How to Make a DIY Bicycle Mailbox That's Sure to Stop Traffic

Kelly-n-Tony
by Kelly-n-Tony
5 Materials
$39
1 Day
Medium

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to make a bicycle mailbox. This DIY bicycle mailbox is a fun and easy project, but warning: only do this if you don't mind people constantly stopping to take photos at your curb!


Let me show you how I did this project:

Mailbox before the DIY

Here is where we started. We'd just bought the house and the curbside mailbox was ugly and barely upright so it had to go!

Old bicycle with a basket

1. Find a bicycle with a basket

You'll need a bicycle. I like the look of older-style bikes so located one on Craigslist for $20. You'll want it to have a basket in front to support the mailbox.

Painting the bicycle a bright yellow

2. Wash, wipe, prime & paint

The entire bike and basket need to be washed, then wiped down with mineral spirits. Be sure to use a primer if there is rust. We then chose yellow spray paint, which is quite cheery.

Attaching the mailbox to the bicycle basket

3. Attach the mailbox to the bicycle basket

Of course, you need a mailbox as well. We got ours nearly new at a yard sale for $5 and we chose to leave it the black color that it was. The mailbox needs a scrap piece of wood secured underneath it which is typical for mailbox installations.


To attach the mailbox to the basket you'll want to snip away some of the wire basket in front to make the mailbox level. Run a screw into the underneath wood at the front and wrap a wire around the head of the screw and secure the wire to the basket.


With the rear of the mailbox resting on the handlebars, run the basket bracket screws into the wood. It's very secure.

Securing the bicycle mailbox to the ground

4. Secure the bicycle mailbox to the ground

Move the bike around to see where you want to locate it.


Mark the ground where the bike axles will be. Then hammer the steel fence posts into the ground. You'll want one stake on each side front and back. If you want them to blend in be sure to paint the stakes to match the bike beforehand.


Mark and drill a hole in the stakes for the axles. Since the stakes are taller then they need to be cut the stakes shorter.


Remove the nuts from the wheel axles and push them through the holes you made in the post and replace the bolts. This connects the bike to the stakes.


Now it is sturdy and can handle even a child climbing on for a pretend ride. And yes this happens frequently so be sure to add a bell to ring!

DIY bicycle mailbox

DIY bicycle mailbox

We really enjoy our DIY bicycle mailbox. We decorate it in different ways all the time. Here, I put flowers in the rolled-up newspaper in the basket.


It's fun and easy to decorate for holidays. For Christmas, I filled the basket with Christmas ball ornaments and attached battery-powered lights outlining the bike. At Easter, I filled the basket with plastic Easter eggs.

Children playing on the DIY bicycle mailbox

I'm often in the house and hear the ring-ring-ring of the bike bell! I look out and oftentimes it's children, but sometimes adults can't resist either.

DIY bicycle mailbox decorated for Halloween

As fall approaches I fill the bike basket with gourds, mini pumpkins, and fall flowers. During Halloween week, I add a posable skeleton that rides the bike with light-up eyes, lol. There are always lots of cars stopping and backing up for a second look!


We followed all USPS and Village guidelines when installing this DIY bicycle mailbox. You can see the update on the bike's color and the addition of a walkway here.

Suggested materials:
  • Old bicycle $20   (Craigslist)
  • Mailbox $5   (Yard sale)
  • 4 fence stakes $8   (Lowes)
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 11 questions
  • Vickie Benak Vickie Benak on Aug 29, 2017

    A town next door had old bikes painted and decorated differently, all had flowers in them. They were so much fun. Not to be a kill joy, but are you liable if anyone gets hurt, like a kid falling off ?

  • Bubbles Bubbles on Mar 12, 2018

    Doesn't USPS have rules about the height of the box and the distance from the curb?

  • Jeanne Gural Jeanne Gural on Apr 22, 2019

    Hello, Thank you for posting these instructions. I am having a hard time finding which stakes to use. Could you post a link or more info on them please?

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  • Florence Florence on Nov 20, 2019

    I would see this after I have given my old bike away. LOL

  • Melinda Melinda on May 05, 2020

    I have one I was going to paint and use to display flowers. Wasn’t sure what my hubby would think. I just showed him your mailbox holder. He said we should paint ours John Deere green. Guess he is “on board” with my idea! We live out in the country so that will be perfect 😍

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