With summer coming, and the need to save a little cash on gas money I have been researching a rack for my bicycle, and have seen lots of variations (on the side, on the back, over the top, and trailers behind the bike).I need something that can handle a longboard or a shortboard, and obviously holds the board on there securely.Does anybody have any experiance with these, or possibly know how to build one?
Thanks in advance.
Mule Transport systems.
I pull everything from a shorty to a 14’ paddleboard on that thing…SOLID.
On-bike racks like the Carver are good…to a point…even with the rear-wheel carver rack a longboard can be a dicey enterprise.
Mules are affordable and highly functional for bikes and manual operation (I’ve used mine to drag the log down the trail at the spot).
I bought a mule and returned it. Didn’t like it. Had the carver and could get around with my 9’6" okay. When the sidewalk met with the street, the board would scrape! Built my own trailer and love it. Can take more than one board and a cooler if I want. I take the racks off and use it for other things as well. Cost half of what the mule did. Here is a great place to get ideas. Might make one for my girlfriend and her kayak this summer.
http://biketrailerblog.com/2008/12/diy-bicycle-trailer-list/
Thanks, that’s a really cool site with lots of different options.
i have a trailer type called the knagaroo rack.handles long, short and two at once.it’s a few years old so i’m not sure if they still make them…
I have been using a side rack. Cycle racks seem hard to find in the UK. ( although I notice that loosefit do the Carver one now). The kind I got was left over in the basement in the Surf shop. Cheap and a bit nasty. Good aluminium brackets that fix to the seat tube and the head tube on my old hack steel racing bike. The steel arms slide into holes and are supposed to be tightened by hand by little wing nuts. Not possible unless you want them to shake loose on the journey. So I use pliers and shake proof washers. The ends of the tube are sharp and have ripped me a few times. The thighs hit the tube behind the saddle on every peddle stroke and if I need to stand up to tackle the 2 hills I risk banging my knees on the front tube. So although its been very usefull to get me the 2 or three miles to the beach for nearly a year now I will be retiring it in favour of a trailer. I intend to mount a cooler box and I can do away with my paniers too. So far there hasn’t been any widespread thievery so stuff seems safe to leave. I think a few of us will be doing it this year as its madness for every local surfer to drive down in ther individual car with only themselves and 1 board. What I do miss is having a selection of boards with me in case the conditions change. Been cought out a few times. Also the ride home after a 3 hour session can be a bit wearing. Especially in the rain .Into a headwind.
Mark
Thanks for the info.It sounds like the trailer is the way to go.I have a bit more than 3 miles to get to the beach, and banging my legs all the way there doesn’t sound fun.
I just salvaged some wheels off a baby jogger the neighbor threw out…got to it none-too-soon as the gypsies came up behind me and grabbed the rest of their discarded garage in to their van.
I have been saving them for something just like this…great link!
I used the side-ride bike rack during college to get to the beach. It worked pretty well for the most part. I could cart longboards or shortboards with it and don’t recall having too much trouble with hitting the bars, catching myself on it, etc. but like anything, it took a little getting used to. You had to remember to account for the extra width when negotiating tight spaces and the extra weight to one side threw off the balance a little bit.
I do recall that the bars that make up the racks weren’t quite as strong as I’d like for carrying a heavy longboard. Over time the bars would warp or bend from the weight or would sometimes pull out of the clamps that are attached to the frame. We tried different solutions to these problems including fitting a piece of rebar inside the rack tubes to give them more strength and using cotter pins to hold the racks in place against the clamps (which were supposed to hold the bars in place) so that they couldn’t fall out.
All in all, it was a little rickety but it was the cheapest solution and worked well enough to get me through four years of heavy use. The nice thing about the racks is that they don’t take much much room when stored and were quick to get on and off.
The trailer definitely seems like the most dialed-in and committed solution if you’re doing a lot of commuting with a board and/or along busy streets.
Maybe its the geometry of the racing bike frame being unsuitable but if you go for racks look where backs of thighs, heels and knees move on the bike before buying the rack. With a wet 6mm suit and boots and towel in the pannier on opposite side to surfboard the bike is a bit tail heavy but reasonably stable with my 6ft 3" board. Can take one hand quikly off handlebars to wave as everyone goes buy in their cars but again a bit wobbly probably as this is a racing bike. Looking to extend to the other surf spots. One is 6 miles , then ten and another 10 miles but a huge hill. Effects the way you think about surfing to know it actually takes some effort and a bit of time and a bit of discomfort to get there but generally its a pleasurable experience. I take a lightweight raincoat and a good pair or waterproof gloves for the ride home. Today is a 20kt WNW onshore cold wind with likely pretty small 2ft crap waves with risk of showers and no eyeball reports. Probably go anyway.
Mark
Sounds like your going the trailer which is probably best but ive been very happy with my carver.
Bit expensive to import but im very happy with it for boards up to 6’8 , havent tried more…My mini mal is 7’6 so it should work.
Whatever you do, dont get a rack on the back…No good, go over a gutter and the board will hit the concrete, smashing the fibreglass.
Great trailer site! One guy on another surf forum built one of these… http://www.rodndtube.com/surf/info/surf_racks/BicycleSurfboardRack.shtml
Probably about as cheap as it gets. He said it works pretty well.
As far as the trailers go, with a LB that’s going to be a real long setup. The trailer connection to the seat post doesn’t seem optimal to me (think breaking in turns), the best connection would a ball type hitch over or behind the rear wheel. Don’t see why you would be confined to using just bicycle wheels, a big fat wheelbarrow wheel would work too. Another idea might be a bike sidecar - except with a rack for your board(s)/stuff…
So here’s a link that was discussed awhile back. I love humping shit around on my bike and for that, the xtracycle is the best! Say what you want about wind, but it works great. I have a mule to that I can throw the board on if Im camping down the coast. I’ve tries every kind of aparatus that can carry your board to the beach (including my arm) and it just works… If I can throw my stand ups on it, well thats saying something.
I was wondering why you sometimes like the Mule better. From the other thread “For long distance stuff, I would still prefer the MULE trailer”
Thanks
Mark
The Xtracycle is the one hitter quitter. If you had to have only one thing the move boards, it would be the x. But the MULE handles side wind better, which for longer stuff, you’re guaranteed to encounter. But it weighs almost nothing and fits in the pocket of the free radical bags, so you can use it if you need it to.
Here is a link to a group of photos of cool bikes with surf racks. I found them on smallwaves’s website. Lots of different and interesting ideas.
http://monsterboardsorg.blogspot.com/2001/03/photobucket.html
These ones (I’m not sure the company) look pretty good. I like the mule, but then where do you put your stuff? These worked for the Malloys and I think it was also Chris Del Moro on that bike trip down CA coast they did awhile back.
check out the QUIVER CADDY…its made in oz, can carry up to 5 longboards safely…its a tralier style …im thinkin of gettin one my self, the side mounts seem a bit sketchy for a longboard especially in the wind…aloha
don’t get the ones that go on the side of your bike, things are like death traps, I only have to ride short distances, a few blocks, so even my classic log isn’t too bad, but if I had to travel farther, I would get a trailer type system for its versatility and comfort.