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Custom Xterra MTB Mount

I’ve wanted a better way to transport my mountain bike in my xterra and have so forth been using a quilt to wrap it up so it doesn’t get scratched and so I can have a second bike in there; Sloppy but it worked.  I decided to take some measurements and build a mounted system to where I could stand the bikes up and have room for a toolbox and riding gear etc.  I’ve seen one out in the wild from Thule I think but it was like $400 and I’m not into that horse-hockey.   So below is what I built and it works exceptionally well.  I can get both bikes standing with the front wheels off and I have plenty of room in there (my dog Jinx as the stand-in model there).

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Custom Xterra MTB Mount

Basic information you’d need to know to build one:
– the tracks are 36″ on/center and I made the board 3″ longer on each edge just cause
– the fork mounts were on sale at Performance Bike for $10 but are $20 normally: link: XPORT Universal Bike Mount
– my bike is a large and I have to take off the seatpost. The handle bars clear the top by about 1.5″ and I have a 5″ travel bike

So I consider this done, at least to the point of I’ll improve it when I get more time.  I wanted some hand-tightened things for the main board but didn’t find anything great to solve that so currently going with a 6mm threaded bolt into the stock Xterra track mounts.

Also I’m going to build something to mount the two front tires as well that will also bolt down to the right track but for now I’m just wrapping them with a bungee cord and hanging from the hooks. It doesn’t swing around at all so it works for now.

4 thoughts on “Custom Xterra MTB Mount”

  1. Great Post! Would be interested if you had found anything
    that could retro-fit a standard Yakima X-bar to the xterra trunk sliders.  I have an xterra as well, but would like
    other Yakima options like 15mm QR or 20mm through axles.  Nice stumpy BTW!

    1. Hey Travis thanks for reading and commenting. I haven’t ever looked at the X-bar setup so I wouldn’t know anything about it really. Looks like it’s just a round bar that I’m assuming the fork rests on? idk but there’s always a way :)
      And thx, it is a nice rice. Love Specialized stuff!
      Cheers

  2. Manygenerationtexan

    Thanks for this. It gives me an idea on what to do till I get the trailer hitch rack.
    I know this post is really freaking old, but did you consider using some kind of U-channel instead of a 1″x4″ so you can adjust the position or accommodate other things?

    1. I saw a couple different mounts on the forums back then that used that metal uchannel stuff but with the fork mounts being wide I wanted to mount them on something solid. Plus I need all the vertical space I can get in there so I kept the mounts another 1″ or more lower by using the flat board.
      Thanks for the visit and comment! Cheers

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