Car-roof mounted bike carriers for recumbents

by Erik Wannee.

Carrier for ACE Liberacer

recumbent bike, mounted on car roof

This is a bike carrier that I have adjusted.
The bike on the roof is an ACE that has front wheel traction.
The rear wheel with quick release hub has been removed and is put into the car. That has the advantage that the frame can be clung to the pats, and moreover, the bike will be lower (think of parking garages) and it tilts the seat somewhat more backwards, which gives a better streamline. (A bike on the roof will always catch much wind.)

detailed picture of attachment of front wheel This is a detail of the fixation of the front wheel: A short rectangular (2x4 cm.) steel tube has been opened and bent apart, and welded on top of a rectangular 'box'. A little round tube through it guides a piece of copper wire to fix the wheel. (The wire has to be replaced regularly for safety reasons, because of metal fatigue!)

detailed picture of attachment of rear fork This picture shows the fixation of the rear fork. You have to make a well fitting block that can be placed between the legs of the fork. A quick release axle goes through the box.

Car roof carrier for Back-to-back tandem

The B-2-B tandem

When I had built a back-to-back tandem, I had made it divideable. One of the reasons was that it could be transported in two separate parts in a car.
But: Even both individual halves were pretty long. So soon I decided to make 'something' on the roof. I started thinking about two systems for both halves, but then I wondered if the tandem wouldn't fit on the roof in one part! That was pretty daring, because the tandem had the same wheel base as the car, and the overall length resembled the length of our car as well. As a consequence, it should have to protrude far above the bonnet of the car.
But yet it proved to be a good and simple solution: I started with a long square steel tube, 35x35x2 mm. In order to keep storage simple, I sawed it in two halves, welded a slightly smaller tube in one of the parts, and made a coupling with two bolts. This tube is strong enough to carry the whole tandem (35 kg.), even if it would only be supported in the centre.
Near the ends of the tube, I made two holes, where both wheels would fit in. Detail of the wheel support
Because the tyres were slightly wider than the tube, the sides were slightly bent outward, so that the wheels fit well in. The wheels are fixed in with an electricity wire.
Then the tandem had to be held upright. One support would be sufficient. It is attached (with a steel cable clamp and two butterfly nuts) to the luggage carrier of the tandem. A thin steel tube keeps the support on the right distance, and in the meantime it is used to attach it to the universal roof carriers of the car.
The whole roof carrier
I have kept the connecting points like hinges (6 mm. bolts), so that the whole thing can be folded to a surprisingly small package: The roof carrier, folded
The roof carrier works well: It is 'rock solid'!
The advantage of transporting a tandem is that there are always two people available to get it off the roof. The roof carrier in action

Erik Wannee / last update: '03-06-16