Handlebar Beer Holder

You can't wheel your bike, talk on the phone and hold your beer at the same time. This handlebar beer holder does what it says on the tin. Also works well for cider

You will need ...

Two coat hangers (wire)

Pliers / wire cutters

A ruler, permanent marker and some sticky tape

And of course a can of beer, cider or anything else. I made this for the 440 ml size

First, cut your coat hangers as shown, the ones I used were 45 cm along the straight base, you will need another few cm

Mark the centre of each and bend to a right angle. The longer length needs to have the curly bits facing up once the bend is made

Then hook them into each other and, holding tightly with the pliers, bend all four just a little as they cross each other so the whole thing lies flat

Finally use some tape to hold the wires together, and mark each of the wires 35 - 40 mm from the bend so that when the wires are bent up they will hold the base of the can loosely

Now bend all four wires up at the points that you marked

Put the can in and check that it's a loose fit if the wires are vertical

This is the tricky bit - at the front (that's the shorter wires) you need to loop a piece of tape round to stop the can from falling forwards. Mark 100 - 110 mm from the base on each of the front wires and with the can in place put a long piece of tape behind the wires with the sticky side away from the can so that the top of the loop is at your mark. Make a full loop of tape. Take the can out and reinforce it. If this fails you lose your can to the road!

Now bend the front wires back, curving round the can, behind the back wires and bend them forward. Just leave them sticking out for now

Hang the holder, with tin in place, on to your handlebar and bend the long wires as shown. If you're happy that it's going to fit then remove and crimp the shorter wires tight onto the rear verticals and cover with tape

Make a loop of tape at the back as you did for the front, check the fit again

Make the final adjustments. Cut off any excess in the long wires and smooth the cut ends. Make sure that the can is truly vertical - note that the base of the can rests against the stem

Thanks to all my friends from Critical Mass London who have commented on the beer can holder and encouraged me to post it as an Instructable