Flat Pack Bicycle Rack

You want to go on a trip for a few days and you decide to bring your bike. So it is handy to have a bycicle rack with you.

The flat pack bicycle rack can be folded to 1 flat piece, so it will not take many space in the car.

1: measure lint

2: safety glasses

3: metal file

4: jig saw (metal)

5: 2 times sheet metal steel ==> 1000 x 500 x 1

6: wire that is used by bycicle brakes

7: drill

8: caps for the ends of the wire

9: universal pliers

10: 5 hinges

We also are going to weld.

Before we cut the grooves we have to mark them. The measurements that I have used are in the picture above. I have used enough space between the 2 grooves so you can put 2 bikes next to each other.

With a black marker I marked the contours of the grooves, with a red marker I colorized it so I know which material has to cut out, obviously.

To ensure the sawline is straight we use a straight piece of MDF so the saw can move along.

Now, we only cut the long endings, so the line is as straight as possible.

MAKE SURE YOU WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!

First you drill a holl in at the beginning of the line , so the saw can fit in the hol and begin from that point.

Safety glasses!

It is important that the edges are smooth. We don't want our tires from our bike to break inside the grooves.

You deburr the edges with the metal file.

For safety we round every sharp corner on the sheet.

The view of the sheet looks cleaner as well.

To attach the hinges to the sheet I have used tig welding. It is solid, it has a smooth finish and it doesn't take much time.

Now we have to make sure the rack will stay open if we put our bike in it. for this I used a wire that is used by bycicle brakes.

First I drilled 3 holes in the 2 sheets. We need 3 holes so the sheet are stable and will not bend if we put our bikes in it.

Make sure the wires are the same length!!!

Trough the holes we put our wires.

Now we attach 2 little pieces at the end of the wires.

For the safety of your tires we use a softer material that we can put in the grooves.

First we give a color to the rubbers.

If the paint is dry we use a little bit of silecone to attach it to the sheets.

Now the bicycle rack is ready for use.