DIY Rear Rack Mounted Bike Fender for Less Than $5

I recently upgraded my bike’s rear rack to a Axiom Streamliner Road DLX rack. The rack is sweet, and a nice upgrade, but due to it’s low profile design, my fender didn’t fit under it. Rather than go out and buy a new fender, I decided to see if I could jury-rig a fender using a 2-liter soda bottle and some zip ties. Turns out the process is pretty easy, and extremely cheap. In total, I spent $2.38 making this rear wheel rear rack mounted bike fender.

Below, checkout a post rainy day ride video of the fender. After the video, be sure to scroll down to see instructions with photos on how to make your own plastic bottle bike fender.

After my first ride, a 3.5 mile jaunt on a drizzly April morning in Portland, I’m happy to report my backside is dry. Woohoo!

Fender Setup Overview

The Rear Rack for my Bike

Axiom Streamliner Road DLX bike rack – this is what the fender is mounted to.

The Supplies

• 2-liter bottle, $0.89 – I used a store brand bottle of seltzer water (to avoid stickiness)
• 40 pack of 4″ zipties, $1.49
• Scissors
• Box knife / razor
• Hole punch or drill – to cut holes in plastic

Step 1: Cut the plastic bottle into five 2 3/4 inch by 6 inch strips.

Step 2: Mount Plastic Strips

Start from seat post and work your way forward mounting the plastic strips.

Lay out where you want each piece to go, and mark where you want to cut holes for the zip ties.

I created a hook of plastic at the back of the fender to extend it out over the back of the tires. I also had one strip going straight down the back of the rear rack . Both are designed to catch any water being thrown up at my back side.

The different color lines are the five plastic strips from the 2-liter bottle. The yellow dots are an approximation of where the zip ties are placed. I created a daisy chain loop of zip ties to hold down the end of the fender.

Though it’s not the prettiest fender, I like how it mounts right to the rear rack, and it was so dramatically cheap. This fender suits my bicycle commuting needs well.

If you have any questions on how I put this together, please ask in the comments or tweet me https://twitter.com/oakfive.

Read Next

How my body changed when I started bike commuting
More people cycling will make the world a better place
Wim Hof on the Joe Rogan Podcast
A tale of two yolks
A few ways to boost your immunity during cold season