How to Build a Stationary Bike Rack
While propping your bike up against the garage wall seems like an easy solution to storing your bike, this bad habit will damage your wall as well as your bike. A bike rack--a metal frame either screwed onto the pavement or to the wall--will save you repairing the walls and will also prolong your bike's lifespan. Having a bike rack is also a deterrent against theft, as it is more difficult for thieves to take a bike that is chained to a rack.
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Things You'll Need
- 1 inch square metal bar, 44 feet long
- 8 screws
- Welder
- Welding goggles
- Paint
- Bevel rule
- Angle grinder
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Spray paint
Instructions
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Welding your bike rack
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1
Cut the square metal bars for the frame using the angle grinder. Cut four pieces each one foot long, four pieces each four feet long, and 12 pieces each two feet long. This bike rack will be a four feet by two feet rectangle-shaped frame with spaces for three bikes.
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2
Make two rectangles on the ground, using two two-feet long bars and two four-feet long bars in each.
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3
Put the welding goggles on. Weld the bars into a two-feet-by-four-feet rectangle. Make sure they are at a 90 degree angle. Weld both frames like this. Be sure to make them exactly the same size, otherwise the bike rack will be wobbly.
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4
Make a mark in the middle of both four-feet long sides of the frame.
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5
Get a two of the two-feet long bars. Weld one of them inside the frame half an inch to the right of the mark you made in Step 4. Weld the other two-feet bar half an inch to the left of the mark. Now youwill have a rectangle with two pieces of two-feet long bars inside it, an inch apart. Weld the second rectangle the same way. Make sure the bars are in exactly the same place on both rectangles.
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6
Make two marks two inches from each end of the four-feet long sides of the rectangle.
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7
Take two pieces of two-feet long bars. Weld them inside the rectangle onto the four-feet long sides at the marks you made in Step 6. Do it at both ends. Repeat the same on the second rectangle. These will hold the second and third bicycles.
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8
Get four one-foot-long bars and weld them one-by-one onto the corners of one of the main frames at right angles to the frame.
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9
Drill two holes eight inches apart into the four-feet long and two-feet long sides. The holes need to be eight inches from each other. At the same positions drill holes into the pavement where you want to put the bike rack. Screw the rack into the pavement there.
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10
Weld the second rectangle onto the four protruding bars that you screwed into the pavement-mounted frame in Step 8.
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11
Paint the frame using spray-on paint and leave it to dry.
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1
Tips & Warnings
To ensure your bike stands still in the frame, measure up the width of the bike's wheel and weld the two-foot-long bars accordingly. If the distance is too big between the two bars then your bike will not stand straight, so if your bike's wheels are thinner than 3 inches then leave a smaller distance between the supporting frames.
When cutting, welding and screwing the metal bars wear protective glasses, as debris can fly into your eyes.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit bicycle rack image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
