DIY Bike Rack?
 

I was looking at the website for the Mid-West tandem Rally and they say you must provide your own bike rack.
Has anyone made their own? Plans or pics?
Thanks!

In last year's Northwest TR the hotel opened up a large conference room and removed all the furniture. Bikes were stored there for free. Many of the bikes did not have kickstands so were leaned against the wall sometimes several deep. I am guessing that the MWTR wants all the bikes to stand up so something like this would work: http://www.rei.com/product/809718/fe...-storage-stand

I saw that too about needing to bring a stand and I surmised it was because of storage and the amount of bikes. I have one of the below and just plan on using it. I highly recommend.

http://www.click-stand.com/

Also, the brake bands are worth their weight in gold.

We also have a Click-Stand and use it all the time. Highly recommended!

We bought a Click-stand for our tandem, the only sensible solution for a tandem. It is light, compact, and works like a charm. One or our best buys.

For standing storage I prefer an upright stand like Tom Spohn linked to over one that leans. I use stands similar to these, and for tandems I like to use two of them. Fortunately, they are cheap.

If the hotel puts folding banquet tables in the storage trooms there would be no need to bring a tandem stand.
Heck just haul tandem into hotel room and park it. Don't ask for permission; just do it.

We are also planning on attending MTR, but we are planning just to keep our tandem in our car. But if we decide to change our minds, we have both the Nashbar Stand the was recommended (we use these stands at the beginning of rides so we don't have to lean the bike against the car) and the Click-Stand (that we pack in our rack bag for on the road needs). Both work great!

I fabricated a stand using 1/2" white PVC pipe and fittings. (I'm still looking for a photo...)

That works too, and if you leave the appropriate pieces unglued, it'll disassemble into a pretty small package! Plus, white is the new black, (which was the new silver, which was the new chrome, which was the new white)! :thumb:

I use a homemade one of these:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=298628

They are fairly stable and get your back wheel off of the ground so that you can adjust the derailleurs. Mine is made out of aluminum for lighter weight for travel. Minoura makes a similar one called the DS520.

Rhino

I recently bought a fold-up variant of the Feedback stand mentioned by Tom Spohn, and I like it. It's distributed by Topeak, and I bought it from Amazon.

And that holds your tandem OK even if it gets bumped and jostled a bit? I'd have to see that!

From previous years of owning bike shops and having rows upon rows of bikes on the floor, you learn the domino-like nature of bicycles. If you can't walk up, hit the handlebars hard enough to knock the front wheel sideways without the bike falling over, it's not a stable enough stand to use in a room full of bikes. That's the test.

That's why I always use two wheel stands for a tandem in any situation like the OP described. Last thing I would want is to be the one responsible for 15 tandems falling over with varying degrees of minor mechanical damage and thousands of dollars worth of paint damage.

I have bumped and jostled it without trouble.

The legs on the bottom of the Topeak stand are about 14" wide when unfolded. I think that's about the same width as the Feedback stand and the stand that you mentioned, so I guess it would be about as tip-resistant as those stands. Plus, it folds into a fairly small size for storage or transport.

Sure... two stands, whatever the type, will be more stable than one.

I haven't compared the three stands side by side, so I can't say for sure which one is better. However, I can say that the Topeak product keeps our tandem upright while I clean or lube it, even if it gets bumped or jostled.

Sounds like a good test then. I take your word for it that it works for you.

My concern with that kind of stand, however, has always been that the wheel is only held at the bottom, and then by just the tire and rim. The upright only has a spring loaded, hourglass-shaped roller that rests against the tire. Earlier models of this design used to allow the bike to get knocked off the roller pretty easily, particularly to the side away from the upright. Newer stuff may be much better, but ... they're still designed for the weight of a single bike.

So how about a quick design test? Get someone to catch the tandem, (naturally), then push it sideways to see if the wheel comes free from the roller before the stand turns over. If it doesn't, then it is indeed as stable as any other 14" base stand. Even if it does, the quick fix would be to rig up any kind of hook, even a short bungee, to keep the roller against the tire regardless.

Way back before the earth fully cooled and bungees weren't available, I had about 10 of those stands in one of my shops. We used toe clip straps to hold the upright/roller against the tire. I truly miss the prevalence of toe clip straps laying around everywhere!

Funny! I did exactly that right after I removed the stand from the shipping box from Amazon. With our 38lb tandem, my 19lb solo bike and my daughter's really heavy Walmart "mountain bike" the stand tipped over before the wheel came free from the roller.

I don't want to over-sell the Topeak stand. It's marketed just for bicycle storage, and in my own experience it's just stable enough to do light-duty tasks like wash the bike or lube the chain. It's much better than leaning the bike against the wall, but it definitely is not a work stand.

Sounds like they've finally improved the design then, which I probably should have guessed since it is Topeak! They must have deepened the middle of the hourglass roller and dramatically increased the spring tension, since I never saw one of the earlier versions that could pass that test!

So good deal! I stand corrected! :thumb:

Not that it helps the OP... The clickstand looks really good. I use a variation when touring (on the half bike at least): an alloy tent peg with about 1.5m of nylon cord - loop the top of the cord over the seatpost and peg the other end into the ground. The bike is upright for unloading/loading panniers and, especially if the ground is not too sandy and both peg and tires have enough grip, stable enough to withstand strong winds (think Brittany in September) and tripping over the cord in the dark on the way to the loo without toppling. Total weight <10g.

We use one of these. I use it in the garage to hold the bike and it goes with the bike in the back of the van when we transport the tandem, its handy to drop the front tire in it when I take the front tire on/off for transport. The "hoop" part of the stand easily come off of the base if you want to break it down.

+1 We take our tandem into our room at every hotel. Just get your room first. Return for tandem, go straight to elevator and to room. You do want to get an empty elevator and usually have to lift tandem up and angle in corner for it to fit. I have not been stopped yet and we have done this for years and most recently the past 3 weekends in Houston.

not sure if this is what you're looking for, but this is what i use in the back of my expedition. it's big enough for three bikes. i can shift the rear tires over a bit so i can fold up the 1/3 seat in back so i can have a third passenger.

you probably wouldn't be able do do this in anything smaller than an expedition. maybe a chevy trail blazer, i think they're pretty long. maybe a mini van.

it's just a 2x12 with 3 yakima fork clamps bolted to it. i used 16 gauge sheet metal and some j bolts with wing nuts to secure it to the cargo tie downs.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=298979

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=298980

For $25 I'd save the hassle. Got a "IBERA Easy Utility Bicycle Stand IB-ST2" from Amazon and added some rubber to the "foot" areas. A stand like this really helps with bike washing and prep.

UPDATE

My stand is like the photo on the left. A tandem friend of mine has a stand like like the photo on the right, and I was able to compare the two.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=308274 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=308273

My fold up stand definitely allows the bike to wobble from side-to-side more than my friend's stand. It flexes more, especially in the arm that pushes against the wheel. However, they both tip over at about the same point.

UPDATE

My fold-up stand is like the photo on the left. A tandem friend of mine has a stand like the photo on the right. Recently I was able to compare the two.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=308277http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=308276

My fold up stand (on the left) definitely allows the bike to wobble from side-to-side more than my friend's stand (on the right). The arm that pushes against the wheel flexes. However, ultimately they both tip over at about the same point. In my mind, it's a question of whether you prefer the portability of the fold-up stand on the left or the added rigidity of the stand on the right.