BikeHacks

Band Practice Bike Hack

Reader Andy wanted a way to help his son transport his saxophone to school and submitted the following text and picture.

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My high-school aged son rides to school daily, and was having to transport his sax back and forth for band practice. I had bought him a rack (the Delta Post Porter Rack) for a bikepacking trip we did in fall, but the saxophone case was just too long and heavy to attach safely.

 

I cut a piece of 1 x 10 pine to length, to attach to the rack at the front with two screws, and also drilled twelve holes through to attach with zip ties to six other locations on the side tubes of the rack. I relieved the top of the board with a chisel between each pair of holes so that the zip ties are below flush. Then I added a second piece of wood to make a lip at the back that prevents the case from sliding off. The case is therefore wedged between the saddle and the lip.

 

 

A short piece of flat metal bar with holes attached to the bottom is for the rear strap. I put two tie-down straps on, then cut to length and melted the ends, so that there is no way they can get into the spokes.

 

The rack is very secure and convenient for him. He just takes the whole rack off the seat post when not needed, instead of cutting the zip ties. We had a very dry summer, but if we saw rain I'd put a few coats of paint or polyurethane on.

This is the general type of strap that I had laying around. Ratchet straps would work, but be overkill and more fiddly for him. I'm not sure I'd trust Bungees for this.

 

Trailer Hitch Bike Repair Stand Hack

Reader Mark sent us an elegant and simple solution to using your mobile hitch mounted bike rack as a bike repair stand.  Take it away Mark . . .

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Purchased a $25 trailer hitch from Northern Tool and mounted sideways on an end cabinet.

Used my auto bike rack that was taking up room in the garage. Hang my bike from the rack for easy maintenance.

Most car racks have straps to limit movement. This also utilizes something that most of us have laying around. When complete, simply remove the car rack and retun it to the spot where it was collecting dust.

 

Mounting a Rear Rack on a BOB Trailer

A lot of great bike hacks are motivated by the desire to transport beer. Reader Robert sent along this cool video of he and a friend adding a rear rack to a BOB trailer, making it possible to carry more beer amongst other things.  Power tools, welding, and sparks make it all the more fun to watch.  If you have added one storage device to another or have come up with a hack motivated by beer transport, let us know.  Robert wrote -

We managed to mount a Pannier Rack to the back of a BOB trailer to hold an additional set of Panniers. This is great for long distance touring.

 

Clothing Hanger Bike Rack Hack

In a past entry I noted a problem with an inadequate rack.  The rack needed enhancement to help keep my pannier from hitting my spokes, and recently reader Andrew also encountered a rack job.  Check it out . . .

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Leaving the Hopworks Urban Brewery after an especially heavy Portland deluge, I encountered the bike of a fellow traveler who also chose to wait it out under their roof, over a pint of HUB. At first, these violet colored plastic coat hangers looked like a wacky fashion statement, but eventually I realized that they are spoke guards. Our hacker needs a wider platform to prevent the panniers from swinging into the wheels, not the overkill of a stout, large-framed touring rack.

Go Big or Go Home?

For a long time I rode with a back pack and/or a pannier and I was getting tired of dealing with a sweaty back and/or packing constaints.  I made a trip to Home Depot and cruised the basket isle to see if I could find something assist me with my packing needs.

I found a basket that fit rear rack perfectly, but the basket had a larger cousin that appealed to me more.  I ended up going with the larger basket and it has worked out great.  I can make the basket "smaller" by just packing heavy stuff near the front, or I can distribute lighter stuff, like the suitbag I take to work with my work attire. 

I attached it with some pipe clamps and now I just need to wait for election season to end so I can scour the local trash for coroplast election signs to line the basket with.

DIY PVC Bike Rack

To me this falls into the category of a hack that takes a lot of effort for very little reward, but to each their own.  Submitted by reader J Hanks.

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I stumbled across a PVC rear bike rack on this a site but found no instructions so I went my own way.  I started with 2 10ft x ¾inches, 10 pk of T joints and 10pk of Elbows.

I never figured out how to attach it to the rear of the frame, then somehow I took my seat and post out and figured another T joint would slide right in there.  I used one 1 inch T around the seat post and 1 in to ¾in adapter to a ¾T joint.  I then used zip ties and bungee cords to try to secure it.  Another option might be to drill a hole through my seat post to secure the 1in T joint.

Shopping Cart and Tandem Bike Love Story

There once was a lonely tandem bicycle, longing for a partner.  An old hobbled shopping cart was lonely as well.  Thanks to the work of reader Joel, these two were able to get together and have a beautiful relationship.  Cue the romance music . . .

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I made a basket out of a shopping cart for a tandem bicycle.



I welded a cut cart to a seat post for the rear, and now we can go get groceries easily! Always get tons of thumbs ups, some people even asked if I bought it online. Nope!



The cart was from a local store (asked the manager for one with a busted wheel). picked it up with a normal bike and rode home dragging it along side of me, very noisy but got it home!

A seat post for the mount, welded braces to help support the load. The seat post is locked in place normally so you can remove the basket and re-attach the rear seat. The basket was designed to fit between the rear rider's handlebars so the basket does not spin.



The cart was shortened so it was not so tall. I had to weld rebar across the front of the basket so the cart's door would stay in place.

When I ran this idea past friends we all thought it would be too top heavy, hard to balance with all the weight, etc. Turns out it is very stable and centered, and even with heavy loads you barely know you have 20-50lbs back there.

I've transported simple stuff like food, but more challenging things like a drill press, large postal boxes, tool boxes, guitar amp, among other things.



Some carts come with cup holders near the handle, so I took that cup holder and attached it to the handle bars. Took the scrap pieces from the cart and recycled them as well.



We live in Missoula Montana, a very bike friendly city so we always opt to ride when possible to run errands.

We call this bike the TRUCKFIGHTER, and it's tough!

Portable Bike Workshop

Reader Berto, who came up with a fabulous portable shopping cart, also put together a fine looking portable workshop.  Some angel investor please connect with Berto and make these things available to the masses.  Full instructables write up here if you don't want to wait. 

 

DIY Bike Box, Power, and More!

Reader Bart got a bike from his mother and decided to make it decidely his own.  His hacks are documented in the text and photos he provided below, and more pictures can be seen via his flickr account.

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I got this bike from my mother who now bought a newer one and it's roughly as old as me (28) but it drives as a brand new one (good maintenance I guess).

So here's what I "hacked" . . .

I first made a small rear cargo box with some old planks from a big used fruit cargo box. You can still see the countries on the side of the box where the fruit was sent between "OHIA" (maybe Ohio?) and "TUNIS" (Tunis of ofcourse). Glued & screwed the planks together and gave it a layer of "Boat"-Varnish.



Then I've found some leather slabs when cleaning out someones basement and made some leather straps with it. They're not that strong but it's mainly to keep down some light-weight stuff (like a jacket of a bottle of wine) when driving on cobblestone roads. They are screwed in place as you can see in the pictures.



Then I also made a small container out of a used silicone glue tube (for latex gloves when the chain slips off, an extra strong strap for holding down larger stuff & a plastic shopping bag).

The "lid" or "cap" is just a spray paint cover that slides over the container. The red tape makes sure the container is the right diameter so the cap/lid is kept tight on.



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Because I also had a wheel with a built-in generator laying around I replaced the entire electronics. I first made a small box containing 4 rechargeable batteries that get charged by the generator. They also give power to the front & backlight when the switch is turned "ON."



Then I also replaced the light bulbs from the old lights with high energy LED's. (I kept the lamp frames because they are old looking and fit the bike type & also they are not that attractive to thieves instead of brand new shiny LED lamps).



This way my lights will never fail because of empty batteries and they will keep burning even when I'm standing still (in front of a red light for example).



I live in a city where cars are king so they don't pay much attention. This way by keeping my light on when standing still I don't risk not getting seen by the cars.

And at last I made a simple chain guard with an electric cable tube I still had laying around (seen this example many times already) and it works fine. I first had a chain guard that fully covered my chain and this is just terrible for when the chain slips of and you have to put your chain back on.

I got the idea from this site, but it looks suspiciously like an ordinary flexible electric cable tube like the one I used :P

DIY Leather Pannier

Sewing hacks have been featured on BikeHacks before. We have seen bags created from reusable shopping bags as well as from dog/cat food bags, and we have also seen a wallet sewn from inner tubes. This time around reader Catherine fashions leather into a pannier.  Take it away Catherine . . .

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I made a pannier bag for my bike rack. It had to be able to carry one library book, my U-Lock, lunch box, and a change of shoes. It was made from scrap leather from a local hardware store that sells leather by the pound (http://store.harryepstein.com). The sewing was done with a lock stitch sewing awl, it took about 5 hours to complete.

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