using these five steps helps create a bike that is more manageable to work with.

Removing the bike from your car

 

You’ve successfully fit your bike into your car for transport. We’ll show you a few tips on how to remove your bike so that you can get started on your adventure.

Start lifting and slowly pulling bike out of passenger side.

If the bike gets hung up, carefully set down the bike and adjust from the driver’s side of your car.

It might take a little bit of back and forth to remove the bike snag free.

You now have the knowledge of how to transport a bike or ebike without a car rack. 

 In a matter of minutes you can solve the how to a bike in a car puzzle. 

With a little practice and these 5 steps you’ll be able to easily transport your bike and have new adventures. 

Let us know if these tips worked for you.