Which defender for mountain biking?

Hi everyone, first post as I soon hope to be a land rover owner but need some advice and knowledge before I know exactly what I want to get.

Basically I have a citroen c2 gt and a classic mini cooper, neither of which is a great car for going mountainbiking with to places like wales, scotland...etc. The citroen just about does it with bike racks and loads of messing around but I've wanted a defender for years and am now thinking that it would be an awesome replacement for the citroen!!!!

All I need to know really is:

1. Anyone here use their defender for mountainbiking?
2. Are the bench seats comfortable, ie suitable for a 3-4 hour drive?
3. Could you fit a bike/s in the back of a 90/110/130?
4. Is a defender suitable/comfortable for 3-4 hour drives in general?

Thanks guys

tankduck said:

All I need to know really is:

1. Anyone here use their defender for mountainbiking?
2. Are the bench seats comfortable, ie suitable for a 3-4 hour drive?
3. Could you fit a bike/s in the back of a 90/110/130?
4. Is a defender suitable/comfortable for 3-4 hour drives in general?

Thanks guys

Click to expand...

Answers
1. No
2. No
3. Yes though possibly a tad tight in the 90 or a 110 with second row seats not sure about 130. But ok with all if fitted to roof rack.
4. I find it very comfortable to drive but I know alot of people dont.

A defender will get you to places yer citroen cant except into a carpark with a height restriction of 2.2 metres or less

If all else fails cycle to the mountain. Problem solved, cash and planet saved

Sadly I live in flat flat cambridgeshire or else I'd live on the mountains!! I think the bikes would be mounted to the back or roof just to save space so it really sounds like a 110 with second row seats and all the camping malarky thrown in the back would be awesome, only problem is I prefer the look of 90's. Grrrr choices choices

ave got a rear wheel mounted bike carrier cost me a tenner second hand at the barra's
the woman selling it didny know what it was for

awesome!! I think that might be the way forward, in all fairness if there are only two of us going we could just stick the bikes in the back I think but any more they can go roof or rack. I have been looking and seen individual seats for the back, rather than bench seats. Anyone know if these are more suited for long journeys?

tankduck said:

Hi everyone, first post as I soon hope to be a land rover owner but need some advice and knowledge before I know exactly what I want to get.

Basically I have a citroen c2 gt and a classic mini cooper, neither of which is a great car for going mountainbiking with to places like wales, scotland...etc. The citroen just about does it with bike racks and loads of messing around but I've wanted a defender for years and am now thinking that it would be an awesome replacement for the citroen!!!!

All I need to know really is:

1. Anyone here use their defender for mountainbiking?
2. Are the bench seats comfortable, ie suitable for a 3-4 hour drive?
3. Could you fit a bike/s in the back of a 90/110/130?
4. Is a defender suitable/comfortable for 3-4 hour drives in general?

Thanks guys

Click to expand...

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes - remove front wheel
4. No - but you get used to it and then kinda enjoy it in a perverse masochistic way

tankduck said:

Sadly I live in flat flat cambridgeshire or else I'd live on the mountains!! I think the bikes would be mounted to the back or roof just to save space so it really sounds like a 110 with second row seats and all the camping malarky thrown in the back would be awesome, only problem is I prefer the look of 90's. Grrrr choices choices

Click to expand...

If its only two of you then a 90 would be fine. But don't expect passengers to sit on side bench seats for 3/4 hours. They will hate you forever. Van sides are prefferable, keeps prying eyes of your bikes.
I used to joke with my other half that when we put our bikes in his Pug (pre Landy days) it would triple its value.

this is true about the value thing, and the van sides also, bikes are pretty pricey and it'd be nice to be able to leave them in the back whilst camping without a kinda window shopping thing going on!!! Realistically we're gonna need more than one car anyways if there are like 4-5 of us so there really isn't a point trying to cram everone on bench seats.

Did you mean get a bike in the back with the wheel off in a 90? I just tried to look up dimensions and it was around a metre of load space length according to the sa land rover site (dont ask why but the uk site doesn't list it) and I'm sure my bike is longer than a metre with the wheel off.

tankduck said:

Did you mean get a bike in the back with the wheel off in a 90? I just tried to look up dimensions and it was around a metre of load space length according to the sa land rover site (dont ask why but the uk site doesn't list it) and I'm sure my bike is longer than a metre with the wheel off.

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Thats a flat measurement put it at an angle et viola-or summit.

tankduck said:

this is true about the value thing, and the van sides also, bikes are pretty pricey and it'd be nice to be able to leave them in the back whilst camping without a kinda window shopping thing going on!!! Realistically we're gonna need more than one car anyways if there are like 4-5 of us so there really isn't a point trying to cram everone on bench seats.

Did you mean get a bike in the back with the wheel off in a 90? I just tried to look up dimensions and it was around a metre of load space length according to the sa land rover site (dont ask why but the uk site doesn't list it) and I'm sure my bike is longer than a metre with the wheel off.

Click to expand...

Unless its a 110 Hardtop you'll still have to remove the wheel. On a security point of view Landrover doors are **** easy to get in to so you may have to put a snarling dog inside if your leave them unattended.

remove the bulkhead in a 90 and fit a tubular bulkhead bar as ive done in my 90 your seats will go further back and be more comfortable and your bike will have more room

A Defender or even a Series Land-Rover is perfect for mountainbiking trips. I made a sleeping platform in the back of the Landy and my girlfriend (at the time) made some nice curtains (bitch made me give them back when we split up ). I then made a bike rack which attatches to the hinge brackets for a tailgate at the bottom and some brackets I made myself at the top (with quick release pins). To open the rear door you just pull the top pins out and let the rack down. You can just about open the rear door. I've done greenlaning/mountainbiking trips all over Wales and up to the Lake district too with this setup, camping along greenlanes (no need to worry about things being stolen in the middle of nowhere!). The bikes are tucked in out of the way, and the departure angle is still about 45 degrees. Here are some pictures:









Give us a shout if you want to meet up and do a greenlaning/mountainbiking trip when you've got yourself a Landy.

is that a massive job or just a bolt out and bolt in jobby? I'm about to go to the land rover garage and have a look to see if I can be swung by the 110, and to generally just have a good look at them

sorry that post was to the one before all the photos.

That looks awesome fenby, the back looks alot deeper than I thought granted you can sleep in it!! Thats a mental setup though for trips, don't even have to pay for camping!!

that bed arrangement in the back looks pretty nifty, you got any more pics or details of how you've done it?

The bike rack:

It took me about 6 hours to cut the metal bits up, do the drilling and weld it together. Your local blacksmiths could probably knock up something similar. It takes seconds to attach the rack to the Land-Rover. To take it off you just take the R-pins out of the top securing pins. Pull the securing pins out, slide the lower hinges out of the lower brackets and it's off in less than 30 secs. The lower brackets were already welded to the rear cross member (they are meant for a tailgate so are unused with a side hinging door). I don't think all Land-Rovers have these brackets in place though. The top brackets are held on with two bolts. I had to drill 4 holes through the hardtop for these.

discojamz said:

that bed arrangement in the back looks pretty nifty, you got any more pics or details of how you've done it?

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Thanks I'll take a few photos tommorrow. There is a 2 piece 20mm box section steel supporting framework over the load bed which attaches to the body in 3 places. One attachment point either side of the rear door ontop of the wheel boxes and the third attachment point is the lug for clamping the spare wheel to the bulkhead behind the front seats. The framework is in 2 pieces. The rear section is like an upside down U which provides a horizontal bar at the height of the cappings of the rear tub and the other section runs longditudinaly from the spare wheel mount to the middle of the rear section. There are then 2 pieces of 12mm ply which fit slide into the gap between the rear body cappings and the hardtop and rest on the framework. The 2 pieces of the framework are attaced together by a quick release R pin and the whole framework attaches to the body mountings by quick release R-pins too, so the whole lot can be fitted or removed in about 2 mins. The front section of the platform goes over the passenger and middle seating areas in the front of the cab. It has a 20mm box section perimeter frame with a piece of 9mm ply ontop. Two hooks on the rear of the frame hook over the bulkhead behind the seats and the front of the platform is supported by two hinged rods which hook onto the top of the windscreen frame. This front section is slid into the back when driving. The curtains are held in place by velcro which is riveted to the internal gutter of the hardtop, so the curtains can be put up or taken out in a couple of minutes too. It's a bit awkward getting in there, but I'm 6ft2 and my ex was 5ft10 and once in place it is comfortable enough.

I really like that sleeping platform - I've been thinking about doing a similar thing in my Defender 90 for the old summer holidays this year. I'm only 5' 4" so I don't imagine it would be too claustrophobic!

I for one would be very interested to see any photos you take of the frame, mountings etc...

This is a very nice SWB camper conversion - I'd love to have a genuine one.

Searle mini-carawagon

Mine is more rough and ready, but the advantage is that in just a few minutes it is converted from a camper back to a utility workhorse. I've found that the platform is very useful for keeping clean and dirty stuff seperate on a camping trip too: Bike wheels, bike clothing, tools, firewood, recovery equipment down below; clothing, bedding and food up top.

that does look like a pretty cool idea that you linked but like you say yours is more convenient, you don't really need a sink and dining setup over actually having somewhere to stick all the stuff you actually need to have with you.

Got told off last night by security at the land rover garage for walking around the defender part of the forecout at 7:30 Although the other downside was that I actually like the 110 now as well, sort of different feel to them altogether so I'm really in a pickle now trying to decide what to do!! I reckon I'm gonna leave it maybe 3-4 monthes so I make the right decision, one of the reasons I want a defender is you can actually use the thing for years and years and the design won't date far, so yeah its a pretty important decision!! lol.

Plus that way it'll be all new (to me) for exciting summer road trips!!!

I had a 110 as my first LR, loved it. Great for carrying stuff, fit loadsa people in, lots of fun. Handling is a bit more predictable than a 90 also.

Only thing is not quite so good off road.