Triathletes who drive trucks question

I've done 2 things in the past (don't know if they are that good or not--not my truck but one I was borrowing for the time):

1) Stand it up over the wheel bed and stabilize with cord to the side of the truck

2) Wrap it up in a tarp to lie it down in the truck bed

I found that standing it up worked best for me and it keeps the bike from sliding around free in the back. I also locked my bike to the truck as well so that I could go pay for gas and have some peace of mind (I'm paranoid like this)...Easy to load and unload.

Edited by mndymond 2010-02-21 11:22 AM

The best method of transport, I think, is a hitch mounted rack.  If you don't have a hitch, get one,  you now have a truck.

Do you have a topper on the truck?  If so, you are in my situation.  I don't have a hitch rack, wish I did.  I lay my bike in the bed and accumulate minor scratches and twist the front wheel up each time (put it in front wheel first, easier to guide it in).  Two bikes is really a mess and offers more opportunities for scratches.

If you don't have a topper you could just lean them in or fashion a nice bike stand rack, I've seen some nice ones.

Eaither way, enjoy the truck.  You'll now get lots of calls to haul and tow things!

I built a cheap frame for the inside of the bed out of 2x4's. then bought a quick release bracket (bought from bikenashbar or performance bike for $10)  for the front fork of the bike to mount to.  I actually can mount 2 bikes easily in the back of my Dodge Dakota.  Works great, keeps the bike upright and dont need to worry about scratching it or the truck.

I drive a Tacoma pick-up and travel almost daily with my bike in the back. I made a simple fork mount using a 2x4. Basically I cut the 2x4 to the width of the bed, then bought two fork clamps from my LBS and screwed them onto the 2x4. I use high strength velcro to hold the 2x4 in pace in the bed. The whole deal was super cheap and works really well. The velcro has held tight for drives of 8+hours, and it easily holds two bikes side by side. I usually run a cable lock through the frame to a mounting spot in the bed, just in case. I can take a picture if it's hard to visualize. Good luck!

I was in the same boat...  I got two of the fork clamps for about $9 each and two of the wheel holders for about $15 each.  I then got a piece of metal and some angle Iron and fashioned a cross bar that I can bolt in and out of the back of the truck, and the wheel holders slide, so I really thing I could get 3 bikes for sure with wheels, and because thier raised up, you can stuff gear bags under the front of the bikes... whole thing was like $60 including the metal, and about two hours of time with the lil welder.... I'll post some pic's if anyone is interested....

^^^  I was looking at that but it came out a bit cheaper to make my own...  same idea.. I just had to drill two 1/4 inch holes to bolt it in... but hey, it's a truck! 

2 x 4 cut to the bed with and a lockable front fork mount drilled into the wood.  Sure you could pull the 2 x 4 with the bike mounted from the bed, but it's difficult to do and would-be thief would still be stuck with a locked fork and trying to walk off with a bike attached to a large piece of wood.  Not exactly inconspicuous.  But I do lock it so the fork can't be taken out easily.  

I have what's called a 'bed mat' in my Tundra which is basically a piece of thick rubber the size of the bed which doesn't allow things to move around hardly at all - no issues with that so far.  Also, Ive had a tacoma and a tundra and Toyota has bike attachments for each truck which is just like a fork attachment that you can move around anywhere on the bed rails - like $40 bucks at the dealership. 

Here is my setup. Like others have said, 2x4 with front locks. I actually have a second one for the front wheels which wasn't done at the time of this picture.



Edited by bradword 2010-02-21 2:19 PM

Wow! Thanks for all the advice, guys. I NEVER would have even guessed at any of those things. Thanks again!

Lora

Fork mount like others have said... i've got mine screwed into a board that i just take out when not using... i have some friends who actually drilled the fork mount to the back of their truck bed, right behind the cab... -w

My buddy made one of these:
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/general-discussion/37045-pvc-bike-rack.html





For the bed of his truck, and we use it whenever we go mountain-biking.    It works great for both of our bikes, just wedge the front wheel in and go.   

Not sure if you can make a compatible one for 700c wheels or not.

Thule 822 is about $160 or so - and it locks in place.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-822-bed-rider.asp

Like others have suggested, you can make your own version of that by buying the bike fork clamps (about $20 each) and mounting them on a piece of wood or metal.  Depending on the truck you have, and whether or not you have a bedliner, you might have to come up with a unique solution to make sure that the wood stays securely in place while driving.  I've done that before as a temporary fix and it worked just fine.

I had a trailer hitch mounted rack but I don't really like it that much.  The one I had wouldn't let me keep the rack installed and still open my tailgate.  Some of the more expensive ones now include a swivel mechanism that lets you swing the rack out of the way to access your tailgate.  But another disadvantage of the hitch mounted system is that I found that over time, the straps used to secure my bike to the rack actually started rubbing/scruffing my bike.  Depending on your bike, you may or may not care about that.  Also, my other bike never quite fit perfectly in the rack - the bottom of the top tube has metal cable holders that keep the shifting and brake cables in place.  Unfortunately, the rack tended to "fit" right on top of the metal holders and I was worried that repeated pressure on the small metal parts (as opposed to the longer flat top tube) would cause the clips to eventually break off.  They stayed secure and I never got any damage, so maybe that's not a huge issue.  

I'm happy with the Thule 822, so I'd recommend it. 

This user's post has been ignored.

I have an extended cab truck. I used to open the back door, remove the wheel, and slide it in. Safe and secure.

Now I've bought a Yakima rack that mounts (without screws/bolts) to the bed rail. The bike stands left to right, with the front tire in the back seat of my truck. The bike is mounted by the front fork and locked to keep others from taking it.

See: Yakima Locking Bedhead

The hitch mount will make your truck a good 2-3' longer, so be aware of that. Plus, if you're rear-ended, there goes the bike.

Another option is in your bed, you have a horizontal groove up by the cab and back by the tailgate. It's designed for a 2x4. Slip one in place, add a couple blockheads and you've got yourself a bike rack.

See: Yakima blockhead

Our buddy Jeremy (you've met him) has 3 of those fork mounts bolted directly to the sides of the truck bed, along the top. The bikes go in sideways. So the fork is mounted up on the siderail of the bed. Two on one side, one in between on the other side.

We are lazy and when we have two bikes, we put them in longwise and get the wheels touching each other and lay the bikes down. So wheels along the center of the bed, deraileur facing the sky, bars and seats leaning against the side. We haven't had any problems.

p.s. when I saw the title of the thread, I thought you meant triathletes who drive a semi for a living. I thought, hmm, is that a big segment of the triathlete world? Over-the-road truckers who are triathletes?

+1 - This is what I did.  You could also get a Yakima Bed Head if you don't want to lug around a 2x4.  More $$ though.

Ha ha. That IS funny.

Andrew, I just might drop you a PM on that. Thank you.

If you have a bed rack, I have seen guys simply tie a rubber like string...or surgical tubing across their rack with a little bit of slack.  They put their bike in the middle of the bed, then twist the rubber around the handlebars until the rubber is tight.  The bike stands straight up, and doesn't move at all.  Takes 5 seconds to secure/remove.