Just got into my recumbent bike & joined the forum hopefully to discuss the subject with other enthusiasts.
My first problem was transporting. I mounted my conventional bike rack when I went to pick up hoping I could hang it somehow. No way. Tried every-which-way.......in the end, we dismantled the boom & fitted it into the back of the car.
I contemplated the problem & decided the only 2 points on the bike that weren’t cluttered were the wheel rims. As such, I decided to hang the bike upside down from a pair of hooks.
Once I finalised this approach, the rest was simple. I sourced a square section aluminium bar, a pair of hooks, various bolts & bracket, plus some 6mm aluminium sheeting scraps.
Here is an overview of the finished rack (notice offset):
I originally had the bar held by the bike straps, but on the Saris rack the straps are very stiff & I couldn’t tighten them enough to stop the bar rotating. I had to add a pair of clamps which do up with wing-nuts. The bar is very firm now:
I had to use the middle position on the Saris rack for the handlebars to clear the bumper. Of course, the bike needs to be stabilised & I used some 6mm AL sheeting which I cut with a metal blade & jigsaw to fit the bike frame tubing & hold it away from the car bumper. The other end was fastened to the Saris rack with a U-bolt:
This had to be twisted (clamped in a bench vice then leaned on it with a pair of adjustable spanners) to meet the bike frame at right angles. Some PVC tubing was sliced open & forced over the bare AL so it wouldn’t mark the bike.
In practice I found the bike tended to flap from side to side as the bracket flexed. Some triangulation was needed & the smaller AL bar held to the Saris rack with another U bolt did the trick:
You will notice the slot cut in the stabilising bracket. This was for a Velcro strap to secure the bike during transport. This was awkward to use & in the end I modified the M6 coach bolt holding the triangulation bar so it protruded & ran parallel with the bike frame:
The bike held thus:
Placing the bike in the rack is very simple. Holding from 2 suitable points, in this case the rear swing arm & base of the handle bar, the bike is flipped & lifted in one manoeuvre & the wheel rims positioned onto the hooks.
The bike is protected from the hooks by PVC tubing forced over the hooks.
The bike frame then falls into the stabiliser where it is fixed with the velcro strap.
A few pics of the bike in situ: The pictures are deceptive.....there is plenty of ground clearance!
I have to admit the bike in this rack is firmer that my upright ever was! There is still another slot left on the rack to transport an upright conventionally. Very pleased for solving this problem with a simple cost effective solution! I'm sure this general concept could be applied to similar conventional racks.
My first problem was transporting. I mounted my conventional bike rack when I went to pick up hoping I could hang it somehow. No way. Tried every-which-way.......in the end, we dismantled the boom & fitted it into the back of the car.
I contemplated the problem & decided the only 2 points on the bike that weren’t cluttered were the wheel rims. As such, I decided to hang the bike upside down from a pair of hooks.
Once I finalised this approach, the rest was simple. I sourced a square section aluminium bar, a pair of hooks, various bolts & bracket, plus some 6mm aluminium sheeting scraps.
Here is an overview of the finished rack (notice offset):
I originally had the bar held by the bike straps, but on the Saris rack the straps are very stiff & I couldn’t tighten them enough to stop the bar rotating. I had to add a pair of clamps which do up with wing-nuts. The bar is very firm now:
I had to use the middle position on the Saris rack for the handlebars to clear the bumper. Of course, the bike needs to be stabilised & I used some 6mm AL sheeting which I cut with a metal blade & jigsaw to fit the bike frame tubing & hold it away from the car bumper. The other end was fastened to the Saris rack with a U-bolt:
This had to be twisted (clamped in a bench vice then leaned on it with a pair of adjustable spanners) to meet the bike frame at right angles. Some PVC tubing was sliced open & forced over the bare AL so it wouldn’t mark the bike.
In practice I found the bike tended to flap from side to side as the bracket flexed. Some triangulation was needed & the smaller AL bar held to the Saris rack with another U bolt did the trick:
You will notice the slot cut in the stabilising bracket. This was for a Velcro strap to secure the bike during transport. This was awkward to use & in the end I modified the M6 coach bolt holding the triangulation bar so it protruded & ran parallel with the bike frame:
The bike held thus:
Placing the bike in the rack is very simple. Holding from 2 suitable points, in this case the rear swing arm & base of the handle bar, the bike is flipped & lifted in one manoeuvre & the wheel rims positioned onto the hooks.
The bike is protected from the hooks by PVC tubing forced over the hooks.
The bike frame then falls into the stabiliser where it is fixed with the velcro strap.
A few pics of the bike in situ: The pictures are deceptive.....there is plenty of ground clearance!
I have to admit the bike in this rack is firmer that my upright ever was! There is still another slot left on the rack to transport an upright conventionally. Very pleased for solving this problem with a simple cost effective solution! I'm sure this general concept could be applied to similar conventional racks.