Scrap Wood Bike Stand (self Supporting)

This simple Scrap Wood Bike Stand was designed to organize the ever growing number of bikes in our shed. We needed flexibility in where the stands were placed, individually or grouped, and wanted to be able to use smaller pieces of wood to take advantage of the growing stash of leftover dimensional lumber from previous projects.

After making the prototype and adjusting the design to increase stability, we jumped into production and made four more bike stands!

Equipment List:

Safety glasses

Miter/Chop saw

Sandpaper

Drill/screwdriver

Materials List: for one bike rack

18 - 2 1/2" deck screws

2 - 1 1/4" deck screws

Prepared Wood:

2 - 2" x 4" x 7" (30° miter on one end) (spacer 1)

2 - 1" x 4" x 7" (30° miter on one end) (spacer 2)

2 - 2" x 6" x 5 1/4" (end cap)

2 - 2" x 4" x 14" (30° bevel on ends) (supports)

4 - 2" x 4" x 27 1/2" (side pieces)

Wear your safety glasses!

Using the miter saw, cut two spacers of each thickness, making a 30° cut on one end.

2 - 2" x 4" x 7"
2 - 1" x 4" x 7"

The purpose of the angled cut, is to allow the bike wheels to roll more gently into the stand.

Lightly sand the edges of individual pieces to remove rough edges.

Adjusting for different tire sizes: When these spacer pieces are paired, the total thickness is 2 1/4", which is the approximate thickness of the knobbly mountain bike tires (newer tires will be a bit snug at first). To adjust the stand to accommodate different tire sizes, measure the thickness of your tire (approximate) and use that to determine the spacer thickness you will need for your bike stand (keep in mind, that you will also need to adjust the width of your end cap as well).

Using the miter saw, cut four side pieces and two end caps. Because I was making four bike stands at once, I clamped a block to the fence when cutting multiple pieces of the same size so I only had to measure once.

4 - 2" x 4" x 27 1/2" (side pieces)

2 - 2" x 6" x 5 1/4" (end caps)

Sand the edges of all pieces.

2 - 2" x 4" x 14" (supports)

These supports are a few inches longer than my original design, and the stand is now much more stable. You can make them even longer if you want, but this is a good length. I cut a 30 degree bevel on both ends to make them easier to work around in the shed (less tripping) and give them a more finished look.

Line up one of each size of the spacers, clamp them together and pre drill from the 3/4" piece side so that it doesn't split when you screw it together. Screw the two pieces together with a 1 1/2" screw to keep the two pieces aligned for the assembly stage. Repeat with the other two spacers.

Place two of the side pieces together and parallel to each other, then lay the spacers on top of them at each end with the angled side sloping to the inside and line up the outside edges. Place the other two side pieces on top of the spacers to complete the sandwich.

The easiest way to screw this together, is to kneel right on the sandwich (carefully keeping things aligned). Begin at one end and using the longer screws, screw through the top side piece into the spacer and then into the lower side piece into the spacer. Do the same at the other end on this side and then flip everything over, realigning anything that moved out of place, and screw the last two corners together in the same way.

Stand your sandwich up on one end and place an end cap in position so that it lines up with the top edge (sloped edge of spacers) and screw it to the two outside 2"x4" pieces (into the end grain) adding a third screw lower down into the upright 2"x4" of the spacer to catch the edge grain (see photo). Repeat on the other end.

Place the bike stand face down and position one support (beveled side facing down) in the middle of the end on top of the end cap, and screw it together using the longer screws (you might even use 3" screws if you have them). Try to put them in on a bit of an angle to get good purchase. Repeat on the other end.

Flip it over and see how it looks.

This self supporting bike rack design works really well in our shed and yard, and allows us to easily move things around when needed.

Enjoy the biking season!