I am considering a Tesla (3 or Y) for later this year.
I currently drive a volvo V60.
I have 2 car seats so using the trunk will require the removal of both bike tires.
On the v60 i can fit the bike side ways in the back seat if i remove the front wheel…
Has anyone try this on the tesla?
I’m sure it depends on the bike. I have a 2012 Prius and my 54cm road bike fits inside without removing a wheel. My friends 62cm does not. My fuel ex fits but only if I remove the front wheel.
I was going to mention the very nice looking car!
Anyway…
IK already almost destroyed my bike because i forgot it was on the roof…so i want to avoid that mistake again…
I don’t use one now as I throw it in the back of may car. I’ve got a Panamera so it has a huge boot / floorspace with the seats down.
I see many in my area, with hitch racks.
I have a Model 3 and I ride XL frames. I think my biggest one’s a 63cm. This also means I have the drivers seat all the way back.
All my bike’s fit with only taking the front wheel off…BUT, I have to lower the seat because that top of seat to bottom of rear wheel/crank dimension doesn’t slide in sideways between the rear wheel wells in the trunk. This makes a mtn bike easier because you simply lower the dropper post and take the front wheel off. With my road/gravel bikes I have to get out the allen wrenches and drop the seat and then make sure I set the seat back to the right height. Not a deal breaker, but kind of an annoying added step. Obviously if you take both wheels off it fits easily without dropping the seat. With QR skewers that’s almost easier than messing with the seat height.
I’ve looked at getting a roof rack but they’re uglyAF on the car, it kills the aesthetic, and you lose mpg (or kwh/m, or however it’s measured). I’ve looked at the seasucker things, but they’re expensive and there’s anecdotes on them either cracking the glass or denting the trunk if you mount it to the car body. And anytime you want to ride then you gotta back the car out into the driveway, get the seasucker, make sure the glass is clean, install it x2, take the wheel off the bike, mount the bike, strap the crank so it doesn’t spin into your roof, and make sure not to forget the front wheel…and do all that in reverse without driving into the garage when you get home. Eventually I want to put a “stealth hitch” on with a 1up…seems like the simplest/cleanest/cheapest/most efficient way to haul a bike with a TM3. I believe you can buy a model Y with a hitch already on it. Otherwise it’s like $300-400 to get an aftermarket one that mounts to the frame.
Also, the added drag would make a big different on the range, in case you need to travel far.
I have a model S and can fit 2 pairs of skis in trunk, as well as all the luggage, and the kids have the back seat all for themselves. Winter time already cuts the range by 30%, if we would also have the skis on the roof it would cut the range perhaps by further 20%
Useless response from me but when I saw the headline I thought that Tesla were making electric bikes!
On the bike carrying side of things, on my last car I had a tow bar fitted (that could be removed quite easily) and a bike carrier that was solid enough for me to stand on. Reasonably aerodynamic (although I don’t know how you’d measure that outside of a lab) and I certainly never had to worry about height restriction barriers. Not as easy as chucking in the back though, but if you’re camping or taking more than one bike it’s great.
Tow bar route is better than the roof route in most cases for most cars in terms of drag, ease of install, and “bike gets crunched” risk.
Now if you get rear ended it’s also a risk but then the other car would be responsible for that.
I bet if you bring your bikes to a Tesla dealership they will let you try to fit it in the back.
I have a model S and my road bike can fit in the trunk with both wheels off (back seats up).
If I have the seats down, I can fit my MTB or road bike with the front wheel off.
If I’m carrying two bikes or have kids in the back I use sea suckers.
I like having everything locked in the car though so I only use sea suckers when I have two.
I agree that a rear bike hitch is probably best for range, security and ease of use if you’re carrying more than one bike or need the rear seat.
Edit: I also have a packing blanket that I lay down when I put my bike in.
I’ve got one like this:
And used it in my 535 sedan and MDX. It’s big enough with my 58cm frame that I can remove just the front disc wheel, wrap the blanket around the bike, and have the wheel cradled by the frame and protect the paint.
Thanks all!
Just get that 1up!
