Bradleykd

Im about to buy my first nice road bike. Until now I have just layed my viewpoint down in the bed of my truck, but I don't really want to lay a nice new one down. I have a little front wheel block made up on a 2x4 that will hold it if I take the front wheel off. My question is on road bikes do you have to completely deflate the tire to get it out of the brakes everytime you load or unload?

FPSDavid

No, on most brakes you just move the lever on the side and it opens the brakes wide enough to let the tire pass, unless you're running huge tires...

The little black thing on the bottom-ish left outside, it "opens" (releases cable tension) and makes the brakes further apart:

TrojanHorse

I just lay mine down ... put it on a cheap blanket or something. There's no room for mine to slide around, so you may wish to consider that but I hate taking my wheels off if I can help it.

Bradleykd

Ahh, thanks for the pic on the brakes. I'm a complete noob when it comes to road bikes but am learning a lot here. My K-mart bike doesnt have that... lol. And about laying it down, I drive a new Tundra and the bike has tons of room to slide around in the bed. I would really prefer not to lay down such a big investment on the first day. I'm going to build a good bike rack where I won't have to remove the wheel (I'm a fabricator by trade), but I need the bike first to have the deminsions I need.

cloud

I stand mine up in the bed of the truck . I use a soft tie down around the head stem than attach the tie downs to it . Been doing that for a couple of years with no problems .

(Soft-Tie Nylon Tie Down Extensions)

valygrl

Happy new bike!

When you pick up the new bike ask the bike shop to show you how to take the wheels on/off, air up the tires, adjust the saddle, and lube the drive train. You might need a different pump than for your old bike - ask about that.

I lay my nice road bike down in the bed of my truck, but my truck has a shell and a "carpet kit" - so it's lying on carpet. The 2x4 with a wheel clamp is a great solution for an open truck bed. Get a cable to lock the bike to the bed too, so you can leave it for a short time when you are driving to a ride.

MDfive21

buy a bike with 23mm tires and you won't have to worry about it.

jon c. 

If the brake doesn't have a release lever, you can generally squeeze the calipers together by hand and remove the brake cable to allow the brakes to open enough to get the tire off.

digibud

As you have been told, the answer is no. For pickup truck people you might consider putting a rack inside the bed as I did. It gets less dirt on it than if you hang a rack off the tow hitch and it ensures the bike isn't sliding around laying down flat. Before I made this simple rack I did lay my bike inside the truck on top of a cardboard sheet. My pickup has a topper on it. The bed also has a set of u-shaped bolts on each side of the bed both toward the front and rear of the bed. I bought four lengths of angle iron at Lowes; two for the front and two for the rear. The angle iron has a 90 degree angle with holes drilled about every inch. The holes allowed me to set one over the other and bolt them together at a length that went across the front and rear so I could attach the steel to the truck. I also got a square length of steel with holes that I set down the middle. It's not needed for the bike except for the fact I do a lot of camping and it prevents gear from sliding over to the side with bikes. With a steel brace with holes across the end of the bed I was able to buy a fork mount and the holes lined up so I screwed that into the steel brace and now I can just take off my front tire and put my bike into the truck bed nice and securely. Actually I can put my bike and my wife's bike in the pickup and have a bike rack connected to the tow hitch and carry up to 6 bikes. I particularly like being able to transport my bike inside when I'm travelling on dirt roads/construction areas. I found I needed to cut a couple of short lengths of 2x4 wood to brace the angle iron or my weight would bend it even when I used pretty heavy steel. I used too light a guage at first and now I think it's 12 guage steel I have. Cheap and effective.

John_V 

Do a Google search for PVC bike rack. I made one for my pickup and have hauled all my bikes in it for the past two years. Cost is around $20.00 in materials. I modified it from the original plans and added some mods of my own for around $10.00 more. Instead of using glue, I used a #8 metal screw at each connection point. It allows you to later modify the rack much easier and if you make a mistake, it's easier to fix. You can haul three bikes, upright without removing the tires and it can be used as a three bike stand in your garage, as well.

Here is a link to one similar to mine. If you decide to go with it, I'll send some photos with my mods that will secure the rack in the truck bed and secure the bike to the rack.

PVC Bike Rack

Gee3

Look up Transit Xpress Truck Rack. I think Performancebike.com sells them. It uses pressure to mount to the "walls" of the truck bed to stay in place. Here it is:

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...2#ReviewHeader

My buddy uses Transit Xpress. Or you can make one using a long 1x4 or so piece of wood and mount a couple of universal bike mounts to it and lay it on the bed of your truck. (I used an extra plank my buddy had for his fence) But it may move around if you can't rig it in a way so it won't slide around in the truck bed. I actually use that in my SUV and it works perfectly becuase I cut the plank to the fit perfectly to the width of the SUV trunk area.

SmellTheSmug

First post and all...but I have a $15 home made solution for pickup bed bike racks. Cut a 2x8 to fit in the grooves most trucks have in the sides of the beds these days. Mount an inexensive bolt down axle clamp on the top edge of the board. Drop the front wheel, clamp up the front end, rear end just sits free in my grooved bed with Line-X coating. Perfectly secure, no bike sliding around in the bed and takes seconds to clamp up.

When I need to use the bed for other stuff, I just lift out the board. Nothing is bolted to the truck.

Bradleykd

^^ I already have something like that. I want one that I don't have to pull the wheel off every time.

I like that pvc rack. Are those spaces small enough for a skinny road tire? I noticed they used it on mtbs and it fit about perfect. I want to make sure it wont be flopping around in the rack. I do like the idea of it being light weight and fast to transition from garage floor to truck bed use.

Bradleykd

Also do those measurements on the pvc rack you posted fit in a fullsize truck bed like that or is that a small truck in the pics? I could put a tee on the bottom and extend the sides out to fit in front of the wheel tubs but it would be a little short in length and not stand up in the bed so pretty..