Simple affordable bike solution in cargo area

[tpirman]

I have been studying what kind of bike rack to get. The roof ones seemed good until I imagined trying to get my bike way up there without dropping it or scratching something, and then there's the running into things problem. The trailer hitch one seems good but it's expensive. I liked the idea of the spare tire kind until I started reading that you shouldn't open your door with the bike on the rack and I just don't want to be bothered with that.

So, I stole an idea from some posts I saw on here and made it cheaper, easier (for me because I have no metal skills) and took it one step further and actually strapped the bike down (after remembering how I did it in my motocross days).

Pros of this solution:

- Cheap ($25, a piece a wood I already had, some duct tape, and straps I already had)
- Easy
- Secure
- No one can rear-end you and hurt your bike (just your fj)
- There are no bikes on the roof to knock off

Cons of this solution:

- Cheap
- Can only hold one bike
- You have to remove the front wheel
- You have to put the seat down

I hope this helps people figure out more solutions and share them.

Without further ado, here's what I am going to start using to transport my bike:

Initial install


Strapped down

[DominicG]

Great work! Simple too.


There was a user on here a while back that was making something similar, but they were aluminum strips with "FJ" cut into it. I think it was pricey though.

[ThyIrishMen]

very nice, love the bike, I have a Trek 6000 series. hard tail MTB

[fbj913]

another easy way to do this is to use the extendable bike tubes (they look like shower curtain holders) they make them for universal truck bike mounts. you just wedge it between the bottom plastic. you can easily fit two in there... my 2c

[MIGZ]

I liked this idea until I thought about how much dirt can end up in the rear of the FJ.