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Cargo Space for a Mountain Bike?

Sqrfrk

Member
I'm looking at the cargo space dimensions on paper and it seems like it can fit a frame and wheels in pieces - does this hold up practically? Would I be able to break down two downhill bikes and stuff it in the cargo hold?
 
The baggage area is pretty large. I think the bigger question would be whether you want to shove bicycle parts across the top of your beautiful seats to get them into the baggage area. :eek:
 
Bicycle case

Many of the folding bike manufacturers offer a case, which would help avoid snagging and scratching. Or you could make your own.

I'm looking at a folding Montague (or equivalent "full wheel size) bike, intending for car and RV8 (with rear seat removed) transport. I think 2 would fit back there.
 
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The baggage area is pretty large. I think the bigger question would be whether you want to shove bicycle parts across the top of your beautiful seats to get them into the baggage area. :eek:

Seats come out easy enough if that was your only problem.
 
Doable, maybe not practical

The RV-14's baggage space is large. With that being said I believe the challenge may be getting the bike's frame between the seat back cross-member and the roll bar. You'd probably have to turn the frame on it side to pass through and then rotate it back to right side up. Not sure if you'd have to remove the fork as well. I doubt you'd be able to get a second bike back there, due to the manipulation required as described above. Possibly if you remove the fork/handle bars. Probably one of those things you'd have to try. Like others have eluded too, if you plan to transport a mountain bike regularly, the wear and tear level on your plane may be high.
 
Not two. . .

I am an avid Mountain Biker. I was hoping to get two 29r trail bikes and gear in the back of the -14. Not likely, without a complete tear down of the bikes, and then it's only gonna fit 1 and gear. A long travel DH bike would definitely be a challenge, with the fork alone. However, I have only looked at the cargo space on the demo and a couple of in process airplanes. Haven't tried to do it yet.

I think the technique will be for the front brake to come off, fork to come off, and both wheels to come off. Place a travel bag in the cargo compartment and put the parts in the bag. Then stack gear on top. My trail bike comes in at around 28 lbs, Niner RIP 9 RDO with Carbon everything, 160mm travel up front. So, two would be roughly 60 lbs. bags and tools.

Now the questions that will probably present. More tools? Do I bring a work stand? What about room for additional gear? Multi-day trip? I think with two DH bikes, you're gonna chew up a 100 lbs quickly. You guys tend to wear a lot of protective gear and big helmets.

Honestly, the BearHawk with the cavernous cargo space and optional side door is probably the best way to go for this type of use. If I thought I'd be doing a lot of fly and bike stuff. . . I'd take a serious look at that machine. Plus it has the ability to get you right to a trail head in certain parts of the country.
 
I am an avid Mountain Biker. I was hoping to get two 29r trail bikes and gear in the back of the -14. Not likely, without a complete tear down of the bikes, and then it's only gonna fit 1 and gear. A long travel DH bike would definitely be a challenge, with the fork alone. However, I have only looked at the cargo space on the demo and a couple of in process airplanes. Haven't tried to do it yet.

I think the technique will be for the front brake to come off, fork to come off, and both wheels to come off. Place a travel bag in the cargo compartment and put the parts in the bag. Then stack gear on top. My trail bike comes in at around 28 lbs, Niner RIP 9 RDO with Carbon everything, 160mm travel up front. So, two would be roughly 60 lbs. bags and tools.

Now the questions that will probably present. More tools? Do I bring a work stand? What about room for additional gear? Multi-day trip? I think with two DH bikes, you're gonna chew up a 100 lbs quickly. You guys tend to wear a lot of protective gear and big helmets.

Honestly, the BearHawk with the cavernous cargo space and optional side door is probably the best way to go for this type of use. If I thought I'd be doing a lot of fly and bike stuff. . . I'd take a serious look at that machine. Plus it has the ability to get you right to a trail head in certain parts of the country.

Well, the DH was more of a worst case - I have two Enduro bikes but the weight seems similar.

Murphy was going to release the Radical (seems to have adapted the Cessna bike rack from the pilot in New Zealand), but they're not being very forthcoming with performance numbers.

In any case, the point is moot since I'm already well into an RV-14 build. I'm just wondering if a combination of removing the seats and tetris'ing the frame/fork/wheels would be feasible to a 700 mile flight to KCNY.
 
I hoping to be able to do the same thing when things get done. Just going to have to wait and see. Right now, I'm just not that optimistic about fitting two bikes back there. I hope it works because I'd love to be able to jump in and be up to Bend in a few hours or over to Moab.
 
Well, the DH was more of a worst case - I have two Enduro bikes but the weight seems similar.

Murphy was going to release the Radical (seems to have adapted the Cessna bike rack from the pilot in New Zealand), but they're not being very forthcoming with performance numbers.

In any case, the point is moot since I'm already well into an RV-14 build. I'm just wondering if a combination of removing the seats and tetris'ing the frame/fork/wheels would be feasible to a 700 mile flight to KCNY.

I'm currently building a pair of racks based on the Murphy plans for our Dream Tundra. Racks are done and we've flight tested them bare with no issues. Hung bikes on them and weren't satisfied with their stability (side to side) so I'm building some stabilizer struts that will attach it the seat post, then we'll give them a try.

I flew the Radical with and without bikes and there was very little difference in speed, and power off descents showed surprisingly little difference as well. High wing strutted airplane's have plenty of drag already, so the increment with the bikes isn't that much. I don't think I'll want to fly more than 90-100 knots with them anyway.

None of this is aplicable to the RV's of course - but it's a whole lot easier than reducing the bike to kit form to fit into the baggage compartment.

Paul
 
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Mt. Bikes

So I have a -7 with a tipper and also ride a Specialized FSR Stumpy 6F and I've gotten it in the airplane for a test. You won't get two bikes in a -7.
1) Remove both wheels and put the plugs in the brake calipers to prevent piston expansion and brake fluid leakage.
2) Remove the handlebars at the stem, but don't disconnect any of the cables. Handlebar should lay along the longitudinal axis of the bike just fine and the fork can remain on the bike.
3) Lower seat or remove it
4) If needed, remove left pedal
5) Remove co-pilot bottom seat cushion and put a towel or blanket over the seat back.
6) Place the bike in the seat, with the fork over the seatback so the aft frame points to the front of the aircraft, the frame should fit nicely where legs normally go. Be careful if you've removed the stem, so the fork doesn't come out.
7) Strap it down.
8) Put wheels in the baggage compartment.

Here's a link to my Rockhopper 29r in the seat to give an idea: https://1drv.ms/i/s!Al5IppCB40wPgux4MKBnjPXAjQVjhQ
s!Al5IppCB40wPgux4MKBnjPXAjQVjhQ
 
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About how I expected

So I have a -7 with a tipper and also ride a Specialized FSR Stumpy 6F and I've gotten it in the airplane for a test. You won't get two bikes in a -7.
1) Remove both wheels and put the plugs in the brake calipers to prevent piston expansion and brake fluid leakage.
2) Remove the handlebars at the stem, but don't disconnect any of the cables. Handlebar should lay along the longitudinal axis of the bike just fine and the fork can remain on the bike.
3) Lower seat or remove it
4) If needed, remove left pedal
5) Remove co-pilot bottom seat cushion and put a towel or blanket over the seat back.
6) Place the bike in the seat, with the fork over the seatback so the aft frame points to the front of the aircraft, the frame should fit nicely where legs normally go. Be careful if you've removed the stem, so the fork doesn't come out.
7) Strap it down.
8) Put wheels in the baggage compartment.

Here's a link to my Rockhopper 29r in the seat to give an idea: https://1drv.ms/i/s!Al5IppCB40wPgux4MKBnjPXAjQVjhQ
s!Al5IppCB40wPgux4MKBnjPXAjQVjhQ

Tried mocking up a bike in place on a QB-9 fuse today. Your solution is very similar to what we thought would work, (but without our finish kit, it was hard to tell if it would really work out.) Nice to see it will! My thoughts were to mount one of these on the floor in the baggage area, to help stabilize the frame/fork.

large_88421_20160309045545 by Taylor De man, on Flickr
 
I'm currently building a pair of racks based on the Murphy plans for our Dream Tundra. Racks are done and we've flight tested them bare with no issues. Hung bikes on them and weren't satisfied with their stability (side to side) so I'm building some stabilizer struts that will attach it the seat post, then we'll give them a try.

I flew the Radical with and without bikes and there was very little difference in speed, and power off descents showed surprisingly little difference as well. High wing strutted airplane's have plenty of drag already, so the increment with the bikes isn't that much. I don't think I'll want to fly more than 90-100 knots with them anyway.

None of this is aplicable to the RV's of course - but it's a whole lot easier than reducing the bike to kit form to fit into the baggage compartment.

Paul

I'm actually curious if this bike mount can be generally adapted to any high wing plane while moderating airspeed (I can't help but think of a worse case scenario where the bike would rip something off on its way backwards at high speeds).

So I have a -7 with a tipper and also ride a Specialized FSR Stumpy 6F and I've gotten it in the airplane for a test. You won't get two bikes in a -7.
1) Remove both wheels and put the plugs in the brake calipers to prevent piston expansion and brake fluid leakage.
2) Remove the handlebars at the stem, but don't disconnect any of the cables. Handlebar should lay along the longitudinal axis of the bike just fine and the fork can remain on the bike.
3) Lower seat or remove it
4) If needed, remove left pedal
5) Remove co-pilot bottom seat cushion and put a towel or blanket over the seat back.
6) Place the bike in the seat, with the fork over the seatback so the aft frame points to the front of the aircraft, the frame should fit nicely where legs normally go. Be careful if you've removed the stem, so the fork doesn't come out.
7) Strap it down.
8) Put wheels in the baggage compartment.

Here's a link to my Rockhopper 29r in the seat to give an idea: ...

That's a pretty fantastic looking solo jaunt to Glenwood Springs, to be sure.

Tried mocking up a bike in place on a QB-9 fuse today. Your solution is very similar to what we thought would work, (but without our finish kit, it was hard to tell if it would really work out.) Nice to see it will! My thoughts were to mount one of these on the floor in the baggage area, to help stabilize the frame/fork.

...and that is pretty **** neat.
 
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I'm actually curious if this bike mount can be generally adapted to any high wing plane while moderating airspeed (I can't help but think of a worse case scenario where the bike would rip something off on its way backwards at high speeds).

The answer would be....it depends. Aerodynamically, it is probably generally applicable. Structurally, you'd need to examine both the loads and the design of the spars to see if attaching the racks is feasible. We went back to the design drawings of the Tundra and compared those to the Murphy, then did some calculations for loads before we committed to the project. Fortunately, both teh Tundra and the Radical are Canadian, so they speak the same language....;)

Homework is required before charging off on a project like this.
 
tip-up slider mod

If you have a slider, the tip-up slider mod from aircraftextras.com will allow you to load items from the side instead of over your seat backs. I have the mod and it works well. I have loaded a folding bike that way.

LeRoy Johnston RV-6A Esperanza 1200 hours
 
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rsr3oy.jpg

16k98vp.jpg

These are two 26” bikes that fit right into the RV-14 without any tools. They slide right into the baggage area. The third picture is kind of worthless because of reflection off the plexiglass, but they are in there with 10” to 12” space from the base of the seat back. The -14 does not have a flap rod on the floor behind the seats so that space is very usable.

The bikes are a bit heavy at 34lbs each. I purchased them 5 or 6 years ago at https://www.2ksilver.com. Model RJ26A, the website is given for the purposes of supplying dimensions. I’m not an avid rider and give no opinion on ride quality. They just help get around after we land.
 
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Thanks Marvin

Thanks for doing the work to try out your bikes.

I think the bikes the OP and myself were discussing were more "enthusiast" or purpose level of riding/racing.

I think depending on size of the bikes two will be possible. I ride a Large and the Bride a Medium. That might work. My Tri/Exterra/XC racing and training partner is on a Large as well. May be a bit tight.

One thing I have noticed. . . There seems to be more than a few Western based RV and MTB enthusiasts that want to use their airplanes to get to the trails. We may not have room for our usual riding friends. The bright side. We for sure should be able to load up one bike, fly our airplane and bike someplace and make NEW riding friends with secondary interests.:)
 
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These are two 26? bikes that fit right into the RV-14 without any tools. They slide right into the baggage area.

Thanks for that, it's certainly giving me ideas! There are some purpose made cases that are right under 45in long and 12in thick - I'm thinking that there might be enough room to slip two of these in the cargo area and maybe throw a backpack back there with some clothes in it.
 
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