A twist on a bike rack

Jay1415

I had an old bike rack laying around for the old Thule "square" bars that can't be used on the new "aero" bars currently on our vehicles (and most other cars). I made a perch so the bike could sit further from the tow vehicle so the back hatch opens, yet also far enough from the tab so the window and tub open. This works. It also sits below the roof line of the Jeep so the bike won't get hammered in a rain and better aerodynamics, but also high enough to not hit the car when turning. FYI, I added another piece of wood to front as you might be able to see in the second photo. 



This was a  test and on the maiden voyage, I found the design worked, but it needed some tweaks. 

-I remade it out of maple (stronger, stiffer), and the screws for the clamps (on the tongue) shouldn't compress the wood and lose tension.
-I glued and screwed it together (rather than just screwed). I had a screw come loose on the first trip.
-I found an old square bar (free on the curb) and incorporated that into the front end for more strength.

I'd show a picture, but the final design is not quite finished, but I added another layer of poly tonight. Anyway, I'm just throwing the idea out there since I couldn't find anything commercially that I liked. 

This was a difficult build since there are a lot of angles involved. Hence the prototype out of pine which was painted black. (It was ok for one trip, but a little weak for multiple trips.)

Slackers

Nice effort and Wow, classic Litespeeds!

Jay1415

Thanks. The road bike still rides great. The mt bike rides great on the road and smooth mt bike trails, but it's a handful on rough stuff, even when I add a suspension fork. Had my hand full on a ride in Copper Harbor, MI.