I'm getting ever closer to purchasing my Globe Haul and I'm pretty excited about finally being able to participate in rides and bicycle-related activities around metro-Atlanta. Since I live many miles away from bike shops, trails, and activities, I needed an economical, (cheap), way to haul the Haul to various destinations. Unfortunately, being a freelance graphic designer by trade I need to watch my cash-flow like a hawk, (it can be a friggin' long time between checks), so the thought of buying a $200+ manufactured roof top bike carrier for the car is out of the question.
I am not a fan of those bike carriers that strap on the back end of your car. They are suitable in some situations, but on a whole, their design is complicated, they are cheaply made for the purchase price, they can scratch the car's finish, and they can server no other purpose than to carry a couple of bikes. On the other hand, a roof rack system is an elegantly simple, useful and practical design that can be used to carry other large objects besides bikes — a big plus in my eyes.
My $30 DIY Rooftop Bike Rack
Since I'm a cheap Yankee, (from a long line of cheap Yankees), I refuse to pay top dollar for something I can design and make on my own. My roof rack is designed to fit my wife's Outlander, but the design can be easily modified to fit the roof bars of other vehicles.
Nearly everything I needed to make my roof rack I bought at the local home improvement store:
- Four 1 1/2" U bolts.
- Two 4 foot pieces of decking planks
(always check the wood scrap bin for discounted lumber).
- Two 1 1/2" carriage bolts with lock washers and nuts.
- One foot of vinyl tubing.
- Two eye screws.
After I purchased the hardware, I had the whole rack worked-out, cut, drilled, and mounted in under an hour.
To protect the finish on the car's roof bars, I used some scrap closed-cell foam between the top of the bar and the wood, (an old piece of bicycle inner tube, folded a couple of times, could work just as well). I cut the vinyl tubing and ran it down the U bolt to protect the underside. This measure also eliminates the rack from slipping on the roof bar do to road vibrations.
The fork mount was the most expensive purchase of the project. I did some shopping around and chose a RockyMounts™ 9mm Clutch because of its simple and solid design. I bought mine at Outback Bikes in Hamilton Mill, Georgia, but you should be able to find something similar at any bike shop, or online.
To keep the rear of the bike stable in transite, I set two heavy-duty eye screws into the side of the rear rack bar. These will act as cleats to attached the bungie cord I'll stretch around the seat post of the bike. This should keep the back end of the bike from swaying and bouncing.
So there you have it. A quick, easy and inexpensive solution. All that remains for me to do is to grind off the ends of the bolts, then sand and paint the wood.
If I need to haul some plywood or material too large to fit inside the car, I simply unbolt the fork mount from the front bare of the roof rack. If I need to carry an additional bike, I simply buy and mount an additional fork mount and eye screws. Simple and elegant.
-scootia
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