Utility Cycling - $25 rack stores 5 bicycles!

I posted this in the "General Cycling" forum but since this forum has a lot of DIYers who may not read every thread in GC I wanted to post it here too. I promise I'm not cross-posting to every forum, just these 2 where it seems most appropriate.

I was frustrated with my growing collection of bikes taking up too much space in my basement and every time I'd go to grab the bike I wanted I had to move 3 other bikes out of the way. I looked at buying a rack but everything I found was way overpriced and many of the racks had questionable reviews. I decided that there must be a cheap and easy way to store my bikes so I could access any of them without taking up too much space or costing an arm and a leg. Below are some pictures of what I came up with.

The frame is 2x4's with 2x2 cross bracing. Everything was "glued and screwed" together with the exception of the 2 "platforms" that hold the upper bikes; these were nailed on using galvanized steel framing braces. This unit was sort of a prototype to see if this would work and if I'd be happy with the design. I may modify the rack in the future to include a shelf in the upper portion of the A's to store bike pump, chain lube, and other bike accessories. Although the upper bikes stay on the rack just fine, I added bungee cords to secure them just in case we have an earthquake or something. Safety first!

It's not beautiful but for $25 it gets the job done. Your comments and questions are welcome.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/bikerack1.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/bikerack3.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/bikerack4.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/bikerack2.jpg

I've been trying for months to come up with an idea for a bike rack that I could use. You just supplied it. Why didn't I think of that? Thanks:)

I'm gonna steal your idea before the patent goes through!

can you provide dimensions? I was thinking of doing something similar only out of pvc, and the wheel supports for the bikes on top would have been sawed in half to create a trough to allow the bike to rest in more securely

pvc will be more expensive

can you provide dimensions? I was thinking of doing something similar only out of pvc, and the wheel supports for the bikes on top would have been sawed in half to create a trough to allow the bike to rest in more securely

PVC would work fine for the troughs but I think the rest of the rack would still need to be wood [or metal] because the weight of the bikes. Also PVC fittings only come in 45 and 90 degree angles and this rack uses angles that are much shallower. Wood is cheap and you could easily build a similar rack with basic hand tools if you don't own fancy miter saws and whatnot.

I'll try to get some more exact dimensions when I get home [I'm at work now], but here are a few #'s off the top of my head:
• The bike "shelves" are 5 feet long.
• The vertical "A frames" have an 18 inch gap between them.
• The "shelves" are positioned about 4 feet up from where the legs touch the floor. I think 4' may be a little higher than they needed to be and I'll try to get a better measurement for how low they could be placed to make lifting bikes onto the upper shelves a little easier.
• The spacers at the tops of the A Frames are about 8" long (outside to outside at the top) and I want to say that I cut 7 degree miters on each side for a total of ≈14 degrees of angle.
• The 2x2 crosspieces in the A Frames were cut to about 17" and fit perfectly at the [current] level of the bike "shelves".
• The vertical sides of each A Frame are about 8' long. I'll try to remember to measure when I go home.
♣ Depending on your ceiling height any of these numbers may need to be adjusted to fit your space.

Nice, I just started a basement reno and have lots of studs that I am taking out. I am gonna pop one of these up for the garage on the weekend for sure. Thanks. I don't think I would do this in the basement. Too plain, but maybe painting it up might make a difference.

Looks like it could double as a heavy duty easel! Very nice & simple.

You mentioned that the upper bikes stay on fine without the bungees. I would have thought that the front wheel would turn sideways and the bike would roll backwards until it fell off (they do that a lot when I prop them against the wall in the garage anyway). You didn't have trouble with that? Is it because the "shelves" are perpendicular to the uprights?

You mentioned that the upper bikes stay on fine without the bungees. I would have thought that the front wheel would turn sideways and the bike would roll backwards until it fell off (they do that a lot when I prop them against the wall in the garage anyway). You didn't have trouble with that? Is it because the "shelves" are perpendicular to the uprights?

The wheels rest against the upper part on the A frames. I guess they could turn a little but it have not experienced this as a problem.

If this became a problem, a channel of split PVC pipe or a routered groove in the wood would be a quick and easy fix but I didn't feel it necessary.

go knoxvillians. Already mentioned this once (im mtnbiker2082 on knoxcycling and Chris from Harpers if you didnt know) but I think it looks awesome. I might be moving into an apartment soon and will loose alot of storage space so this might be a good way to remedy that.

http://www.easttnriders.com/forum/images/smilies/006.gif Hi Chris!

Thanks everybody for the nice comments. If anyone builds a rack similar to this (or even a rack that is completely different) I'd love to see pictures. Feel free to post here or PM me.

Happy riding.

hello http://www.easttnriders.com/forum/images/smilies/006.gif

Just a quick update after using the rack for a little longer-

I'm still quite happy with it. I've filled it completely and again I have random bikes and bike parts strewn abut my basement but that's my fault not the racks.

I did buy some cheap bungees at the Dollar Tree so I'd have dedicated bungee's for the upper bikes. So far I have yet to drop a bike off the rack and even when the top is full and the bottom is empty the rack is still pretty stable. I added some boards to create a "shelf" in the middle of the A frames and I keep my pump and some lube there for quick access when getting the bikes out for a ride. Overall I'm very happy with the performance of the rack and although I know it isn't pretty to look at it really does a nice job of storing the bikes while allowing acces to any bike at any time.