[HandsomeRyan]

It's not that I think a single speed bike needs to have any utility beyond being fun to ride but sometimes you just want to multitask. For many hip young urban singlespeeders (...or so I hear; I'm neither hip, nor young, nor urban) improved efficiency in beer consumption is a secondary goal of owning a bike. With that in mind I decided to weld up a front rack to aid in this pursuit.

These pictures are of the rack in primer and only test fitted onto the bike. I will be spraying the rack with black "truck bed liner" and getting it on a bit straighter. I'll also be riding it to the liquor store to pick up a full six pack as the test pack is empty.

The construction is welded steel angle iron and steel rod with U bolts to attach to the handlebars and micro-u bolts (from cable clamps) used to adjust the platform height and level. Total cost was about $20 in materials and about 2 hours of labor. I am considering pop-riveting a piece of plastic onto the base of it so it can be used to transport something other than booze but we'll see if that ever happens.

Comments, questions, or snark about what kind of beer I drink are all welcome.


The rack.


U bolts attach the rack to the handlebars.


Washers welded to the upright supports.


With no solid platform, this rack does little but support a 6-pack.


I attempted to get a closeup showing the micro-u bolts and how they allow the rack to be adjusted. Sorry so blurry.

[TxCyclist]

Awesome! Love these DIY threads.

Is there a strap or such that goes over the six pack in case you hit a major bump?

[HandsomeRyan]

Originally Posted by Dean

Is there a strap or such that goes over the six pack in case you hit a major bump?

Right now I plan to just avoid major bumps when I have a six pack in there. The welded rings on the front and sides do a pretty good job of keeping things in place while leaning into turns or going over small, unavoidable bumps in the road. The welded rings do offer some quick/easy tiedown points. I do a bit of sewing so I might sew up a custom "T" shaped velcro strap that could strap in the beer from front to back and side to side all at once using the rings.

I've got the first coat of 'truck bed liner' on and I'm really happy with how it looks. The texture of the liner should help hold everything in place and it covers up some of my welds (I didn't do much grinding before I sprayed it with primer)

It's not perfect but considering I cut all the materials and jigs in the kitchen of my 900sq/ft apartment using only hand tools then I welded it in my parents garage (where my welder lives due to my apartment dwelling) 500 miles away without the bike to use as a reference it came out pretty good.

I got $20 worth of amusement out of the project just building it so as far as I'm concerned the rack has paid for itself already.

[Industry_Hack]

The u-bolts look unfriendly.

[wild]

You might want to look into a plastick battery tray like thay use in a boat or evean a battery box

[HandsomeRyan]

Originally Posted by wild

You might want to look into a plastick battery tray like thay use in a boat or evean a battery box

The rack made with battery boxes goes (well, went, i gave it to a friend) on the back...

[funetical]

I love you ideas handsomeryan. Maybe some sort of adjustable top to keep the beers from hopping out?

[Farnsworth]

I went back over you old post Handsome Ryan. You are one clever man.

[Industry_Hack]

He is. I want to build my shop, and then hit him up for ideas.

[HandsomeRyan]

*blushes*

Thanks guys. I just love building stuff and since I also ride bikes a lot of what gets built is cyclo-centric.