Recumbent - Homemade recumbent car top carrier
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rsbeach
06-12-08, 11:55 AM
I recently acquired a new Rans Stratus XP and found options for carrying a LWB were limited. My Honda CRV is small and a rear mounting meant a lot of bike overlap on each side. I don't want to get winged by a car in a parking lot or a garage door. Commercial options for rooftop were minimal and very expensive. I found only one design for a home made carrier on line and that was more elaborate than I wanted. So I designed my own, which has worked perfectly for me. For others facing this same problem, I have posted the design and instructions for building it here:
http://www.bobbeach.com/bikerack
Anyone interested is welcome to it. I will also be posting some photos in the next few days in case anyone is interested.
Good job. I like your redundancy. I too like to be 'foolproof' when I build something. IF i make your rack I would probably to the one tube in the middle and bungee cord.. I am probably going to Hays Kansas (it is only about an hour away) and look at the 'floor models' to see about buying one. I was up there about a month and half ago but it was raining so I did not get to try out any of the bikes. Do you like your XP?
rsbeach
06-12-08, 05:05 PM
Floyd...
This is my first recumbent, and I still can't believe there could be such a difference! I'm 2-3 mph faster and NOTHING hurts!
Bob
That is the joy of recumbents. I get questions about mine and peole 'seem' interested but I think the prices scare a little. However with the price of gas... maybe.
atombikes
06-20-08, 01:53 PM
rsbeach,
Just looked at your plans, they're really good!
One possible design improvement for anyone building this rack. Instead of two 1.25" holes in the base to attach the rear wheel, how about a lengthwise slot approx. 16" long that is the width of the inflated rear tire? The rear tire would slip down into the slot instead of resting on the board.
rsbeach
06-20-08, 08:34 PM
atombikes...
That would be a simpler, more elegant solution, but it may have a problem. The distance fron the top of the board to the roof of my car at the rear is about 7" - at that depth, the spokes of the wheel are wider than the tire and would rest against the wood. Would that be likely to damage the spokes? In any case, I think I'd want something to tie the rear down so it doesn't pop out - some kind of latch across the slit would do it, I think. It's something someone should take a crack at to see how it works - maybe collectively we can come up with a universally perfectimoneous design!
-Bob