Bike Rack

This is a simple bike rack constructed from 3/4" PVC pipe.

Step 1: Cut PVC parts to length

Parts List: All 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC
(2) Wheel Upright - 22 3/4"
(2) Wheel base - 12 1/2"
(4) Base - 7"
(5) Splices - 1 1/4"
(6) Elbows - 90 degree
(6) Tees
PVC Glue

Comments

[idood]

Very nice. I took your design and the design of the other person who made the two bike holder, and came up with this:

All the details here.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[Collingwoodcorey]

Check this person's bike rack for two.........Absolutely brilliant!!!!!

[fightnut]

I like this design a lot. Only things I might do differently would be add little 4-5" legs so the wheel sits down IN the rack, and the tire is slightly off the ground. My thinking is that the wheel being surrounded/braced more might reduce the leaning/flexing that is happening with this one.
And I might go with 1" pvc to also help reduce flex.
Very nice though! Thumbs up,

[myates7]

Great design. We modified it into a 5-bike setup with additional upside down "Ts" in between each upright wheel holder for extra support. Thanks again.

[imarunner2]

Post a pic. Would love to see your 5 bike version.

[imarunner2]

Very nice!

[laughingcoyote]

The legs suggested for idood's 2-bike holder can be easily added by using 3-way corner fittings on the corners of the base instead of the usual two-way (90 degree) ones. As this would raise the rack up, you might want to use the slightly longer original dimensions for the wheel base and maybe the wheel upright, since it seems that a wider profile of the wheel would be in the rack. (Idood doesn't explain why he changed various dimensions in his design. The shorter base dimensions seem to push the bike wheel higher into the upright, which might make it more stable. But if you have a roadbike instead of a mountain, looking at idood's photo it might not fit. Legs probably would solve this problem, but then you would want to make sure that the base would be long enough. You will particularly want to check your dimensions if you add the longer legs suggested by fightnut.)

[myates7]

5-bike version. Thanks again.

[AggieAshley99]

Love this bike rack! We have three boys and too many bikes -- they are like clothing one has outgrown but the next child will need. I need to store at least 5 and this is the best solution I've seen. How much did this cost to build? Thanks!

[imarunner2]

That is sweet!

[fmassa1]

Thanks! I made it today! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/5994418461_4764c25689_m_d.jpg

[dollardude]

great idea, you could also use not plumbing pipes but steel pipes if you wanted it alot stronger

[fightnut]

The only problem with using steel pipes is the cost. You would be better off buying a metal stand like this,  it would be about the same cost.

[Junkyard John]

Why not use a kickstand?

[fightnut]

They're added weight that stays on the bike all the time.

[cjos9703]

Most bikes do not have kickstands. Great idea!

[abadfart]

my road bike didn't have one when i got it but i wot one at walmart along with a baby trailer

[imthatguy1125]

actully mast cheper ones do

[cjos9703]

The bikes we have do not have kickstands. We have 4 bikes by 3 different makers none have kickstands.

[imthatguy1125]

i have 3 bikes by three different makers and they all do but they are not like racing bikes

[cjos9703]

We have redline which ia a racing bike (BMX), specialized (a road racing bike and a cannondale. None of which has kick stands. I made two of these bike racks, they work really good and are cheap to make.

[imthatguy1125]

ok

[lilpepsikraker]

Weird. I have never seen a bike without a kickstand. Where are you?

[carpe_noctem]

kickstands are usually pretty hevy(by necessity)
people who are serious about the performance of their bike and want to cut weight, or just don't like the way it looks often remove them.

as for me, i just took mine off because it got in the way and wouldn't hold my bike up well anyway. Plus a combination of the above mentioned

PS ride fixies, cuz they're fun(not cu z they're trendy) 

[ShadowFacsimile]

A kickstand by itself weighs more than a third of my racing bike's frame. Good idea for a frumpy cruiser, but not my gossamer baby.

[sharlston]

cool ible im getting a bmx in a couple of days! :)

[Krako]

Great thinking - I really like the modification to the original idea - this should do the trick for the rack that I need - it needs to be transportable & fairly lightweight. - Great design!! Thanks !

[imthatguy1125]

how stable is this

[imarunner2]

It's pretty stable. I think if I were to make any mods to make it more stable, I'd simply fill the base with concrete to make it heavier. But the base is wide enough and my bike is light enough that it has never tipped over on me.

[jgodsey]

i wonder how i can mount that in my pick up truck?

[imthatguy1125]

use duct tape

[badaboum]

You could make it a multi-bike rack by joining together other racks. Great invention!

[ShadowFacsimile]

That's what I did for my parents' cyclocross rigs-- just make two racks as imarunner2 described and replace two of the elbow feet with tees to attach them. Mom and Dad look adorable on their little red matching bikes, but the garage was becoming a cyclism disaster area.

[imthatguy1125]

i am gonna make one for three bikes

[Amcain]

Make mine a double! A variation from the original to keep 2 bikes as close to the wall as possible (so my wife doesn’t hit them with her car) PDF drawing attached.

[Tez23]

Do you have the dimensions for building the double?

[SharkVol]

I like your version. How can I get the PDF?

[imarunner2]

Very nice!

[bigwhitebear18]

Just made one of these for my apartment instead of leaning the bike against the wall and having it fall over in the middle of the night to scare the bejeezee's out of me. Very simple and cheap, cost me about $7 total. It is a little small for my mountain bike though. I have to squeeze the tire into the rack for stability. I might just make another with some longer splices and give this one to a friend. Great instructable.

[bikingbrady]

These are GREAT instructions. I would agree with the adding of concrete to the bottom sections. Without it, my tandem would not stay upright in the rack. It worked perfect with concrete in the base however.