How to Make a Bicycle Board Rack

Carrying a surfboard while riding your bike is a difficult thing to do. Factory-manufactured surfboard racks for your bicycle can cost in the neighborhood of $120. Make your own rack and you'll be toting your board to the big waves with more money in your wallet.

Things You'll Need

  • 1 Schedule 40 PVC pipe, 1 inch
  • 6 Schedule 40 PVC elbows, 1 inch
  • 2 Schedule 40 PVC tees, 1 inch
  • 4 hose clamps
  • Low-VOC PVC glue
  • Pipe insulation (3/8 inch for 1-inch copper pipe)
  • 2 bungee cords
  • 2 old bicycle inner tubes
  • Hacksaw
  • Screwdriver (slotted)
  • Cordless drill
  • Tape measure
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine whether your bicycle has a place to mount both sides of the surfboard rack. A good place to look is on the seat tube, below the top tube and on the down tube a little bit behind the head tube. The racks could also be mounted on either end of the top tube, so make your best guess on where it would fit your bike best.

    • 2

      Cut 1/3 to 3/8 of the circumference out of the top part of the PVC tees using a hacksaw.

    • 3

      Snap the tees onto the frame of your bicycle, and make sure that they fit with little wobble. If they're too loose, make shims using old inner tubes; if they're too tight, cut away more of the PVC with a hacksaw (little by little). If you have to cut off more than half of the circumference, the tees won't stay on by themselves. This issue is addressed in later steps.

    • 4

      Measure the distance from the stop inside each tee to the outer edge of the pedals. Add 2 inches to this measurement, and cut two pieces of PVC pipe to that measurement; insert the pieces into the tees.

    • 5

      Measure the distance from the bottom of the pipes to the ground, and calculate the difference between the two. Measure the width of your board, divide the value in half and add 3 to 4 inches. This will be the length of your inside vertical tubes, but be sure that you cut the calculated difference between the two as well.

    • 6

      Add an elbow to the end of each horizontal tube, put the vertical tubes into the elbows and add elbows to each vertical tube.

    • 7

      Measure the thickness of your board, and add 1 to 1.5 inches to account for the difference between the two vertical tubes. Cut two pieces of pipe that reflect this length, and put them into the elbows, adding elbows to the ends of these as well.

    • 8

      Cut two more pieces of pipe that are roughly 2 inches longer than the pieces you cut in Step 7. Insert them into the elbows at the end of the pieces that you cut in Step 7.

    • 9

      Remove the entire rack from the bike, leaving just the tees on the frame.

    • 10

      Glue all the joints, and wait for the glue to set. Then glue the horizontal tubes into the tees. It's very important to have the racks perpendicular to the bike frame and the tubes perpendicular to the ground.

    • 11

      Secure the tees to the frame using two hose clamps per tee, tightening with a slotted screwdriver.

    • 12

      Drill a hole in every outside vertical tube roughly 1/2 inch from the top of the tube. Your bungee cords will go through here when your board is attached in the rack.

    • 13

      Place insulation around the vertical pipes and the short horizontal tube at the bottom of each rack.