Building a Bike Rack

Before, after and between rides, I have been leaning my bike against the shrubs, laying it on the grass or propping it up against the garbage cans at my home. Not anymore! I finally broke down and made a bike rack for one. The rack had to be inconspicuous and narrow, occupying the grassy knoll between the driveway and sidewalk (approximately 24” width).

You may or may not be able to perceive the slope on my sidewalk and driveway from the photograph, but the contractors that landed this house on the Wicked Witch of the West forgot to check the elevation change from street level. The slope on the driveway is somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees. Don’t take me wrong...it’s great…especially since it works like a runaway truck ramp.

The commercially manufactured bike racks are wide (typically for multiple bikes) and not designed to hold a bike on a Himalayan incline. So for less than six-dollars, I constructed the prototype. The PVC pipe and connectors were approximately five-dollars and the patio tile was another dollar. I already had the PVC cleaner and cement (approximately another five-dollars). Materials include: ten feet of 1” Schedule 40 PVC, six 90 degree elbows, four T-connectors and one 12” X 12” concrete patio tile. The PVC pipe is cut into two 4” wheel base sections, two 12” wheel base sections, two 21.5” wheel upright sections, two 18” stake sections and five 1.25” joiner sections. One precautionary note—pre-fit sections and keep joints flat and square, PVC cement sets quickly, giving you little time to make adjustments.

I do not use the rack for extended storage, rather it is used for checking and filling tires with air, running into the house to grab that forgotten sport bottle of Propel, sunglasses, camera, keys…keys??? Occasionally, I have left my commuter bike in the rack during a quick lunch…using a cable lock around the wheel upright sections.

So far, the rack is enduring the UV light exposure and adverse weather. It has a phenomenal rigidity and is appropriately sized for both my 700 X 23 and 700 X 35 bike tires. The schedule 40 PVC is exceptionally strong—I used my weight to “plant” it into the ground by standing on the forward and backward wheel bases…I have included a picture of the rack before “planting” so that you can see it has substantial “roots” that stabilize the rack and subsequently the bike. I’ll keep you informed on how the rack responds to the South Dakota fall and winter weather conditions.