Wooden Bike Basket

When you look at many bike friendly European cites, you will notice that most people bike to work in normal street clothes.  To do this, you need a classic bike with fenders and a chain guard.  The Schwinn Coffee was perfect for this except I didn't have a way to carry my computer.  Instead of choosing the bike basket in the front, I went with a wooden crate in the back.  This is perfect for carrying my computer as well as groceries from the farmers market.  Here is how I did it.

Step 1: Reinforce Box

I found this box at a Goodwill and was probably intented to be used for decoration because the slats were held on using small staples.  The first thing I had to do was to reinforce the slats that were used for attaching to the bike rack.  I did this by using some small L brackets and 1/4" X 20 screws.

Next I added a couple more nails to the other slats to keep them from falling off.  The two slats that attach to the bike rack really take all of the load.

Step 2: Attach Box to Bike With Hose Clamps.

To attach the box to the bike rack, I used stainless steel hose clamps.  These have the advantage of conforming to the odd shapes and wont rust.  I used two clamps on each side.

The first picture shows a top view.

The second picture shows the clamps from the bottom.

Step 3: Final Notes

The box works perfect for holding my laptop in a protective case and groceries.  There are a couple of minor issues. First, since the box is so big, I need to swing my leg over the top tube rather than over the back tire. This takes a little stretching but you get used to it. I may cut the box down in the future to make this easier.  Second the box puts a lot of weight high in the back of the bike.  This causes the bike to be a little unstable.  Third, there is a bit of a rattle.  This is probably caused by the fact that the bike rack has a spring loaded mouse trap thing that is used to hold things down.  In the future, I may change to a stronger bike rack.  This should minimize the swinging and rattle.

Overall, the box adds a lot of functionality to the bike while still preserving the classic look.  I am currently looking for a traditional dynamo light to complete the effect.