How much do cycling buddies cost?

[patches]

We recently purchased a new car and with a new car comes a new challenge on how to transport bikes.

The old car (2015 Polo TSI) was a little run-around and we didn't care much for dirtying interiors or some light cosmetic damage caused by clip on bike carriers. However the new car (2022 Volvo XC40), although more spacious, is somewhat sacred (at least for now), so a more considered approach needs to be taken when transporting muddy bikes and bums.

So I'll be heading down the path of a Thule roof rack, bike carriers, and seat protectors

I'd likely be spending around R4500 (equiv) extra to be able to transport a 2nd bike and rider. A riding buddy. Yes, one could always say "I'll meet you there", when it's a local trail, but where I live (Auckland, NZ), even the local trails are 45min away, and half the fun of riding with friends is the company, even on the drive there and back.

So therein lies the question... at what point does one usually call it and say it's too costly to purchase equipment to accommodate the transportation of a riding buddy?

Keen to hear the various Hubber philosophies on this

Edited May 24, 2022 by patches

[Nakoota]

My riding buddies give me free bike parts so the cost of transport is prepaid.

[Mamil]

Don't be stingy. If I was your riding buddy I'd buy you coffee at the trails. And as I can carry 2 bikes, next time we go I would offer to lift you.

And you never know when you'll need an extra bike carrier. Spend the dough

[patches]

3 minutes ago, Mamil said:

Don't be stingy. If I was your riding buddy I'd buy you coffee at the trails. And as I can carry 2 bikes, next time we go I would offer to lift you.

And you never know when you'll need an extra bike carrier. Spend the dough

I guess I should have stated that currently these riding activities only happen about 6x per annum.

I'm even feeling stingy buying the bike carrier for myself 😅

[Plentipotential]

Living in Auckland means that you get into your car wet more than you would like to, seat protectors would be an investment in your peace of mind as well as the future resale value of your car. Bike carrier used 6 times a year is an indulgence but so are hobbies, and you could resell them once you sell the car. Lets be honest, nobody ever said "I'm planning on saving some cash by buying a bicycle"

[dave303e]

1 hour ago, patches said:

We recently purchased a new car and with a new car comes a new challenge on how to transport bikes.

The old car (2015 Polo TSI) was a little run-around and we didn't care much for dirtying interiors or some light cosmetic damage caused by clip on bike carriers. However the new car (2022 Volvo XC40), although more spacious, is somewhat sacred (at least for now), so a more considered approach needs to be taken when transporting muddy bikes and bums.

So I'll be heading down the path of a Thule roof rack, bike carriers, and seat protectors

I'd likely be spending around R4500 (equiv) extra to be able to transport a 2nd bike and rider. A riding buddy. Yes, one could always say "I'll meet you there", when it's a local trail, but where I live (Auckland, NZ), even the local trails are 45min away, and half the fun of riding with friends is the company, even on the drive there and back.

So therein lies the question... at what point does one usually call it and say it's too costly to purchase equipment to accommodate the transportation of a riding buddy?

Keen to hear the various Hubber philosophies on this

Could have bought a Duster and used the spare change from the XC40 to upgrade to leather seats(don't worry about dirt and wet) and fit a tow bar and bike rack. But that is my2c.

Also surely a tow bar and bike rack it is a better investment on the XC40, a tow hitch adds more resale than thule parts that only help for 1 single use- cycling. You can also keep the bike rack for your next car.

 

R4500 on a R650k car is small change...

[The Ouzo]

7 minutes ago, dave303e said:

R650k car

whahahahahahahahahaa  

what patches bought was not even that cheap 5 years ago when it was launched

[The Ouzo]

personal opinion

buy the extra rack, its worth it for that 6 times a year.

unless you riding buddy has a car and rack, then use his when you go to the trails together

[Robbie Stewart]

20 minutes ago, ouzo said:

whahahahahahahahahaa  

what patches bought was not even that cheap 5 years ago when it was launched

According to the Volvo website the XC40's retail price is R635'500.00 incl. VAT ?  

[The Ouzo]

1 minute ago, Robbie Stewart said:

According to the Volvo website the XC40's retail price is R635'500.00 incl. VAT ?  

what patches has there is a T5 R-Design and there is an extremely high chance that it is not a vanilla vehicle but has one or more optional packs added to it.

I dont have pricing from launch, I do have a quote I did for a customer in Jan 2020, base price was R700k

With extras it was just shy of R800k.

[patches]

42 minutes ago, dave303e said:

Could have bought a Duster and used the spare change from the XC40 to upgrade to leather seats(don't worry about dirt and wet) and fit a tow bar and bike rack. But that is my2c.

Also surely a tow bar and bike rack it is a better investment on the XC40, a tow hitch adds more resale than thule parts that only help for 1 single use- cycling. You can also keep the bike rack for your next car.

 

R4500 on a R650k car is small change...

 

33 minutes ago, ouzo said:

whahahahahahahahahaa  

what patches bought was not even that cheap 5 years ago when it was launched

 

5 minutes ago, ouzo said:

what patches has there is a T5 R-Design and there is an extremely high chance that it is not a vanilla vehicle but has one or more optional packs added to it.

I dont have pricing from launch, I do have a quote I did for a customer in Jan 2020, base price was R700k

With extras it was just shy of R800k.

Correction... What Patches' WIFE bought, haha

The car is hers. I don't even own one, haha. But yeah, hence the costly measures to keep it nice.

But the thread isn't just about this specific circumstance. More just to provoke thought into how we are willing to spend good sums of money to have mates come ride with us, and that's perfectly fine!

Like when I lived in SA I had a Citroen Berlingo kitted out to carry 4 bikes. I had all manner of axel adapters, and my vehicles primary aim was transporting me and mates to and from trails. Granted I rode 4-5x a week then.

 

 

[droo]

Once you've bought the base bar and one Proride to keep the inside of the car clean for yourself, you're only in for about another R 1k for the second rider. Also, loading manky bikes on the roof is a million times easier than pulling them apart to put them in the car.

 

No brainer IMO.

[The Ouzo]

26 minutes ago, patches said:

 

 

Correction... What Patches' WIFE bought, haha

The car is hers. I don't even own one, haha. But yeah, hence the costly measures to keep it nice.

But the thread isn't just about this specific circumstance. More just to provoke thought into how we are willing to spend good sums of money to have mates come ride with us, and that's perfectly fine!

Like when I lived in SA I had a Citroen Berlingo kitted out to carry 4 bikes. I had all manner of axel adapters, and my vehicles primary aim was transporting me and mates to and from trails. Granted I rode 4-5x a week then.

 

 

My scenario

Decades ago a mate and I started riding together. We needed a way to transport our bikes. I designed a fold up bike rack (much like the holdfast ones on sale at the time), bought the steel and the 2 of us built it together. Used it for many years until one day I decided I wanted to rather have a trailer with the bikes on top.

I invested in said trailer and we used it together for many years.

My thinking was I need a way to transport my bike, making or purchasing that little extra to accommodate more bikes cost a fraction more and make it so much more versatile.

Actually circling back to the bike rack, i designed it with an extension, making it go from 2 bikes to 4 bikes in a matter of minutes. At the time we were both single, but the thought was "what if we get girlfriends who also ride" .

 

[dave303e]

The other thought- and totally down a rabbit hole. Can you still load a Volvo with a bunch of thule racks etc and add it to the finance when you purchase? or was that a myth?

[patches]

5 minutes ago, dave303e said:

The other thought- and totally down a rabbit hole. Can you still load a Volvo with a bunch of thule racks etc and add it to the finance when you purchase? or was that a myth?

The dealership had some roof racks, Volvo branded, but likely made by Thule, so I guess one could add them to the bill. If we went the finance route we may have added a sneaky towbar. Damn things are pricey!

 

35 minutes ago, droo said:

Once you've bought the base bar and one Proride to keep the inside of the car clean for yourself, you're only in for about another R 1k for the second rider. Also, loading manky bikes on the roof is a million times easier than pulling them apart to put them in the car.

No brainer IMO.

Yeah, initially I’ll just get the racks (R5500), 1x Proride 958 (R3500), 1x Seat cover (R900).

A second Proride and seat cover can follow later. 

*Costs are ZAR equiv of what we pay here in NZD.

[The Ouzo]

Just now, patches said:

The dealership had some roof racks, Volvo branded, but likely made by Thule, so I guess one could add them to the bill. If we went the finance route we may have added a sneaky towbar. Damn things are pricey!

 

Yeah, initially I’ll just get the racks (R5500), 1x Proride 958 (R3500), 1x Seat cover (R900).

A second Proride and seat cover can follow later. 

*Costs are ZAR equiv of what we pay here in NZD.

The Volvo branded ones are indeed Thule. In SA it was cheaper to buy from Volvo than from Thule, apparently Thule in SA has put a stop to this somehow.