DIY Bike Stand

I was over at a friends house not too long ago, and saw that he had several of his bikes supported by stands made out of PVC. I asked him about them, and he said that he found the plans on a popular site that "Instructs" you how to build various things.

The stands are easy and inexpensive to make.

First, gather the supplies:

1 10' length of 3/4" PVC pipe ($1.64 at the local Home Depot)
6 90 degree elbows ($0.34 / ea, or $2.10 for a contractor's pack of 10)
6 tees ($0.33 / ea, or $2.60 for a contractor's pack of 10)
PVC cement ($4.17)

Next, cut the pipe in the following lengths:

(2) 22 3/4" for the wheel uprights
(2) 12 1/2" for the wheel base
(4) 7" for the base/legs
(5) 1 1/4" splices

I have to apologize at this point, I took several pictures of the assembly process, and none of the pictures turned out - the flash washed out everything so you couldn't see the pictures - and of course I didn't see that the pictures were ruined until after, when the rack was glued together. I drew the assembly process on the white board...

Picasso, I ain't, but with this, and the pictures of the assembled stand, hopefully you can get the idea.

Here is the base, without the uprights.

The uprights can be left un-glued for ease of transportation, if you choose.

The finished product.

I ended up building 3 stands. The stands will support the bicycle by either the front or the rear wheel. The bike in the background? It's my fixie-in-progress. I'm still needing some things, such as cranks, chain, and pedals, but it's coming along.

There you have it! a simple bike stand for around $10.