Thanks for this! I was just searching for a shop bought version and they are around £25-£30, I need two so you have saved me good money...thank you. Happy riding 👍
I'm sure that you are already aware of this, but if you have forgotten... don't forget to not grab your front brake lever without a block in the brake caliper. The brake pistons will come out and may cause all sorts of problems. Great idea on the mount!!
Loving your videos and what you have done to the Sprinter, amazing!! Planning to do my own conversion on a Fiat Ducato (Ram Promaster), and bike storage is something I've been giving some thought. Now this idea is a little too late for you as you have already set your bed height. So I have the same plan to remove the front wheel and use a fork clamp but on full pullout draw slides. The bikes will face opposite directions and should mount closely together. Will definitely use this idea, should save around £60. Thanks.
Nice! Yeah, bike storage is super important. We were going to do the slides, but we actually made our bed too short, so we couldn't afford to have the extra space for a slider... oops! It's okay though. As it sits, they aren't hard to put in or take out.
Hi, good job, but try using a longer piece of timber that you could mount the 2 fork brackets onto for the both bikes and it might be more stable. Ray Liverpool UK
Thanks so much for watching! We couldn't do a longer piece with both bikes mounted on it because we had to stagger the bikes because the handlebars would hit together. After making this video, I put a big gnarly lag screw through the mount through the metal of the floor. Good to go now! :D Thanks again for watching! :D
A 1/2 inch black pipe has an inside diameter of 3/8 inch and thru axles are usually 12mm in diameter or 0.472 inches and so the pipe is going to be too small. 1/2 inch EMT pipe does have the required diameter to work.
Did you choose garage storage primarily for antitheft, or were there other factors that influenced your decision? Thank you both for the time and effort invested to enrich the DIY community.
Thanks so much! We chose interior storage mainly for keeping our gear clean and out of the elements. Storing outside during a long trip makes all of your (expensive) stuff filthy with whatever is being tossed up from the road. Theft deterrent and looking less like an RV is two other reasons we went with the interior gear storage.
How do you like using your bike mount now that you've been on the road for awhile? I was debating on doing a drawer slide for my bike under the bed, but the slides are so expensive for that tiny convenience. Nonetheless, thanks for inspiring a cheaper alternative!
No Problem! Yeah, so I really like them. The only 'issue' is that since they are so low profile, you can only get half turns on the axle as they hit the floor when you are screwing the axle back through the fork. No big deal since I was needing low profile, but still a consideration. We were initially going to do slides as well, but ran out of time. Looking back, I've been pretty happy with the no-slides arrangement. Like, Maybe it would have been nice to have the bikes on a slide for cleaning purposes, but for just loading and unloading them, just backing them into the compartment is really as simple as it gets. I hope that makes sense! :D
Adventure in a Backpack haha sweet! Yeah the farther I get into my build the more my budget disintegrates, and I think the slide is a luxury. Thanks for the tip! Maybe i'll see you guys at the van meet up in San Diego on September 9th. Keep on vannin!
Really cool Bike-mount! What is the hight of the compartment underneath your Bed? Whats the size of your Bikes? 26"? And how much space is still left between the mattress and the ceiling?
Great content but 1/2" pipe is a 12.7mm aperture but you are using the original 15mm axle to go through the centre?? Im confused and trying to figure what size PVC pipe i would need for my Maxle. How did you get 1/2" pipe to work? Thanks
@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for the quick reply! I can't do that atm I'm afraid....CV....so trying to order bits online. Which size pipe did you use? Cheers
@@sprintervanconversions www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/pvc-pipe-dimensions-18-through-24/ You can see SCH40 1/2" pipe has inside diameter of 0.602 inches and 15mm is 0.590". That's less than 1/64th difference. Should work fine.
I would love to see your van build. I am looking to convert a sprinter to a 4 bike camper for my family of 4. Like the cheap way to make thru axle mount
Making mine today, but noticed your bed is supported by metal truss. What kind and dimensions!? The electrical I found are 1 5/8. Your look larger? Thank you in advance!!!
nice video. I just did a mount like this in my step van garage space (under the bed like yours) and wish I would have seen your video earlier. question: what is the steel rail on the ceiling of your garage used for? (the one going front to back)
Cool and clever bike mount. I assume you didn't have an automatic pipe cutter to hand? ;-) Just a thought, as you are still finessing the storage - if you used plastic pipe it definitely wouldn't damage your axles. And I fear, no matter how much you bolt down the clamps, the bikes are still going to wobble about. What about a spring clamp mounted somehow to the van wall to grab onto the cross bar of the first bike and something similar between the two cross bars?
Thanks! Yeah, we didn't have an automatic pipe cutter. Lots of tools, but none of those. I think for now we will just leave it as is. For the last 10 years, this is how I've transported bikes and although the wobbling makes me uneasy, it has never caused any damage. Thanks for watching!
Fair enough. I think the set up you have is great and no doubt you will have so much crap, I mean useful stuff (damned auto-correct!), pack in there too that they wont have room to move about too much. Cheers. ;-)
Great vid! I stop the "Wobble" with a short length of 6mm rope I tie off to anchors already in my car, loop it around my headset once and back down to the other anchor point. On 1 end a short strong bungee that gives a little bit of tension, compressing the fork a little.
Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to minimize the height and was thinking of going quick release on mine to avoid stress and fatigue from tightening/loosening the bolt since it's aluminum. Will keep allen wrench for guests bikes. Just returned my mounts ($70) because they didn't fit my axle. I'm going with your system. Brilliant DIY BTW!
Adventure in a Backpack - just a thought, is it worth having a couple of really cheap axels for the clamp and then you can keep the good quality axels in the wheels?
Most modern mountain bikes intended for riding things like trail, downhill, or cross country come with a thru axle. Quick release axles and open dropouts are being phased out. You will see quick release and even bolt on axles on older bikes and some big box bikes
I would do a strap from the handlebars down to the bed as that would decrease the wobble. Also it makes a triangle witch is stronger than a flagpole if you understand my drift. The suspension would only be slightly compressed. As an other option I wold use a aluminium U shape bar that would fit around the rear tire. in a slightly leaning why so it would puss the wheel down when pushed in. That would stop the wobbling and keep the rear end planted even in rough terrain driving.
Yeah, you could definitely add as much additional support as you like in your install. After 2+ years with no additional modification than what is shown in the video, it has worked pretty well.
I want to hang my bike by the front tire for storage but it has to be against the wall as it will be stored on my small, enclosed back porch. I have the place to put a bike hook. Would anyone know what kind of hook I would use so I can hook the front tire and have it flat to the wall. I have mountain bike handlebars that seem to be a mental block to me to come up with something that will reach out enough.
I am always looking for a deal, but also, the mass-produced mounts were not low-profile enough to work for my setup. Also, after 10,000 miles, these mounts are holding up perfectly and work just as well as their $50 counterparts! Cheaping out would have been just tossing them in the back with no mounting... Thanks for watching! :D
Thanks for this! I was just searching for a shop bought version and they are around £25-£30, I need two so you have saved me good money...thank you. Happy riding 👍
I'm sure that you are already aware of this, but if you have forgotten... don't forget to not grab your front brake lever without a block in the brake caliper. The brake pistons will come out and may cause all sorts of problems. Great idea on the mount!!
We haven't made that mistake yet thank goodness! lol Definitely gotta keep that block in the brake.
Love it. Just saved me a small fortune- many thanks.
Loving your videos and what you have done to the Sprinter, amazing!! Planning to do my own conversion on a Fiat Ducato (Ram Promaster), and bike storage is something I've been giving some thought. Now this idea is a little too late for you as you have already set your bed height. So I have the same plan to remove the front wheel and use a fork clamp but on full pullout draw slides. The bikes will face opposite directions and should mount closely together.
Will definitely use this idea, should save around £60. Thanks.
Nice! Yeah, bike storage is super important. We were going to do the slides, but we actually made our bed too short, so we couldn't afford to have the extra space for a slider... oops! It's okay though. As it sits, they aren't hard to put in or take out.
Hi, good job, but try using a longer piece of timber that you could mount the 2 fork brackets onto for the both bikes and it might be more stable. Ray Liverpool UK
Thanks so much for watching! We couldn't do a longer piece with both bikes mounted on it because we had to stagger the bikes because the handlebars would hit together. After making this video, I put a big gnarly lag screw through the mount through the metal of the floor. Good to go now! :D Thanks again for watching! :D
@@EXPLORISTlife you still could have done each like you did with longer wooden bases to spread the load.
Man, there's all kinds of stuff we COULD'VE done.
This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks. I love simple and inexpensive solutions. I had just check at my local bike shop and they wanted $100 ($50 apiece) for Yakama mounts.
Yeah, and so far so good on them holding up! :D
Nicely done!
A 1/2 inch black pipe has an inside diameter of 3/8 inch and thru axles are usually 12mm in diameter or 0.472 inches and so the pipe is going to be too small. 1/2 inch EMT pipe does have the required diameter to work.
So, you're saying our axles didn't fit through the pipe and we are running some kind of gas pipe scam? 😂👍😂
Did you choose garage storage primarily for antitheft, or were there other factors that influenced your decision?
Thank you both for the time and effort invested to enrich the DIY community.
Thanks so much! We chose interior storage mainly for keeping our gear clean and out of the elements. Storing outside during a long trip makes all of your (expensive) stuff filthy with whatever is being tossed up from the road. Theft deterrent and looking less like an RV is two other reasons we went with the interior gear storage.
Looks good. Eliminate the wobble by making the wood base wider, maybe a foot.
It's fine, 2 and a half years later.
This is an awesome idea thanks so much
How do you like using your bike mount now that you've been on the road for awhile? I was debating on doing a drawer slide for my bike under the bed, but the slides are so expensive for that tiny convenience. Nonetheless, thanks for inspiring a cheaper alternative!
No Problem! Yeah, so I really like them. The only 'issue' is that since they are so low profile, you can only get half turns on the axle as they hit the floor when you are screwing the axle back through the fork. No big deal since I was needing low profile, but still a consideration. We were initially going to do slides as well, but ran out of time. Looking back, I've been pretty happy with the no-slides arrangement. Like, Maybe it would have been nice to have the bikes on a slide for cleaning purposes, but for just loading and unloading them, just backing them into the compartment is really as simple as it gets. I hope that makes sense! :D
Adventure in a Backpack haha sweet! Yeah the farther I get into my build the more my budget disintegrates, and I think the slide is a luxury. Thanks for the tip! Maybe i'll see you guys at the van meet up in San Diego on September 9th. Keep on vannin!
Really cool Bike-mount!
What is the hight of the compartment underneath your Bed?
Whats the size of your Bikes? 26"?
And how much space is still left between the mattress and the ceiling?
Nice work. Now (or then), what about the front wheels?
Great content but 1/2" pipe is a 12.7mm aperture but you are using the original 15mm axle to go through the centre?? Im confused and trying to figure what size PVC pipe i would need for my Maxle. How did you get 1/2" pipe to work? Thanks
You should take your axle to the hardware store and see which size of pipe works the best. 👍👍
@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for the quick reply! I can't do that atm I'm afraid....CV....so trying to order bits online. Which size pipe did you use? Cheers
Ah, right. I truly don't remember what size we used and it doesn't look like I made a note of it.
@@EXPLORISTlife Okay, no probs :)
@@sprintervanconversions www.pvcfittingsonline.com/resource-center/pvc-pipe-dimensions-18-through-24/
You can see SCH40 1/2" pipe has inside diameter of 0.602 inches and 15mm is 0.590". That's less than 1/64th difference. Should work fine.
Great fix mate. Thanks.
I would love to see your van build. I am looking to convert a sprinter to a 4 bike camper for my family of 4. Like the cheap way to make thru axle mount
If you let the dropper post push the seat into the platform....would it make it more stable?
Probably! Good thought!
Excellent
Making mine today, but noticed your bed is supported by metal truss. What kind and dimensions!? The electrical I found are 1 5/8. Your look larger? Thank you in advance!!!
I don't remember specifically, but 1 5/8 seems accurate.
Thanks, great. Just one question. How do you rotate the thru axle when it is so close to the floor?
Basically by holding the lever straight out to the side and spinning it.
Brilliant idea thanks 👍
You’re welcome 😊
Wonder how I could make one of these work for my buddies with the skewer style axles...
Thank you so much for this!
nice video. I just did a mount like this in my step van garage space (under the bed like yours) and wish I would have seen your video earlier. question: what is the steel rail on the ceiling of your garage used for? (the one going front to back)
Sorry I missed your comment. :/ That steel rail is just for added support for under the bed. The unistrut (the steel beam) is more rigid than wood.
Neat design, do you think this design would be strong enough to hang a full sus bike vertically mounted to a wall ?
Maaayyyybe? I'd probably use bolts instead of screws though.
How do you keep the rear wheel from moving side-to-side and torquing the bike?
Cool and clever bike mount. I assume you didn't have an automatic pipe cutter to hand? ;-)
Just a thought, as you are still finessing the storage - if you used plastic pipe it definitely wouldn't damage your axles. And I fear, no matter how much you bolt down the clamps, the bikes are still going to wobble about. What about a spring clamp mounted somehow to the van wall to grab onto the cross bar of the first bike and something similar between the two cross bars?
Thanks! Yeah, we didn't have an automatic pipe cutter. Lots of tools, but none of those. I think for now we will just leave it as is. For the last 10 years, this is how I've transported bikes and although the wobbling makes me uneasy, it has never caused any damage. Thanks for watching!
Fair enough. I think the set up you have is great and no doubt you will have so much crap, I mean useful stuff (damned auto-correct!), pack in there too that they wont have room to move about too much. Cheers. ;-)
Haha, right?! That's the plan! lol Thanks! :D :D
Great vid! I stop the "Wobble" with a short length of 6mm rope I tie off to anchors already in my car, loop it around my headset once and back down to the other anchor point. On 1 end a short strong bungee that gives a little bit of tension, compressing the fork a little.
just get a bigass block of dense foam and cut some notches for the top tube and wedge it all in place, also saves any scratching cos the foam is soft
Brilliant nice easy well done 👍
Thanks so much!
What a great idea!
how tall is the floor to the top there near the handlebars? I'm trying to see if a bike will fit inside the cab of my truck with the seat down.
Sick idea!!!!
Do you have quick releases for your seat posts so you can lower the seat all the way down? (I'm assuming you have dropper posts)
Yeah, we've got dropper seat posts. One of the bikes has a quick release, one doesn't, but we keep an allen key handy for that reason.
Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to minimize the height and was thinking of going quick release on mine to avoid stress and fatigue from tightening/loosening the bolt since it's aluminum. Will keep allen wrench for guests bikes. Just returned my mounts ($70) because they didn't fit my axle. I'm going with your system. Brilliant DIY BTW!
Nice touch!
Thanks! They work very well! :)
Adventure in a Backpack - just a thought, is it worth having a couple of really cheap axels for the clamp and then you can keep the good quality axels in the wheels?
Which mountain bikes normally come with a thru Axle?
Most modern mountain bikes intended for riding things like trail, downhill, or cross country come with a thru axle. Quick release axles and open dropouts are being phased out. You will see quick release and even bolt on axles on older bikes and some big box bikes
Everything over $1000
I would do a strap from the handlebars down to the bed as that would decrease the wobble. Also it makes a triangle witch is stronger than a flagpole if you understand my drift. The suspension would only be slightly compressed. As an other option I wold use a aluminium U shape bar that would fit around the rear tire. in a slightly leaning why so it would puss the wheel down when pushed in. That would stop the wobbling and keep the rear end planted even in rough terrain driving.
Yeah, you could definitely add as much additional support as you like in your install. After 2+ years with no additional modification than what is shown in the video, it has worked pretty well.
THANK YOU
Hey PrismaAnglicano, No problem! Glad it helped! :)
@@EXPLORISTlife I saved aboout 100 euros :D
I made a stand that uses steel zip ties with a rubber coating
How about for 12mm axle can i use the same tube diameter thanks
Tough to say. I'd just take the axle to the hardware store and see.
Do you think that i cuold atach the mount on a Wall ti gang my bike verticale?
Probably! Just size your screws/bolts appropriately.
@@EXPLORISTlife wow thank you realy good video
video was meant for 15mm axles -
mine is 20mm or 0.787", so I need to use 3/4" pvc pipe which is
20.93mm - close enough…
+Rick Couture Nice! Yeah, sounds good! Let me know how it goes.
pvc pipe was not quite right size but i found some fittings at home depot and clamps that worked perfectly...snug fit on axle.
the pipe is metal right??
The pipe is indeed metal.
your axle is 20 mm?
15mm
Any ideas on parts to use for a 5mm QR skewer?
I want to hang my bike by the front tire for storage but it has to be against the wall as it will be stored on my small, enclosed back porch. I have the place to put a bike hook. Would anyone know what kind of hook I would use so I can hook the front tire and have it flat to the wall. I have mountain bike handlebars that seem to be a mental block to me to come up with something that will reach out enough.
$1000 shirt
I have one
For people who don't know what a through axle is:
cyclingtips.com/2015/10/road-bikes-are-headed-towards-through-axels-but-why/
Thanks for that! :D :D
You shouldnt be cheaping on mounts if your bikes are as cool as those yo!
I am always looking for a deal, but also, the mass-produced mounts were not low-profile enough to work for my setup. Also, after 10,000 miles, these mounts are holding up perfectly and work just as well as their $50 counterparts! Cheaping out would have been just tossing them in the back with no mounting... Thanks for watching! :D
Fair enough, you needed something custom for your setup. And still works. So thats win win situation.