9 replies to this topic

[venkman]

Looking for ideas/opinions, would fitting a bar within subframe, like a towbar, then instead of having a ball I was thinking of making a sort of rectangular shape frame with box section, then adding say 4" length of box welded vertical so a further frame could be slotted in.

I'm thinking of making a trail bike type frame to carry my mountain bike

http://www.autowbars...orcyclerack.htm

If you look on this website it should give you an idea of what I'm thinking of.

Cheers.😀😀

[spraybeater]

Looking for ideas/opinions, would fitting a bar within subframe, like a towbar, then instead of having a ball I was thinking of making a sort of rectangular shape frame with box section, then adding say 4" length of box welded vertical so a further frame could be slotted in.

I'm thinking of making a trail bike type frame to carry my mountain bike

http://www.autowbars...orcyclerack.htm

If you look on this website it should give you an idea of what I'm thinking of.

Cheers.

If you look on (dare I say it ) BMW MINI Countryman accessories they list a bike rack

that fits on the 2 towing eye holes in the rear bumper could be a route to go!! the racks

rather expensive ????? but they can be picked up on eBay sometimes or be made along

the same lines, just an idea to look at.

[Zach P-D]

I made a roof mounted bike rack for my A Level product Design course
worked out rather well for a days work and about £25 of material.

 

 

[dyshipfakta]

Roofs the way to go in my opinion a bike would be awkward on the back given that it will probably be wider then the car.

[venkman]

I made a roof mounted bike rack for my A Level product Design course
worked out rather well for a days work and about £25 of material.
 


I like that idea could you post up some more pictures if possible,how it fits on gutter and on roof thanks.

Roofs the way to go in my opinion a bike would be awkward on the back given that it will probably be wider then the car.

That was my only drawback, thought of making the steering one really angled but might still be to big.

Thanks for replying guys

[Zach P-D]

I don't have any pictures, will have to find it later and grab a few but it merely clamped onto the gutter with two bolts and two pieces of metal. One hooked under the gutter and the other went clamped onto that pulling them together to make a secure mounting. 
Have a few pictures of a design I took inspiration from though.
         

 

Few more pictures of the rack itself
     

 

Rear wheel was secured using a small a small plate that was welded on the top with two sides that it would fit between, then a piece of rubber was pulled over it (two 25mm long by 4mm wide steel bars welded on the side, one with a hole drilled in through the center for a lock) and locked into place with a locking pin.

 

It was originally designed to be a low profile roof rack, but if i were to do it again I would raise it up 10mm higher than it was as with the weight of the bike it would touch the roof. I would also add more cross section support to improve rigidity and finally add some more support to the front fork mounts as they spanned (school's welder was pathetic so after that mount was made i made arrangements to go to a friend of the family who is a blacksmith and has proper equipment, hence the gorilla in the background of the main image i posted before)

Edited by Zach P-D, 07 February 2017 - 10:42 AM.

[paulrockliffe]

If you went for the rear mounted option I would do it so that the bike mounts without the wheels attached.  You need something to stop the handlebars rotating, but it should be OK width-wise without the wheels and you really want to keep it as light as you won't get much weight over a tow-bar before it becomes problematic.

 

I looked at a few options a few years ago and concluded that the best bet was to change the passenger seats mounts so the seat could be popped out very quickly and then fabricate an internal mounting to clip the bike into that hides under the seat.  I didn't get as far as a design as I decided to buy a Primera to put bikes in instead.

 

If you go the rear route, I have just removed a tow-bar mounting frame from my rear subframe.  It looks more than OK to use with a bike  and it tucks up under the bumper completely out of sight.  You would just need to fabricate the rack to hook under the bumper to bolt it in.

[Ethel]

Roof racks mounting like that used to be the norm when all cars had gutters like the Min's. You might find an oldie, or roof bars for a van that are similar. You could put hinges on it so the bike can be clamped on then flipped on to the roof with no risk of dropping 'n scratching. A roof mount would also be easier to adapt for an extra bike or other stuff.

 

I'd think there's a fair chance you could make a hatchback strap on jobby fit between the roof gutter and boot bottom edge. The risk of getting it wiped out by oncoming traffic, even if you remember to steer a wide berth, is a worry.

[Zach P-D]

Could also use suction mounts on the rear of the vehicle and have a rack that will hold the rear wheel. 
suction mounts can hold a lot of weight, for my research for my rack i looked at them and found a brand (will have to check when home again) that shows a bike on the back of a vehicle mounted entirely with suction mounts, they were showing off how good they were by showing them with a man on his bike attached to the vehicle. 

[venkman]

Wow thanks for in depth answers, didn't expect to get much response, gives me an idea or two and obvious side effects to my idea.