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| by:
John Sillaots
photos: Roger Yip
illustration: Len Churchill |
BIKE RACK |
| Build
this customizable rack for three, four or more bikes |
This
bike rack is similar to one I built on Home and Garden Television’s
In The Workshop, with one major change; the one here
is made of Trex recycled decking boards. On television I made
it out of spruce. In reality, you can build it out of any material.
This project is what I call “a must”—you must get the kids to
help with it, since they’re probably why you need one in the
first place. How many times have you pulled into the driveway
after a long day of work and fighting traffic, only to find
a roadblock of bicycles blocking your path? It isn’t enough
that you have to pay for the bikes, but now you have to plough
your way through them—and buy replacements—just to get to the
dinner table. Getting your kids to help build the bike rack
will give them a stake in its use.
 The
size and number of bikes a rack can hold is only limited by
the fact standard lumber comes in 16' planks. Whatever length
you choose, take some advice from an experienced father: You’ll
need more bike space than you think. The version shown here
will hold three bikes.
Regardless
of size, construction remains similar—2 x 4s for the horizontal
stringers, with 2 x 6s for the upright wheel holders. Fasten
all parts with #12 x 4" wood screws—not nails—for two reasons:
Screws hold better and can be removed if parts need to be replaced
or adjusted.
Cut
a supply of upright wheel holders to length, then angle their
top corners, as shown in the plans. Use a router with a 1/2"
roundover bit to ease all edges that will remain sharp and exposed
after assembly. (Note that Trex comes with rounded edges.) Next,
fasten a wheel holder at each end of the stringers, with the
stringer’s bottom edges 3/4" off the ground. This minimizes
ground-to-wood contact, making rot less of an issue.
Once
the two outside uprights are in place, it’s time to build custom-tailored
parking spaces for the different tire widths in your fleet.
Put a bike wheel tight against an end upright. Then fit a stringer
flush against the other side of the wheel and screw it in place
parallel to the first. Simple enough, isn’t it? Just be sure
the tire is fully inflated, otherwise the wheel slot will be
too narrow.
 For
smaller bikes, start out with the same prescrewed wheel upright,
butting the smaller wheel next to it, as with the big one. Position
the second upright tight to the other side of the wheel, but
secure it at only one end. Next, lift the wheel out, then angle
the loose end of the upright in towards the first one. The two
uprights should be 1/4" narrower at one end. This lets you drop
in smaller wheels in the wide end, then lock them tight with
a shove forward into the narrower end. When the younster graduates
to a full-size bike, unscrew the narrow end of the pair of uprights
and make them parallel. |
| YOU WILL NEED |
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-
2 Stringers of size 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x
48" (make the rack whatever length you want)
- 6 Upright wheel holders of size 1 1/2" x
5 1/2" x 24" (you'll need a pair of wheel
supports for each parking space. Leave 14"
to 18" of handlebar space between each set
of supports) |
CLICK ABOVE
TO ENLARGE |
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