How to Build the Bike Basket that Carries Everything at Burning Man

TL;DR: Your bike can carry everything so your body carries almost nothing. I bolt a free milk crate to my handlebars with two 1/4" U-bolts, cut the extra bolt length flush, file the ends, and line the bottom so small stuff can't fall through. Over ten years on the same crate.

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Why let the bike carry it?

Every time I leave camp I'm hauling a bunch of stuff. Water, pee jug, a coat for later, food, toiletry bag, tools and parts to fix bikes. It all goes in one bag and that bag is heavy as hell.

Most people wear it. Backpack on, coat tied around the waist, and by day three their shoulders are wrecked and they've been sweating like crazy the whole time. I hate wearing a backpack. So I let the bike carry it.

Black Rock City has more bikes per capita than any city in the world, almost everyone rides a bike at some point, it’s crazy to me that I hardly see baskets out there. Thousands of bikes, everybody wearing their bag.

What's the build?

1. Get basket
2. Mount it
3. Cut & file
4. Line it
5. Practice riding with it full

How do you build the basket?

Step 1: Find something strong

I use a milk crate cause it’s strong and light. I asked a grocery store if they had any extra and they let me have it for free. Mine's lasted over 10 years so far.

Step 2: Mount it with U-bolts

Use U-bolts to clamp the crate to the handlebars. If you're using a milk crate you'll probably need to drill a few holes in the plastic for the bolts. It’s important that you pick a good mounting point on the basket cause if it fails, the whole basket will fall off. I run the U-bolts through the thickest part of the basket and spaced as wide as I can on the handle bars. On playa everything vibrates loose. Use lock nuts (preferred), or hit the threads with blue Loctite 242 so they don't fall off — it's the medium-strength one, it’ll keep the nuts on and you can still get the nuts off later.

Step 3: Cut & file

The U-bolts usually come long, so cut the extra off. The way I did this was to mount the basket with the nuts fully tightened. I cut the extra just above the nut using a reciprocating saw with a metal-cutting blade. Try to get it flush with the nut, any extra length can get caught on whatever's in the basket. Then run a file over the cut ends so they're not sharp, cause they’ll cut you and your stuff.

Step 4: Line the bottom

Line the bottom of the basket so small stuff doesn't fall out through the gaps. I used some extra fabric I had laying around, poked holes for zip ties, and zip tied the fabric to the basket. If you're feeling crazy you can rig a pee-jug holder, and you can zip-tie a ziplock bag to the inside of the basket for a portable MOOP bag.

One rule: don't paint the milk crate. The paint will flake off and moop.

Step 5: Practice riding with it full

Practice riding the bike with a full basket. Get used to the weight shifting when you turn.

Parking changes too. I run a heavy-duty double kickstand, so sometimes I can leave my bag in the basket without the bike tipping over. If you're on a regular side kickstand, don't trust it, a loaded front basket will cause the bike to tip. When my bag is really heavy, I set it on the ground and lock it to the bike.

One free crate, two U-bolts, ten years. Same basket, still carrying everything so my back doesn't have to. Let me know if you have any questions and share if you’ve built a different style basket for your bike. See you on the playa!

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