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PVC Bike Rack Revisited

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Toshi posted a link in this thread http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94897&highlight=pvc+rack
and I built it up for my truck.

Total cost of materials $20.23
I needed to buy glue (~$3)
I bought the material at the mega home improvement store...and did not shop around so I might have been able to save $3-4 ;)

Took about 2 hours total to do....should take less but I made a mess. :o:;) I did it on my trucks tailgate. All the sawing, the assemblling, fitting, dissassembling, and glueing.

I had to shorten the pieces between the bikes by 2 inches (total of 4 inches narrower overall) to have it fit in my Dakota between the wheel wells. It says it was designed around a F150. I can run 2 bikes forward and one back no problem. The wheel channels are nice and snug. Be careful when running the rear tire in there. Make sure that your derailer is clearing the pipe. On my HT the long cage shimano derailer was pressing against the pipe. If it was in a larger rear cassette gear the cage would be pulled away enough to clear.

Bottom line it takes $20 (if you have a saw and pocket knife already) and a couple hours monkeying around. It was fun and if you guys get a chance try it out. Just take your time and glue the pieces straight. :D

Rhino

PS- I made the section that lifts up the front separate and glued everything but where the riser and the main rack meet. That way I can take it apart and store it (like behind a couch or in a closet) easily. If it does separate there I will drill holes and use screws or pins to hold them togeather.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
we need pics. furthermore i don't deserve any credit: it's Argonzero's rack and thread whose link i posted anyway
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Toshi said:
we need pics. furthermore i don't deserve any credit: it's Argonzero's rack and thread whose link i posted anyway
No digi camera....:(

but I has a coworker comment on it as I came bac from lunch. :)

It looks jsut like the picture in the article.

Hints:
1-make sure the pipe is schedule 40. It is much thicker and will be stronger and flex less than std 1" PVC
2-dry assemble everything and check the tire gaps will be snug enough but not impossible to get the tire in.....you really only get one change at glueing them together:)
3-don't go glue happy, plan it out and make sure things are alligned. You don't have a jig but you can still get it close...the pipes will flex "some" lol

My rack turned out pretty good...*pat self on back*...it was actually kind of fun. It costnearly nothing and can be used as a bikestand in you room if wanted.
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
oh another note. Using the directions and the lengths given you can get all the peices out of 3-10ft lengths of pipe and have a good 9 inches left over.

2 of each length of the long peices, and just use the remainder of one pipe to cut the contector peices and then the 2nd excess as needed.
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Ahh the glorious rebirth. :)

For those guys wanting to spend $$$ that could go to their bike instead of a fancy pickup bed bike rack.

Check this option out.

Rhino

PS- good lord it has been over a year since I made this rack! I use it all the time. It is still rocking.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I'll back you up on this one. Less than $20 and about 45min if you know how to use tools. It really adds a lot of stability to your cargo when hauling 4-5 bikes.
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
if someone wants to pick one up in the reno/tahoe area they can have mine. it doesn't fit that will in my audi coupe.
 

Threepointtwo

Monkey
Jun 21, 2002
632
0
SLC, UT
Very cool, I am glad you all like my creation and have put it to good use. I have since built a 5 bike version but I don't recommend it because the tolerances are too tight for working with PVC and a hack saw. If you are careful, it can be done however. I painted one black for looks but it absorbs more heat and will fail sooner so I would leave it white. During hte winter, it makes a nice garage stand too. :thumb:
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Jeremy R said:
OK, I want to build one of these for my truck.
Why should I use PVC instead of 2x4's?
The PVC is stiff and LIGHT.

It can't wiegh mroe than a couple pounds. It collapses easily and can be stored under a couch or in a closet when not in use.

It costs almost nothing and works great.....why would you ruin that with wood?
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
RhinofromWA said:
The PVC is stiff and LIGHT.

It can't wiegh mroe than a couple pounds. It collapses easily and can be stored under a couch or in a closet when not in use.

It costs almost nothing and works great.....why would you ruin that with wood?
Good enough.
Plus, I am quite fond of laying pipe.
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
Acadian said:
send it to me :)

I need to build one of those racks up for my garage!
shipping would be expensive. just pick it up from me next time you are up here. i'll trade it for a ride on your sunday.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Someone should just sell a kit with precut pieces. If all a person had to do was glue and put it together, I bet people would buy one.
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
Kanter said:
Someone should just sell a kit with precut pieces. If all a person had to do was glue and put it together, I bet people would buy one.
you'd have to be pretty lazy to pay someone else to do that.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I already made a wood one and have a T2. My shuttle rig will carry about 6-8 bikes with no shuttle scratches.

Not lazy. Some people would just rather spend their time doing other things, like riding.
 

RhinofromWA

Brevity R Us
Aug 16, 2001
4,622
0
Lynnwood, WA
Kanter said:
I already made a wood one and have a T2. My shuttle rig will carry about 6-8 bikes with no shuttle scratches.

Not lazy. Some people would just rather spend their time doing other things, like riding.
The majority of my time was pre assembling and sizing it down to fit my Dakota. Glueing and pre-fit is where the time comes in.

I think I said it took me about 2hours to do (plus I made a mess) I would say more than 50% (maybe 75%) of that time was after I had the parts initially cut. I didn't want to have an oops after the glue started to set.

Rhino

It is a fun afternoon project, and works great in a garage setting also....since winter fastly approaches we need some good storage for our rigs.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
Acadian said:
What is the total width of the 4 bike rack? anyone know?
Yo Luc,
I just built a 3 rack one for my Tacoma a few months back.
(I should have built a 4 rack one). Anyway, you are going to have to measure it for your vehicle. Those instructions worked well, but you have to come up with your own width.
Mine works perfect by the way. Now, I just use one flimsy zip cord, and the rack holds my bikes up.
 

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
Jeremy R said:
Yo Luc,
I just built a 3 rack one for my Tacoma a few months back.
(I should have built a 4 rack one). Anyway, you are going to have to measure it for your vehicle. Those instructions worked well, but you have to come up with your own width.
Mine works perfect by the way. Now, I just use one flimsy zip cord, and the rack holds my bikes up.
I want to build one for my garage to store my bikes - it's not for my tuck (since i don't have a truck)
 

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
Luc, you should seriously just take mine. It's collecting dust in my garage and i'm just going to throw it out when I move in a couple of months. Talk kevin into coming down there for a ride and i'll throw it in the back of his truck when he's not looking.
 

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
Acadian said:
I want to build one for my garage to store my bikes - it's not for my tuck (since i don't have a truck)
Would this style of PVC rack be as strong as the one designed for truck beds? I would like to make one that hold 4 bikes.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Snap, crackle, pop


edit. I guess it depends on the roads you drive on. The PVC rack would never work on Montan roads. I have a wood rack that I redo every year due to the rough shuttle roads.
 

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
Kanter said:
Snap, crackle, pop


edit. I guess it depends on the roads you drive on. The PVC rack would never work on Montan roads. I have a wood rack that I redo every year due to the rough shuttle roads.
Are you replying to me? Again - I WILL NOT be using this rack for the back of a pickup truck. I want to use it at home to store my bikes :)

I kindda like the looks of one above. But instead of storing my bikes by the front wheel, I would just rack them via the rear wheel.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Acadian said:
Are you replying to me? Again - I WILL NOT be using this rack for the back of a pickup truck. I want to use it at home to store my bikes :)

I kindda like the looks of one above. But instead of storing my bikes by the front wheel, I would just rack them via the rear wheel.

post on 2/1
Acadian said:
I want to build one for my garage to store my bikes - it's not for my tuck (since i don't have a truck)

Doh, I didnt read your post from over a month ago(2/1), sorry. I see you want it for your garage. Should work for that.

I built a wood one that I put in my truck for shuttles and then I take it out for a bike stand in the garage when I m not using it.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Since it's back from the dead, I'd like to add that my PVC rack fell apart in a few uses when used in a pickup w/ DH bikes. Not worth the effort IMO.