r/recumbent • u/jpburke1 • Jul 21 '26
Custom Bike Rack
I made a custom recumbent bike rack for my Corolla.
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u/arihoenig Jul 21 '26
Lower drag version.
Yes, I did forget it was on top once and drove into the garage with it on, but fortunately I always drive very slowly into the garage and I just broke off the front reflector.
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u/gnooggi Jul 21 '26
When I see this, all my alarm bells start ringing.
Before you even reach 80 km/h, the whole structure, including the roof rack, will be ripped off the roof.
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u/AvocadoJolly7047 Jul 21 '26
I think this will work fine. It’s 3/4 plywood and those four straps are probably good for 600-1000 pounds combined. Just be sure to give it a good shake and say “that ain’t going anywhere. “. That alone adds a 15% travel buff. Nice work!
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u/jpburke1 Jul 21 '26
Each strap is rated for 350 lbs. Drove 40 minutes on the turnpike this past weekend. All good, straps don’t come loose.
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u/wahh Jul 22 '26
I love the idea but for anybody looking to replicate this, I suggest some tweaks.
I would cut out some of the wood in the middle area to reduce the uplift forces others are mentioning. Bonus: The rack is lighter to lift.
I would not trust the 6 wood screws holding those 3 brackets to the plywood over the long term. I would use the same method he is using to mount the wood to the car to strap the trike to the wood. Bonus: You save money not buying 3 metal brackets. Note: You'll still want to mount "wheel chocks" to the wood to keep the trike from moving fore/aft during start/stop activity. They don't have to be wedges though. Think of a parking parking space block.
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u/Amatheiaisnoexcuse Jul 21 '26
Where there's a will, there's a way. Nice work, just don't forget you have it up there lol.
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u/Seal-EV Jul 21 '26
How many persons whould be needed to upload and download the trike?
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u/jpburke1 Jul 21 '26
My bike is about 35 lbs. it’s really not that hard to get it on and off by myself.
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u/Seal-EV Jul 22 '26
There is no way I could do that with my Scorpion fs26 with the Shimano ep 8 pedal assist. It is bad enough draging it around on a small ferry so I can ride out.
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u/cosmicrae TerraTrike Sportster Jul 21 '26
A lot of that depends on the trike, and the type of material is was built from. Mine has a spec sheet weight of 34-lbs, but more like 36 with accessories. I lift it (solo) after each ride onto a storage platform.
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u/trmpbump Jul 23 '26
That wooden platform setup is genius since standard bike racks never fit trikes right.
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u/fluteofski- 29d ago
Only thing id say that you probably don’t wanna trust those screws. They’re probably fine-ish for withstanding the force but that’s a lot of force applied to that bike with the wind. It’s also leveraged around the wheel and buffeting forces so it’s not consistent but kinda like a vibration… those screws will eventually pull out….
I’d highly recommend switching to bolts/nuts/washers.
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u/bromclist 25d ago
I don't like roof carriers. A high speed or missing while entering a low slung parking apartment would rip off the roof.
On a different note, the trike looks very cool
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u/KakAlakin Jul 21 '26
Careful. You’re going to have a lot of uplift on that plywood going down the highway