I have had a few questions around campus and on the road about my “bike trunk.” So here are a few photos and a brief description.
Why? I’ve had one of those soft side trunks that straps to a bike rack. Most of it is general necessities for biking – lights, tube, repair stuff, bungee, spare glasses. I HATE having to take it on and off the bike every time I stop somewhere. They are not designed for quick release. And since I work on a college campus, anything on a bike is a potential theft item. So I sought to craft something permanent and lockable on my bike rack.
I settled on a 30 cal ammo box. A wider box would be nicer, but the 30 cal is narrown enough on the rack that I can still mount my panniers on the rack when I need to use them. The box is mounted to the rack with 4 1/4-20 bolts, lock washers inside and rubber lined washers (for grab) on the outside. Inside the box the bottom is 1/2″ of minicell foam and I glued thin foam (shelf liner) to the sides to minimize rattling. The lock is simply an adjustable shackle lock through two holes that I glued. Finally, I added two u-bolts to the side to make it easier to carry my 12″ long bicycle lock.
