5 out 10 on DIY truck bike rack

[ruffruff]

I wanted to try a DIY pickup bed bike rack. I saw a couple builds using the cheap cargo bar as the basis.

1. harbor freight cargo bar $14.00
2. Shop Rack $34

I drilled out the rivet that held the friction pad on and the shop rack tubes slid right on. Took all of 5 minutes to build.

But here are the problems.
1. This type of rack uses friction to hold the tire in. I used a "cord handle" to pinch the tubes in hard on the tire. I knew this going in.
2. BUT it is not enough to actually hold the bike in. The only reason this is effective is because my wife's bike is just right to fit in the bed with back tire against the tailgate.

If I can think of a way to really lock the tire in I would be much happier but as is-----I'm not going with it.
Just thought I'd share and maybe give someone else some ideas on how to improve it and make it work.

 

[vincent]

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and issues, sure this will help others

 

[ruffruff]

Thanks,

ya, kind of a bummer as it was fairly cheap and took all of 5 minutes to make,

 

[AguassissiM]

@ruffruff

The orange strap is supposed to tie the wheel to the tubing, instead of trying to squeeze the bikes wheel . Another thing you may like to try is to tie it off at the saddle to stop it from moving side to side , something like this.