Tom, who blogs over at The Wild Dork, was looking for a way to carry his skis on his bike and clued us on to a post on his blog that covers his project. Full credit for the following text and photo go to Tom. Check out his site for the full meal deal.
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My goal is to carry either my lightweight cross country skis or carry my heavier, wider alpine touring skis on my bike and be able to bike 10-20 miles roundtrip. I came across a couple of solutions online, one being carry them on a pack A-frame style.
This weekend I set about building a proof of concept. It turned out to be fairly heavy since I used 3/4" plywood and 2"x4" scraps that I had lying around. Nevertheless, I succeeded in making my ski carrier. It holds the skis at approximately a 45 degree angle to keep the overall height to about 6' and would theoretically allow low branches to sweep up and over the skis rather than stopping me dead in my tracks. Initial tests showed that while my bike had the wobbles as if I had it fully loaded, the skis were held securely and quietly. I also used a lash strap to keep the skis in place in the holder.
I know this is kind of not looking at all of the circumstances, but isn't it a poor idea to have a brooks leather saddle on a bike that is going to be flogged through snow?
Posted by: WV Cycling | 12/22/2011 at 12:20 AM
WV,
That is an excellent observation and one that I hadn't considered. While I understand your logical concern for a lovely saddle, I will openly admit that I am not going to swap it out and just cover it with a plastic grocery bag when conditions call for it. I only own one bike and don't wish to purchase different components for it.
Tom
Posted by: Tom Mrotek | 12/27/2011 at 12:16 PM