Ok, so I want to carry my bike (or two) but dont want to pay the money for a bike carrier.

 

So....I was thinking, what if I mounted one of the standard bike mounts (see below link) on the cross beam roof rack? I was thinking about just drilling a couple holes and putting some washers/bolts through everything.

 

The specs are ~100lbs for the roof rack, and a bike is surley less then that with little drag.

 

Thoughts???

Where's the links?

Sorry!!!! Had 50 things going on at once when I typed this

 

Here is the link

 

http://www.autostyles.com/bike64700.jpg

 

As a side note, I had two of those mounted to my truck bed liner and it worked really well. Just wanted some input on bolting it to the roof rack.

Sounds pretty reasonable to me! I like innovation that does not cost a lot of money.

 

How much are those little bike clips?

that would work. if you carry two, they better have the same wheelbase though....

How sturdy are the cross-bars? Do they feel pretty stout?

 

If so, yeah I think it'd probably work. I'd probably use a wide base washer to spread the bolt's load out. The bars are more then likely hollow, so be careful when tighten the bolts.

Depending on the width of the bars and the diameter of the bolt, I could imagine the two holes being significant enough to cause structural concerns.

 

I was thinking you could use a pair of U bolts to wrap underneath the crossbars, and bolting into a plate above the bars. Then bolt the bike clamp to the top of the plate. An old inner tube cut to length could be used between the plate/u bolts and the cross bar to eliminate metal on metal rubbing and add friction to aid in securing.

 

More parts, more crafting, less simple, but the bars remain intact for other uses and there is a lot less concern for integrity.

The traps are $20 each, MUCH cheaper then any other roof solution.

 

The roof rack bars seem pretty sturdy and seem like they could hold any twisting the bikes may cause.

 

The holes in the bars are a noted concern. I had thought about using small holes and some toggle bolts (toggle on the bottom side so the hold could be small), but the plate/u-bolt suggestion is an idea.

 

Think I will run to the hardware store and see what I can find. The kid kept me busy yesterday so I didnt have a chance to dink around with it.

i recently purchased a 96 obw and this is what the previous owner had done. This is how I carry my bikes and it works just fine

as i recall the cross members have a slight curve to them, will this be aproblem for the bikes, to lean out from the center? i think i might mount the brackets close to the out side for greater stability and less flex.

 

just a thought.

 

 

 

The traps are $20 each, MUCH cheaper then any other roof solution.

 

The roof rack bars seem pretty sturdy and seem like they could hold any twisting the bikes may cause.

 

The holes in the bars are a noted concern. I had thought about using small holes and some toggle bolts (toggle on the bottom side so the hold could be small), but the plate/u-bolt suggestion is an idea.

 

Think I will run to the hardware store and see what I can find. The kid kept me busy yesterday so I didnt have a chance to dink around with it.

Or, how I carry my bike(s). Set bike(s) so the handlebats are on the front crossbar. Tightly wrap bungee around both so everything is good and snug.

 

Slide bars so the bike (s) seat rests on the rear crossbar. Tightly bungee seat to crossbar.

 

Run a coupple of bungees diagonally from the ends of the rear crossbar to brace the bike(s).

 

Drive. I took a bike to my daughter's (and our) new place in Pt. Ludlow, I-90, 70 all the way, no trouble at all.

 

Note to self: remember to take bike and lay flat before boarding the ferry ... they charged me an extra twenty books got an 'over-height-load'.

 

Total cost - six bungees. We even carry our Schwinn-Twinn the same way.

 

BTW - holes in the crossbars? I've drilled two 1/4" holes thru both crossbars to bolt on extenders to hold our canoe on the stock racks. Does not seem to weaken the bars at ll, BUT! You'll have to wrap the holes with vinyl tape when you remove the rack, or the crossbars act just like a flute ... a LOUD out-of-tune flute.

raulcruz01 and mtsmiths, would you be able to take some pictures of your setups? I found some u-bolts, but they are a little big and may cause me some problems.