Length of xc90 with bike rack

[V70Kaz]

Good morning all. I can see a number of you have bike racks. We have purchased two bikes and they will be transported on the Volvo detachable towbar using the Volvo folding bike rack equivalent to the Thule xt2 easy fold. Does anyone else have this set up and if so are they able to tell me how long the vehicle is when it’s fitted? The car is a Mark 1 xc90. I have tried my own maths based on factory quoted measurements but it is a bit critical as we have a rear lane to reverse into. Any help would be much appreciated.

[SwissXC90]

I have a 2009 XC90 with the Volvo-branded Thule EasyFold foldable bike rack and the Volvo removable towbar.

The dimensions are given online, the EasyFold is 63cm long, so take the towball + 63cm as the extra length of the car.
The towball is about 10 to 20cm from the rear bumper, so you are looking at 73 to 83cm extra vehicle length.

Note: I have a backup cam on my XC90, and the combination of bike(s) on the bike carrier and the fisheye lens on the camera make reversing a real challenge. Its very difficult to judge where the rear of the bike carrier is, even on the backup cam screen.
If you are measuring your car park to cm accuracy, then you need an observer to guide you from the rear when reversing in to your spot, as there's no way you'll judge the back of the car to within cms once the bike rack is mounted.


Tip: if you buy the EasyFold, spend the extra money and get the bag for it to live in. Worth while.

Also, I take mine off once I have driven somewhere and parked, and place the bike carrier in the trunk. To prevent theft and damage....

[owenfackrell]

It’s also worth noting that whilst you have a fixed towbar and a 3 bike rack you can’t see the rack in the wing mirrors at all I’m lucky if I can see the edges of the bike wheels. It does mean that they sit outside the slip stream of the car and it doesn’t really seem to effect the fuel efficiency.

[V70Kaz]

Thank you so much, this is vey helpful. The measurements sound like what I was working on so we should be ok. There is a tight turn to reverse out of our gates onto the lane but we should be ok, phew!

[SwissXC90]

I just measured the towball from the bumper. It is 8cm from the rear of the bumper to the center of the towball.

PS: you can always drive out to the road, and then load up the bike rack and the bikes on the side of the road...

[outnumbered]

An alternative bike for limited Space, I use one
Mike

[V70Kaz]

Thank you everyone.

Swissxc90, I bought the bag, thanks for the tip. Do you find the exhaust gets the bike rack hot?

[SwissXC90]

Yes the exhaust does get the bike rack warm.
I have an R-Design with 5 x exhaust pipes (one in the front, 4 in the back).

The bike rack does get warm, but that's life.

One Solution: drive faster for more airflow

PS: for those who cannot see their bikes on the bike rack: get a bigger bike. My bike has 29" wheels and is longer than the XC90 is wide, so I see the wheels poking out.

When I initially fitted the bike the first time I was concerned and so I measured it and checked the vehicle regulations - it's OK. Here in Switzerland bikes are allowed to stick out a bit left and right when on a bike rack.

PPS: Tip for a new bike rack: wrap the electrics cable in some extra protection, the curly plastic wrapper is perfect. I pinched my cable in the folding mechanism once. Then I added extra protection...

[V70Kaz]

Thanks for the tips. I was worried about tyres on the bike and the strap etc on the rack getting too hot. Clearly I need to drive faster😀