General Discussion Triathlon Talk » DIY bike rack for inside SUV Rss Feed  
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2016-04-16 7:17 PM

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Regular
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SF Bay area
Subject: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

Got a new RAV 4 SUV, partially so I could carry my bike inside the car instead of on a rack on the back.  The problem was that the bike could not sit upright even with the front wheel off, so I built a fairly simple bike rack for the back that would allow the bike to sit at about a 45 degree angle completely freeing up half the back for gear, suitcases, etc.  Took less than $50 of parts and went together in a few hours.

Basic design used 2" PVC pipe.  The frame rests on a tee joint cut in half on the long axis.  The wheels are in a 5' section bisected by a tee joint with the top half of the PVC cut out where the wheels go.  Frame and wheels are held to the mount with Velcro wrap, and the mount itself is secured to the body of the car with a Velcro wrap in the rear and a bungee cord right by the front wheel.  I took an old towel and cut it up to use for padding between the mount and frame and mount an wheels.  Drove around all afternoon to see how stable it was and it is solid as a rock.  Thought I'd share in case anyone else was in the same position of wanting to be able to get better space utilization out of their SUV when hauling their bike. 

Here's what it looks like:



2016-04-16 8:28 PM
in reply to: TTom

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Regular
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SF Bay area
Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

What the rack looks like all by itself:

2016-04-16 9:54 PM
in reply to: TTom

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Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

Pretty nifty.  When you have some time I would look into somehow gluing some rubber padding over the edges of the contact points.

Also, if you spent a little more time with this, you could probably design a similar system for two bikes which may actually have some value.  My guess is that a lot of people just traveling with one bike will either just lay the bike flat, or throw a towel over something and lean it on that.  But once you have two bikes, in a car with limited height space...I'm betting there are people that way pay for something like this.  

2016-04-17 5:48 AM
in reply to: Jason N

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Elite
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Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

Yeah, a two bike version would be pretty cool.  I can get two in the back of my Matrix but I have to put one on top of the other with a blanket between them and some strategic placement so things don't get damaged.  

Nice work on what you've done!

2016-04-17 10:12 AM
in reply to: TTom

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Master
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Bellevue, WA
Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

Nicely done.

 

2016-04-17 6:01 PM
in reply to: Jason N

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV
Originally posted by Jason N

Pretty nifty.  When you have some time I would look into somehow gluing some rubber padding over the edges of the contact points.



I was thinking the same thing about the padding. I made a make shift bike stand and used the rubber tubes they use for insulating pipes as padding. Get the largest size you can and cut it open (if it isn't already. Then some strategic shallow cuts will allow it to expand and fit around enough of the pvc to act as a good padding.

Agree with the other comment on a 2 bike version. Sometimes I like to travel with both my tri & road bikes which is problematic in my suv.

Good job.


2016-04-18 8:58 AM
in reply to: Stuartap

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SF Bay area
Subject: RE: DIY bike rack for inside SUV

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions about adding the padding.  Good advice to permanently mount something there rather than to have the towels which could get lost in packing/unpacking, not be put in quite right, or shift around. 

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