Cooler Bike Cooler

Step 6 Attach the top bracket to the vertical tube

So for now we're just going to rest the cooler on that bottom bracket. It shouldn't wobble too much, as it's now got that shallow hole for the bolt to sit in. You may want to put a screw in through the bracket into the bottom -- just make sure it's not so long that it goes through the bottom of the cooler; : I found that I needed to use 3/4" ones. Ideally, use coarse drywall screws through the bracket into the cooler. You can just use wood screws if you don't have drywall screws this short. Don't put in more than one at this stage; you'll want to take the cooler back off again.

Now you're going to attach a piece of metal around your vertical support and use bolts to hold it onto the cooler. Again, I used the kinda piece of metal that slide bolts slide into. Seen in profile, it's shaped like this: _n_ and has a hole in each one of the flat sides. Mine's brass, but that's only because that was what was lying around. You also find similar copper ones used to hold pipes in plumbing. You could also just use a strip of metal and bend it in shape.

So first mark on your cooler where it's going to go. Then drill both your holes through the cooler all the way to the inside, and put in one side of the bolts loosely. Then hold your cooler up against your bike, put your bit'o'metal around the vertical support, and slip the bolts through the other side, through the cooler, and tighten them up.

Before you tighten them all the way, slip three or four screws into the bottom of the cooler through the bracket. Then tighten up. That'll make sure that everything's where it's supposed to be once it's all installed.