Bunch Bikes Road Trip! How To Travel With Your Cargo Bike

First you fall in love with the cargo bike life. 

Then you plan a family vacay - and realize you really can't live without your Bunch at the beach!

Or maybe you're itching to take your bike, your kids and your pups to your favorite bike trail - that's further than a bike ride away. 

"How can I travel with my Bunch Bike?" is one of the questions we hear most often from longtime owners. 

The Bunch is too big to fit on a regular car-mounted bike rack. Read on to learn more about easy, affordable ways to get your Bunch Bike to wherever you're going!

Minivan - by minivan

The easiest way to drive around with the Bunch Bike, the minivan of cargo bikes - is in an actual minivan!

You will need to fold down some seats, but if you are strategic, you can still drive your bike with three or four passengers in your vehicle. 

 

First you'll unbolt your bike's handlebars, then place them gently inside the cargo box. (They'll still be connected by wires and cables to the rest of the bike.) This will reduce the height of the bike to where it will fit inside the rear hatch.

In most cases, you'll load in the rear end of the bike first, sliding the rear rack and rear wheel in between the first row of passenger seats. The rear rack of the bike has a carry handle and is quite light and easy to maneuver. Once the rear end is pushed back, you'll lift the front end into the very back of your minivan.

 

See more photos and videos of in/out at this link!

More minivan maneuvers

With the handlebars removed, the Original, K9 and Preschool will all fit comfortably in a minivan. The older, discontinued Coupe model will not fit because the handlebars cannot be removed.

The minivan move will work in any vehicle with an opening that's at least 34" tall. Unfortunately most SUVs will not work because the rear hatch will not be tall enough to allow the front end of the bike to roll in! 

If you need to seat a child in the back row of your minivan, you can also load the bike in "front end first," but doing so will require an extra step in which you fold some seats down and then put them back up again.

For city dwellers, renting a minivan through a car share app like Free2Move can be a cheap, low-stress way to get around with a Bunch Bike. 

Pickup truck

The Bunch Bike is 82" long when it's stretched out from tip to tail - but it doesn't have to ride straight on. You can place it at an angle, with the box in one corner and the rear end angled diagonally! In this configuration, the Bunch will fit in any standard truck bed. 

 

If you are tight on space, you may choose to ride with the tailgate down and your bike firmly secured with straps. It's also possible to ride with the rear end lifted up or propped against the side of the truck bed if it cannot ride flat. 

Lifting the bike up into a taller truck bed can be a challenge. If you travel by truck on a regular basis, we recommend investing in a ramp at least 32" wide. Narrow "wheel ramps" will be harder to use because you would need to create a separate track for each of the three wheels!

If you don't have a ramp, Gina B. in Colorado adds, "Parking on a slope is helpful." 

Utility trailer

No room in your car for a cargo bike? It's easy to tow your Bunch Bike on a small utility trailer or motorcycle trailer. Even the most compact 4x7 trailers will work fine - with space left over for your family's other bikes. 

Tina B.'s bikes in a motorcycle trailer rented from UHaul

 

Small trailers are readily available for rent from UHaul, Home Depot or Lowe's for around $19/day. These lightweight options can be towed by any standard Class 1 or Class 2 hitch, although driving them around does take a little practice. 

The most important step is securing your bike safely on the trailer. Andrew F., a veteran Bunchpacker from Atlanta, eventually purchased his own trailer. He writes, "Mine has a wooden deck, so I have pieces on wood screwed in exactly where the wheels go to keep them from rolling around even without straps."  

 

Andrew F.'s bikes on a utility trailer with wooden wheel blocks

Hitch rack

A number of owners have customized a raised hitch rack to carry their Bunch Bikes without a trailer. They've typically started with a rack designed to carry dual motorcycles, dual ebikes, ATVs or kayaks. A rack designed for regular bicycles won't be able to handle the Bunch Bike's weight.

It's important to note that a typical Class 1 or Class 2 hitch, common on sedans and smaller minivans, probably won't work for this purpose. The beefier hitch racks require the 2-inch, Class 3 receiver you are more likely to find on a truck, camper or SUV.  

Kim M.'s customized Bunch Bike hitch rack

You'll need either a wide loading surface or wheel channels about 29" apart. You will not need a third wheel channel because you can place your rear wheel at an angle, more or less inline with one of your front wheels. A fold-down ramp or a raise & lower option can be helpful for easy loading and unloading!

Molly's story

Molly H. of Bethesda, MD got a Bunch Bike for her family in April - and fell completely in love. By June, her family's beach vacation plans didn't feel complete without her family's Bunch Bike!

Molly's siblings enjoying takeout by Bunch Bike

She rented a small UHaul trailer for $14.95/day and hauled the Bunch Bike to the beach for a weeklong vacation with her siblings and their families - 12 adults and 8 kids all together. She writes, "It was the best decision ever!!!!!" 

Molly's bike on a motorcycle trailer from UHaul

Molly writes:

We went car-less all week at the beach and put in about 50 miles on the bike. Never had to worry about parking or traffic (we go to a busy beach town!). It was also a hit with all of my nieces and nephews — all of them brought their helmets to go on “adventures with Aunt Molly.”

I never realized how much I hated hauling a wagon full of beach stuff several blocks to the beach until I could bike it there 😂 Also I literally did not need to use my car at all that week! Never had to worry about traffic or parking.

I was able to go by myself or with a sibling or in law to pick up morning coffees for the parents, get lunch takeout while babies were napping, take the kids out to ice cream in the evenings, and even do a nice long evening ride to settle down the toddlers before bedtime. 

Cousins ice cream run! 

We had a blast and everyone loved the bike, I’ve had family friends reach out saying they heard how much fun all the cousins had on the bike.

The bunch bike was the MVP of beach week and worth the extra effort (which really wasn’t much at all!)

Destination rentals

Some vacation destinations offer great Bunch Bike rental options! If you're traveling to Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Longmont, Atlanta, Santa Rosa Beach, and many more - you may be able to rent a Bunch Bike for your family to enjoy on site without worrying about transportation. Some family resorts and Airbnbs also offer a Bunch Bike amenity. 

Rental Bunch Bike in Washington, DC

No Bunch Bike where you're headed - yet? Reach out to the local ebike rental shop and let them know you're interested!

Vacation rentals are booming, and we'd love to get more Bunch Bikes into the places where you'd like to be.

Special situations

If you're moving cross country, you may not want to drive your Bunch Bike yourself. Most families can fit their Bunch Bike into a moving van or shipping container with no trouble.

If you are very short on space, contacting us to arrange cross country transport can be helpful, but this option does require flexible timing because our shippers are not always able to provide an exact pickup or dropoff date in advance. 

For shorter moves within 50-100 miles, services like Lugg or Dolly can be a great low-cost, low-stress option. Choose the largest available van and a two-person moving crew for best results! 

If you are a military family PCSing with your Bunch Bike, please contact us, we'd love to help.

Ready to learn more? 

We're here to help! You can call or text us anytime 940-536-0597 or schedule a chat with our family biking experts at this link. 

Another great way to learn more about traveling with your Bunch Bike is by connecting with other Bunch families.

There's a wealth of info, insight and pics in this thread in the Bunch Bikes Club on Facebook - you'll need to join the group before you can view the details.

You can also click here to connect with other Bunch owners near you!