Mountain biking is a great sport for people of all ages. You need minimal equipment (only the bike itself as the very basic) and beyond this, the equipment is very small. Items such as helmets, padding, water bottles and saddle pouches are typically lightweight and do not take up much room when driving to your adventure destination.
But, will a mountain bike fit in your car? The Ford Focus is a very popular car nowadays and if you happen to own one and wish to take up mountain biking you will need to know whether or not you will need to purchase a roof rack or tow bar.
The simple answer is yes, you can indeed fit a mountain bike in a Ford Focus. In fact, you can fit two mountain bikes in the car! Below we will tell you all you need to know about mountain biking with a ford focus. So, keep reading to find out more!
How to Fit a Mountain Bike in a Ford Focus
Enthusiasts of the sport mountain biking have found that typically the best and easiest way to transport your mountain bike in a Ford Focus is to remove the front wheel of the bike before putting it in your car. Although you may be able to get the bike in completely intact (depending on how big your bike actually is), they normally suggest removing the wheel for ease.
You can simply put the seats down in the back of your Ford Focus in order to slide the bike in and place the wheel on top, or to the side, of the bike. If you are taking more than one mountain bike it would be a good idea to place a blanket or a sheet over the first bike before laying the other on top of it.
This is so that you can protect your bikes and ensure that there will be no dents or scratches if they move around when you are driving. Similarly, if you have had a great day out on your mountain biking adventure, and perhaps you got a little bit muddy, these sheets or blankets will save you from needing to clean your car afterwards.
After all, a metal bike is much easier to clean than the fabric interior of a Ford Focus! The friction from the material will also stop the bikes and wheels from moving around so much while you are driving. This will make it safer and easier.
Of course, exactly how much room you will have will depend on the size of your bike. If you are a fully grown man then your mountain bike will take up considerably more room than the mountain bike of a child. So, depending on whose bike you are transporting you will need to consider removing at least one of the wheels.
If you are particularly tall, and so will have a rather large mountain bike, you may want to consider taking both of the wheels off of the bike before placing it in your car. This can make it much easier to take the rest of your equipment by freeing up space in your car.
At the end of the day, if you are already taking off one wheel you are going to be bringing all the equipment and tools that you will need to reattach and detach your wheels. Putting one wheel back on will not take much less time than putting two wheels back on your bike.
We recommend using a mountain bike multi-tool like this one to easily remove the wheels and seat on your mountain bike.
What to Do If Travelling With People or Camping Equipment
If you are going on your mountain biking adventure with other people, or perhaps you plan to spend a few days in the mountains, then you are going to need considerably more room in your car.
One option is to buy a roof box, which will allow you to place all of your belongings (that you cannot fit in the car) in a box on the roof of your car. This way you can still fit your mountain bike in the car along with a few other belongings.
However, if a roof box is too small, there are height restrictions along your route to the mountains, or if you need more room for people in the car then attaching a roof mount of tow bar for your bike to your Ford Focus may be a better option for you.
After all, it is much easier to place camping equipment, sleeping bags and pillows on someone’s lap than a mountain bike! They will certainly appreciate it more!
However, unfortunately, these mounts can be quite expensive. Although you can find and buy cheaper versions, you will not want to damage, ruin, or even lose your mountain bike whilst on your way to the mountains!
So, before you decide to invest in some decent attachments for your mountain bike it is best to know exactly how much you enjoy mountain biking and how often you will need to use the bar attachments.
Since you can fit a mountain bike in a Ford Focus, hopefully, you will not need to spend a lot of money on extra attachments. Alternatively, small trailers can be a good way to transport your extra equipment if need be.
Final Thoughts
So, thankfully, the handy and popular car the Ford Focus is a great option for transporting your mountain bike. Of course, it is not the roomiest of cars, as it was not designed to be so, but it will certainly do the job.
You can fit your mountain bike in easily by removing both of the wheels, but you can also get away with only removing one wheel. What you do depends on the size of your bike and also how much room you need spare in your car.
So, if you are simply looking to have an adventure in the mountains for a few hours on the weekend and you have a Ford Focus then you will not need to invest in any extras.