| A friend at work loves Roadsters, but he has a problem. He needs a car that is able to transport 2 mountainbikes and 1 passenger (and himself, course ! !) The bikes are expensive, but also wide so he's afraid of putting a bikestand on the back of a 5. He drives long distance (+-2.5 hours on the freeway) to get to the place to b(ik)e. Anyone have a idea or tip ? Yes, it's important to him, if it 's not possible, he won't buy a 5 ! (1/00) |
| Could he not get a small, light trailer made up for the 2 bikes? I'm sure that wouldn't way to much and there's no danger of bending any of the car with the weight of the bikes/rack. (1/00) |
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I carry two mountain-bikes on my '5 from time-to-time. There's a company in Northern Ireland who make tow-bars, and they had a 'kit' that they welded together for me. Fits into the bolt-holes used by the rear tie-down hooks, so it's completely removeable. I think they were surprised to have someone asking for one for an MX5... plus they couldn't tell me the towing-capacity as their book just listed '0'. This thing cost me just ?70 or so from the manufacturer, I didn't buy the tow-ball nor electrics as I won't be using a trailer, but I'm sure a smallish trailer would be okay. The bike bracket slips into a recepticle where the tow-ball would have been and is rock steady - I've moved two bikes over 120 miles a couple of times, with no problems. The actual bike rack and receptacle were separately-bought, generic items and cost £30 The unit isn't exactly low-profile but neither is it too visible. Have a look at: I think it's a great solution, even if it does look funny ! (1/00) |
| I took my bike on my Mk2 '5 , to Gatwick last Sept (and then on to Toulouse ) and it was not a completely happy experience. I used a Halfords universal carrier. The boot lid is vulnerable with this, and has to be protected with some type of tape. Unfortunately, all tapes, after a while will stick to the paintwork. I had to remove the remains with petrol.......repolish etc....I think the only way to transport a bike might be to buy a boot carrier etc from Moss. I shall look at the NI Murphy rear tie-down site. (1/00) |
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A company called CLASSIC CARRIERS in Germany have a UK agent ( who I can't remember the name of ). They have a boot carrier in chrome, like the traditional classic sytle etc. An accessory they list is 30164 Bike Holder ( fork down complete for 1 bike ) www.twinny-loade.de or mailto:twinny_load@t-online.de I know you said you have a spoiler BUT it might work. Alternatively there is the HARD DOG - Hard Basket which comes with an adapter If I remeber correctly to put a bike on it. Like a mini trailer WITHOUT wheels. Hope this is of some help. Think also www.MMMIATA.com have the MM085 Bike Rack $159.95 from an old cat (3/00) |
| You need the Moss boot rack/bike rack qizmo. This is a component rack and yu can get bits to carry a variety of things - up to 40kg (3/00) |
| Having sold my Jeep I needed a luggage rack, and bought that offered by Mazda Switzerland, together with extra bits to carry two pairs of skis. The whole thing is made in Italy, mainly stainless steel, and it not at all bad. The luggage rack itself was about STG 130, the ski rack about STG 55. So, if you need a luggage rack and Mazda UK are (typically) charging an arm and a leg, then consider the continental option. (3/00) |
| I'm now looking at boot racks as an alternative to towing a small trailer. Mazda do one at £120, looks quite nice in the brochure but needs the boot lid to be drilled they tell me. Moss do a removable one at £177 but it looks black and ugly on their website. Anybody had any experience with either of these? (5/00) |
| You could look at the Classic Carriers product that is on the Scimitar site ( www.mx5parts.co.uk ) which is a good quality carrier and fits without drilling as far as I know. We are in the final process of sorting out our offering but as its not there and you want to buy now best to point you in the direction of those than can. (5/00) |
| I bought a stainless/chrome one from Moss for about 130 quid last year that certainly didn't need drilling! Holds upto 40kgs. I had a large suitcase on it when we went to France last year. Absolutely brilliant. Are you looking at the website by any chance? They have more products in their brochure. (5/00) |
| I've just purchased a boot rack from my local Mazda dealer, cost was £102 +vat. It's a removable one designed to take 20 kgs.You can see what it looks like in the Mazda accessories catalogue. (5/00) |
| http://doctors99.mess.doctors.org.uk/docstore/view_file.php?dnuk=DN110659&id=101456&flag=view Click on above to see a pic of my bike attached to a Mike Satur £145 (inc vat and carriage) boot rack for a MX-5. I had just returned from a 350ml return trip to Gatwick, with no problems at 70mph(+) on the M4. It's no designer mod, but is reasonably light, aluminium, black coated and it does not damage your paintwork. It comes with 4 clear plastic protectors, for the boot paintwork. These worked well, without leaving any deposit on the lid. I have removed them and stuck them on the underside of the lid, to re-use. For those who've accessed the pic, you will notice that I removed the front wheel (and fitted it in the boot) so that I could raise the electric arial without snagging the bike. It might be possible to carry two bikes but it would be a bit desperate (9/00) |
| Yep, I've got that one - It's great, I went to France with it on to see the eclipse. You've got to remember, it's not the rubber that scratches the pain, it's the dirt in between the rubber and the paint. Always make sure the paintwork has been washed before putting the rack on..... (9/00) |
| I bought one from http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/ , and did 3000 miles plus in France and Spain during September. Very solid, well machined, fits the boot perfectly with very good rubber protection for the paintwork. I might not even take it off !! (9/00) |
| http://www.quality-components.co.uk (5/01) |
