Bike Racks?

[Magiccannoncat]

Does anyone have or know where to find easy to build bike racks?
I am looking to build one for my camp!
Figured I'd ask ya'll before I just make my own up!

[Sic Pup]

Take your pick (or not)

[Magiccannoncat]

Thank you! Ill check them out!

[Elorrum]

playatech has plans for lots of things. pack flat.

[jkisha]

Yup, we made their king size bed from playa tech plans and might be using their plans for seating too this year.

[Magiccannoncat]

How well does that playa tech stuff work?
I really like that it all packs up flat, but how well does it hold up? is it kinda like a 1 year thing, or do they last years?
I guess it would depend of wear and tear out there.

Ive always wanted to build some of it before.
Ill have to check it out for the bike rack, I thought they only had plans for like beds and chairs. I didnt realize they had so many different plans

Thanks!

[Elorrum]

whenever I see a discarded futon frame out by the dumpster I think "bike rack"

[TomServo]

whenever I see a discarded futon frame out by the dumpster I think "bike rack"

Where you from Magiccannoncat? I got an old metal futon frame. collecting cobwebs

[jkisha]

How well does that playa tech stuff work?
I really like that it all packs up flat, but how well does it hold up? is it kinda like a 1 year thing, or do they last years?
I guess it would depend of wear and tear out there.

Ive always wanted to build some of it before.
Ill have to check it out for the bike rack, I thought they only had plans for like beds and chairs. I didnt realize they had so many different plans

Thanks!

Well last year was our first year using their stuff, and I don't see any reason that it won't be making many more trips to the playa. How long does exposed plywood or painted plywood, depending, last?

[Magiccannoncat]

Actually that was what we used last year!

I just felt alot of people didnt really get what it was for since they would just throw their bikes on the ground next to it. I would say through out the week, maybe only about 20 people actually put their bikes in it.

I mean I thought the giant sign with a bike on it attached to it would be enough for them to figure it out, but sadly no!

that is kinda what started this whole thinking about building different ones.
because we are going to be using more of front area for entertaining this year and less for rat fucked bike parking! hah

but futon frames are very nice and easy, maybe they just need a bigger sign and to paint it brighter! hah

I live in Reno, so if you are as well I could come pick it up

Thanks again for all ya'lls help!

[Magiccannoncat]

How well does that playa tech stuff work?
I really like that it all packs up flat, but how well does it hold up? is it kinda like a 1 year thing, or do they last years?
I guess it would depend of wear and tear out there.

Ive always wanted to build some of it before.
Ill have to check it out for the bike rack, I thought they only had plans for like beds and chairs. I didnt realize they had so many different plans

Thanks!

Well last year was our first year using their stuff, and I don't see any reason that it won't be making many more trips to the playa. How long does exposed plywood or painted plywood, depending, last?

good point! did you use just normal ply wood? Im trying to figure out if OSB boards could handle it? its less friendly to the envoirment, but I believe it is a stronger material.
They are pretty much the same price at home depot from what I remember.

[jkisha]

How well does that playa tech stuff work?
I really like that it all packs up flat, but how well does it hold up? is it kinda like a 1 year thing, or do they last years?
I guess it would depend of wear and tear out there.

Ive always wanted to build some of it before.
Ill have to check it out for the bike rack, I thought they only had plans for like beds and chairs. I didnt realize they had so many different plans

Thanks!

Well last year was our first year using their stuff, and I don't see any reason that it won't be making many more trips to the playa. How long does exposed plywood or painted plywood, depending, last?

good point! did you use just normal ply wood? Im trying to figure out if OSB boards could handle it? its less friendly to the envoirment, but I believe it is a stronger material.
They are pretty much the same price at home depot from what I remember.

I used CDX plywood. I considered using pressboard and particle board because it was way cheaper, but the advice I got was (maybe here) that they wouldn't hold up near as well.

Also, I took the plans to the lumber yard and they did all the cuts for me, except for the grooves. I bought a power hand held jig saw and did those myself in about a half hour.

[Minxy]

Also, I took the plans to the lumber yard and they did all the cuts for me, except for the grooves. I bought a power hand held jig saw and did those myself in about a half hour.

Now that is cool. Jkisha, what lumber yard did this for you? We're hoping to make some playatech this year.

[jojofroyo]

I changed my eplaya user name, but I use to be be magiccannoncat(Never make up a forum name when youre drunk)
Home Depot and Lowes can do plywood cutting too!

I tried making the playatech loveseat this last weekend, minus some issues I had cutting the slots, it came out very nicely from just osb. The back of the seat is a little flimsy, But I think I could fix that by adding a piece of conduit behind the seat back for support.
since Ive never built a piece of playatech out of plywood I cant compare, but buts still cheaper to buy OSB and reinforce with metal I think. Im planning on using either conduit(if I want to buy it) or angle iron(which I have) to reinforce the back rests. If you didnt have to plan for drunks slamming their backs into seats, I would say you probably wouldnt even have a problem. But it is Burning Man.

I am pretty stoked to start building more playatech stuff for my camp! I got away with making all my slots with just a skill saw and 1/2" drill bit. I had a jig saw but it was way faster to cut the sides of the slot with skill slot and drill out the tips of the slot with a drill.

I am not so much of a fan of the playatech bike rack though, it seems like it would be a good thing for a smaller theme camp, or a private camp. But our camp has(atleast last year) had pretty good amount of people moving in and out, I dont think their bike rack offers enough bike spots! Futon frame it is!

I am planning on sinking either 2'x4's or some other pole into the ground and just zip tying futon frame sections to the poles. do yall think zip ties would be enough, or should I go up to a U bolt?

[dbraun]

Our camp uses these racks:


http://www.racesmith.com/triathlonbikerack.html

We made our own though. All the parts are standard EMT conduit except for the heavy walled pipe that the legs socket into. We were able to get this at a salvage pipe dealer. It is not a common size. The racks work very well and they break down real compactly for storage. Each 10 ft section holds 9 bikes. As I remember, each 10 ft section cost us $25. But steel prices have gone up a lot lately.

[Rice]

These seem to work well:







aka: http://blog.burningman.com/2010/08/buil ... all-purty/

Actually, they are pretty cool - reusable and durable...

[Bob]

Those Cafe bike racks use 3/4 EMT in a 2x4 frame. Holes for the conduit are drilled thru the 2x4s, then capped off w/ 3-1/2" wide strips of plywood. Secured to the ground with 4' steel stakes.

[Canoe]

movable bike rack, rack bike.jpg

[Rice]

Those Cafe bike racks use 3/4 EMT in a 2x4 frame. Holes for the conduit are drilled thru the 2x4s, then capped off w/ 3-1/2" wide strips of plywood. Secured to the ground with 4' steel stakes.

Very robust and reusable. - They do take up a bit of space when being transported. Very good though...

[Bob]

They are what they are. Monkeyboy designed them to be reproducible using materials and fasteners DPW commonly orders in bulk, function for keeping bikes upright on both sides, and stackable for storage and transport to & from the container yard at the ranch. The battle at the Cafe is to keep people from tossing bikes higgledy-piggledy on the paths in & out, and keep them from leaning bikes up against the cables holding the shade.

If I were looking at a simple compact rack for a camp, I might buy or scavenge a couple of pieces of steel deck railing w/ vertical bars, strap them together at the top, spread them so they sit on the ground like an A-frame, and drive 3 ft steel stakes at each corner or use rebar staples to secure the bottom rails to the ground or somesuch, eg a pair like this:

[CornMan]

I made one of those racks. Mine used 1/2" EMT conduit. It uses 4' foundation stakes to hold it in place. It sure is sturdy.

[Elorrum]

Valet parking might be a fun thing to do...