I took some scrap 1x3 wood and bolted on fork locks. I then used some u-bolts with wing nuts to clamp it on my cargo bar and added some outriggers on each side to keep it from spinning fore and aft. Didn't take more than 30 minutes or so to build. Doesn't look great but it works fine. If you're interested maybe I could get a pic later.

 

Post it here. I'm interested in your setup. Thank you!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

This picture shows a bike rack from Thule that would work. Unfortunately, Thule charges an arm and a leg for their products. They want $250 for this. The good news is, Thule doesn't have a corner on this design. The thing that varies is how it attaches to the truck, so you need to keep a close eye on that. I'm looking for one too. I have Thule's Insta-Gator, which is a truly smart design because it's not permanently installed and yet very safe. Plus you don't have to take your front wheel off. But that's the problem our bed isn't long enough for it. I did manage to set up the Insta-Gator the other day by breaking a few rules but it wasn't convenient at all, and I don't recommend that product for the Ridgeline. But this design, as pictured, is probably available from a number of rack makers. I'm sure we can find it for less than $250.

 

The bike rack in the pictures below, from a little-known company called Pipeline Racks, looks promising. It will fit the Ridgeline without taking the front wheel off your bike assuming that you leave the tailgate open. User reviews say this is very convenient to use. The rack is attached to the bed of your Ridgeline with straps and clips. Here are some installation options. The rack requires that your bed have tie downs. Well, check. We have lots of them. It's possible that the bike rack is actually taller than the Ridgeline bed, by the way, for those of you who might be hoping to tuck it under a tonneau.

For the Ridgeline the Pipeline Rack comes in two sizes: a two-bike rack for $240 (with free shipping) and a three-bike rack for $270 (with free shipping). But wait, I'm wrong about that. The Ridgeline's bed is actually wide enough to fit at least some of the full-size truck racks. And since we don't have wheel wells, to speak of, these racks should fit nicely too. (I emailed the company to find out which size rack they feel is best for the dimensions of the G2 Ridgeline bed.)

The company also sells the same products on Amazon. The pricing looks different at first but on Amazon they are charging $30 to ship the product. The Amazon price and the Pipeline Racks price are the same on the bottom line. These are clearly a little pricey. But I think I'm going to get one for two bikes.

To save a little money, a company called Swagman has an outward-pressure design bike rack for two requiring you to remove the front wheel for just under $100. There are probably others; this one looks like a good one.

https://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Bicy...B00I25NI4K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1473381968&sr=8-4&keywords=bike+racks+swagman

These pictures are of the Pipeline Racks products:

 

I mounted fork hitches directly to the back panel on my G1. Might be able to the same thing to G2.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...com/forums/19-mods-installs-how-s/36771-custom-bike-rack-pics-instructions.html

 

I'm not sure about bolting into plastic. But one thing I am sure is that that Delta product that you used is really a cool product. I spent some time looking at it online this evening. It's probably best of class.

 

I'm not sure about bolting into plastic ...

Sorry. I see as I read further into your project that you did bolt into steel. Thumbs up!

 

This is something another ROC member posted. It's the Thule Instagater installed in the front of the truck instead of under the tailgate. It's pretty slick and no need to take off the front tire

 

I bought an Insta-gater after seeing this on the forum, and it works great. I mountain bike 5 days a week and this is way better than a tailgate pad.

 

Wow. What a great idea. Since I have the Insta-Gator, I'm very interested in this. It looks like he used a 4 foot or so section of right angle bar and attached it in some way to the rear tiedowns. Do you have the URL for the thread this was posted in? Did he give directions?

One thing I would caution against with this design is that you need to lock down the back wheels somehow. If you stop short, the bikes could swing up, possibly damaging the roof garnish or other things. But that's easy enough to rectify. Also, I don't want to overstate the likelihood of this happening. The clamping action may preevent it somewhat too.

Thanks for posting this, tjames007. Anything more you can give us would be a real help.

 

I think I found the thread tjames007 is referring to. Anyway it's a recent thread on this subject and it's got a lot of great ideas. We should probably refer this thread to that one and take up the conversation there.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...ms/138-second-generation-2017/139497-carrying-bikes-best-approaches-gen-ii.html

 

I am looking for bike rack for the bed too!! I like Pipleline Racks with no front wheel removal and no drilling at all. Good stuff, thanks for sharing. Wondering if I should just DIY with some 2x4 or go buy one. The fact is, I have a hitch type bike rack from my old car although I have upgrade the drawbar to work for the Ridgeline. But then, it seems like it is a waste of the bed if I hitch the bikes while the bed is empty, will it look odd? LOL LOL

 

Here is the original thread: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...ms/138-second-generation-2017/139497-carrying-bikes-best-approaches-gen-ii.html

and the specific posts by Jim_bo :smile:

 

Here is a video of the Pipeline Rack system as well

Photos and Vidoes of Truck Bike Rack, Pickup Truck Bike Racks by Pipeline Racks

phineas looks like they have some sort of rear wheel bracket. honestly it looks like a pretty good solution, but pretty expensive $240

 

Agreed on both counts. I think the rear wheel bracket is just to hold the bike up straight. I like that feature although I hope it's removable. Watching that burnout video, I couldn't get it to run before, I'm not sure I would trust the bike rack without an additional attachment of the bike to the rack. Just placing it in its holder and leaving the tailgate down seems like asking for Murphy's Law to strike. What happens if you go over a big bump? But their $3.99 Velcro solution is fine. If we could close the tailgate I'd probably be OK with that too. Or a bed extender.

 

I used a homemade solution. Cut a piece of wood (2 X 6) to the exact length to fit between the two forward bed floor cargo tie down points. Use lag bolts with flat washers big enough to keep them from going through the cargo tie down holes. Pre-drill the wood so the lag bolts don't split when you screw them down. I had to drill the holes so that the 2 X 6 was as far toward the rear of the truck as possible to give me enough clearance for the brake levers (road bikes). You can finish the wood to look nice or leave it natural finish. Then just mount cheap fork mounts evenly spaced on the board. I tested mine on my bikes first to make sure the brake levers did not contact the truck. They ended up being mounted close to the rear of the board. I carry the front wheels in the truck or trunk if I want to prevent theft. The bolt down fork mounts can be had with provision for padlocks on the skewer levers. Cheap, simple and not bad looking solution.

 

I too am looking for a multi-purpose solution to Bikes, ham radio antenna mount and a myriad of other problems. I have installed a 1.5"x60" 80/20 bar between the forward tie downs. Using the available stainless 5/16" sliding bar end-feed fasteners and 316 stainless (I sail and 316 is my favorite grade of stainless) 1.5" fender washers I attached the 80/20 bar to the tie downs as shown in the pics. The bike attachments bolt on using some more of the end-feed fasteners and my 'L' shaped bracket for my antenna mounts the same way. Bikes mount to the back of the bar and the antenna mount will be on the front, protecting it from bed induced damage. Many other things can be mounted on the bar and it does not require drilling.

I have used this system on another truck and it worked well.

Source of 'stuff' is McMaster-Carr
80/20 1.5" bar, 60" long: Aluminum T-Slotted Framing Extrusion, Single Profile, 1-1/2" Size, Hollow #47065T102 5'
Stainless Steel End-Feed Fastener for 1-1/2" Single/3" Quad Aluminum T-Slotted Framing Extrusion #47065T97

Hope this helps others.

Pic attached but not sure how this will work.

 

Do you have pictures. I used something like this before.

 

I did a little research about the two sizes of Pipeline Racks, and whether both of them would fit in the G2. I posted it in that other, much bigger thread.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...generation-2017/139497-carrying-bikes-best-approaches-gen-ii-8.html#post2187002

 

Not as fancy but it works till I buy something different.

 

I purchased this Swaggman bike rack (PICK UP - Swagman) almost 1 year ago. It is fantastic. I carry it in one hand while wheeling my bike out to my RL with the other. Lean the bike against the side of the bed, jump in and pop in the bike rack then just reach over for my bike, lift it in, remove front wheel and attach it to the rack. Reverse action when I get home. Love the RL and love the bike rack. I believe even though they advertise it for 2 bikes, if you had a 3rd attachment for another bike you could easily carry 3 bikes. You can buy it for ~$100., which includes shipping.

 

So I mulled over these and a few other designs, but for security purposes I decided to buy a camper shell. Bike theft is pretty bad here, so can’t leave a bike in an open bed at work. So I need to mount the rack so it’s at the back of the bed. Using the lower tie downs would block access to the trunk and the uppers wouldn’t be low enough with a shell. Mounting to the trunk meant drilling through the lid, which I didn’t want to do since there would be holes when I removed the rack meaning water and other crud could get into the trunk.

So I noticed those bolts on the tailgate for the bed liner. Perfect spot to mount a 2”x2”x48” piece of aluminum angle iron for a bike mount. Bolted on a RockyMounts DriveShaft I had on another rack and we’re in business!

Tailgate up I can swing open the tailgate with bike mounted and the bike rolls forward/backwards no problem. HOWEVER, if I try to swing down the tailgate, the disk brake wacks the bike mount. I have to only lower it about halfway to not hit my brakes. :/ Not perfect, but version 1.0 works well enough ‘til I have to tweak it when my camper shell arrives!

 

Anybody tried this alternative I found on an RV forum? Pretty easy just to throw this over the tailgate . . .

Hitch mounted bike rack || Shuttle Pad - Truck Tailgate Pad

Answers several questions for the two 10 speeds we want to carry while towing our travel trailer; may still leave enough room for our full size spare mounted on the front bed wall, plus a sewer tote and a small ladder we usually have in the bed. Perhaps raises some more questions.

 

Rocky Mounts makes a rack specifically for the 2017-18 Ridgeline.

https://rockymounts.com/products/honda-ridgeline-track-system.html

I installed one and love it. It mounts to where the front upper tie down cleats are. Takes about 15 minutes to install and has integral tie down cleats built into it.

 

Rocky Mounts makes a rack specifically for the 2017-18 Ridgeline.

https://rockymounts.com/collections/adaptor-and-truck-mounts/products/honda-ridgeline-track-kit

I installed one and love it. It mounts to where the front upper tie down cleats are. Takes about 15 minutes to install and has integral tie down cleats built into it.

Excellent. I just got my 2018 RTL-E Saturday, and my new Rockymount from Rackoutfitters.com should be here tomorrow. I also bought a couple of Fat Tire bike compatible mounts from Amazon since Rockymount does not make a fat tire adapter to fit this rack. I'll post up some pics when I get it all set up.

 

Got my RockyMounts beam installed in my 2018. Nice piece of kit and the new mounts also have a tie down point to replace the factory mount you remove to install the beam. I added two SunLite fat tire fork blocks for my E-bikes. The 20” wheels even fit in the in bed trunk.

 

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/2931569-post128.html

Here is my post about the rack I made. It allows for complete trunk opening. As long as your bike is short enough...

 

I was going to buy an expensive bike rack, but wasn't sure of the type I needed, so I decided to make a temporary rack for two bicycles that would fit in the bed without taking the front wheels off.
My temporary wooden 2X4 rack works so well, that the local bike shop wanted me to make a dozen for them in different sizes.
The rack just lays in the bed, but stays put without sliding around after using my Rok-Straps to tie down the bikes.
The width of the tire supports are not adjustable since they are just screwed together with drywall screws.
I painted it black so it blends in with the bed liner.
My temporary rack just may stay for the long run when I get my new Ridgeline.

 

Woodworker here so interested: Did you make the racks for the bike shop?

 

Phineas, no, I was honored with the request to build the racks for the Trek E-bikes, but I was just too busy with golf tournaments, the motorcycle club, home projects, my volunteer work for the city, and building refurbished computers for vets here in SoCal.
Jefro.

 

Belated reply but sounds like you were pretty dang busy -- and on the other coast. Nice design.

 

Does anyone know if the Latchit Tailgate system works with Honda Ridgeline? I have emailed them with no reply...