How To Build A DIY Bike Rack For Easy Storage On Your Porch

Thank you to Kreg for sponsoring this DIY bike rack! All opinions are entirely my own. This post also contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t recommend wholeheartedly. Read my full disclosure here.

Are you tired of tripping over the pile of bikes and scooters on your front porch or garage? Ya, me too. I finally couldn’t stand looking at the mess anymore and decided to change it with a simple DIY bike rack.

After a quick discussion with Logan about my idea and a trip to the home improvement store later, we were rocking and rolling with the task of cleaning up our bike area. It only took a few hours to knock this bike storage rack out. 

Table of Contents

• Kreg XL Pocket Hole Jig
• How To Build A DIY Bike Rack: Step-by-Step Tutorial
  • Step 1: Cut the Wood
  • Step 2: Drill Pocket Holes
  • Step 3: Assemble the 4×4 Posts
  • Step 4: Attach the Cross Braces
  • Step 5: Install the Cross Braces to the 4x4s
  • Step 6: Secure the Tops of the Cross Braces
  • Step 7: Reinforce Scooter Lanes (Optional) 
  • Step 8: Finish the Bike Rack

We designed our bike rack to hold what we have: 2 adult bikes, 2 kid bikes, and 2 scooters (one two-wheel scooter and one three-wheel scooter). You can totally adjust these plans to accommodate more or less bicycles. 

Our bike rack is 6 feet wide, which is exactly how many feet of wall space we had. If you make adjustments to the size, just make sure you have enough floor space to hold the bike rack. You also want to do some measurements to make sure you have the space to hold the length of your bikes. One of the adult bikes butts up against our porch post, but it just goes beside it and it works ok for us. 

Kreg XL Pocket Hole Jig

If you’ve been following Making Manzanita for a bit, you know that we’re mega fans of the Kreg pocket hole system.

For most projects with pocket hole joinery, we use our 720Pro or 520Pro jigs. But since we wanted to make this DIY bike rack nice and sturdy, we incorporated 4×4 posts into the build for the main structure.

The one (and probably only) downside of the Kreg 720Pro jig is that you can’t use it on 4×4 posts, so we needed to try something new – the Kreg XL pocket hole jig.

The XL pocket hole jig is just what you’d imagine. A pocket hole jig for larger woodworking projects. It actually creates pocket holes with twice the strength. It is specifically made for projects with 2x4s and 4x4s.

It is really easy to use and operates almost exactly the same as the 320 jig, which we covered here. I love the cool twist-apart design (like 320) so you can adjust the spacing of the pocket holes if you want to. 

Remember that you’ll also need to use a larger type of pocket hole screws for these larger pocket holes. You’ll want to look for the XL screws when buying pocket hole screws.

We teamed up with our friends Kreg again for these bike and scooter rack plans and are sharing them online for free, now available on KregTool.com!

P.S. Kreg’s website is chocked full of so many easy-to-follow FREE woodworking plans! I promise that you are going to find so much inspiration while you’re there! It is a goldmine!

How To Build A DIY Bike Rack: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Cut the Wood

• Use a miter saw to cut wood to the lengths and angles specified in your woodworking plans (which can be found here).

Step 2: Drill Pocket Holes

• Follow woodworking plans to drill pocket holes using the Kreg pocket hole jig XL for 4×4 posts.

Step 3: Assemble the 4×4 Posts

• Clamp the 4×4 posts into a rectangle shape.
• Use pre-drilled pocket holes and 4” pocket hole screws.
• Ensure faces are square and flush.
• Use clamps as needed.

Step 4: Attach the Cross Braces

• Secure the 2×4 angled brace to the 2×4 bottom brace with 2 ½” pocket hole screws.

Step 5: Install the Cross Braces to the 4x4s

• Mark attachment points as per woodworking plans.
• Start with bottom pocket holes on the cross braces, moving toward the center.
• Use the Kreg 90-degree pocket hole driver for tight spots.
• Continue until all cross braces are attached. 

Step 6: Secure the Tops of the Cross Braces

• Mark where each brace attaches to the top 4×4.
• Use 6” screws from the back of the 4×4 into the cross brace, angling screws downward.
• Pre-drill edges to prevent splitting.

Step 7: Reinforce Scooter Lanes (Optional)

• If adding scooter lanes, secure them with 6” screws from behind the 4x4s, in addition to pocket hole joinery for added durability.

Step 8: Finish the Bike Rack

• Apply a wood sealer, stain, oil, or paint.
• Linseed oil is recommended for enhancing cedar’s natural beauty, but feel free to choose any finish you prefer.

The most important part to us was that the DIY bike rack actually gets used (specifically by the kids). A great idea is only great if it is easy to use, right? Easy access was important. 

With the scooters in the middle, they can be easily removed without moving bikes. When we were looking for DIY bike rack ideas, we found other bike racks where you had to move the bike just to get to the scooter…no can do. 

The bikes and scooters simply wheel into the rack and each parking slot holds the front wheel. There is nothing to lift the bike over because, again, it’s all about making it easy. With this design, you’ll need to be sure that the bike rack is on a flat and level surface or you may find the bikes rolling out of the parking space. 

We thought about adding some hooks for the helmets, but in the end, just decided to hang them on the handle bars. If it ends up being an issue, we can always add hooks. If helmet storage is important to you, feel free to add some simple hooks on your own rack. 

If you want to build your own bike and scooter stand, be sure to hop over to Kreg Tool’s website to get the free woodworking plans with all the dimensions and measurements. We’ve done all the hard work for you figuring out the math and angles, so the plans will make this build a lot easier.