How to Make a Surfboard Bike Rack

Cycling to your nearest surf break saves you money and is enviormentally friendly. With that being said, carrying your surfboard while riding your bike can be a potential safety hazard. Carrying the board can obscure your vision and make steering difficult. In addition, a fall can not only hurt you, but also could damage your board. A surfboard rack for your bike can easily remedy this issue. Making one on your own is quick, economical, and relatively easy.

Things You'll Need

  • One 1" Schedule 40 PVC pipe
  • Six 1" Schedule 40 PVC elbow
  • Two 1" Schedule 40 PVC Tees
  • Four Hose clamps
  • PVC glue
  • One Pipe insulation 3/8" for 1" copper pipe
  • Two Bungee cords
  • Saw
  • Leveling tool
  • Screwdriver
  • Drill
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure the rack will fit. Your bike breaks down into sections or tubes. Beginning with the front of the bike, the vertical head tube holds the handle bars and the front tire. The top tube is the uppermost horizontal tube, and the down tube is below the top tube. The seat tube (which holds the bike seat) runs vertically and joins the top and down tube together to form a triangle. This triangle is known as the frame of the bike. The rack you will be making will consist of two U-shaped arms made from PVC pipe that will be attached to the side of your bike. The board will then be fitted securely via the two bungee cords. One arm will be mounted onto the seat tube, just below where it meets the top tube, and the other arm will be mounted on the down tube, where it meets the head tube. If you can mount anything on your bike in these locations without interfering with the cables on your bike (such as those involved with braking or gear shifting) you should be fine.

    • 2

      Cut and place the PVC Tees. Using your saw, cut 1/3 to 3/8 of the circumference out of the top part of your PVC Tees. Your cut should be large enough that the Tee will snap over the frame of the bike, as well as over any cables that may be in the way. If they do not fit, you may need to cut some more.

    • 3

      Measure for pedal clearance. With the Tees snapped into place, measure the distance from the stop position inside the Tees to the outside edge of the pedals. The stop position is the raised edge on the inside of the Tees. Add two inches, and the resulting measurement will be the length of PVC pipe needed for the horizontal arm of your surf rack. You can then cut these two horizontal pieces using the previous measurement and place them into the Tees.

    • 4

      Measure and cut the inside pipes of the arms. The length of the inside vertical pipes of your rack should be half of the width of your board plus three inches. You can make the cuts a little larger if your board is fairly thick. However, make sure that each piece is equal, so that your board will be level when you are riding. Then place an elbow on each end of the PVC pipes and join one end to the horizontal piece connecting the rack to the PVC tee on the bike.

    • 5

      Measure and cut the bottom portion of the arms. In order to calculate the length of PVC pipe you will need for the bottom horizontal part the arms, once again measure the width of your board, and use that measurement. If you plan on using a board bag, add 1 to 1.5 inches to your original measurement. If these pieces are cut too short, you will not be able to fit your board into the rack.

    • 6

      Measure and cut the outside part of the arms. After placing the bottom horizontal piece to the vertical inside arm, attach an elbow to the other end. Next, cut two pieces of PVC pipe for the outside portion of the arms. These vertical pieces will be 2 to 3 inches longer then the inside vertical pipes. After all of the pieces are snapped into place, make sure they are level. Once this is complete, glue all of the pieces together. Drill holes into the top of each of the outside vertical pipes so you can attach your bungee cords.