Looking for more options in floor-to-ceiling mount indoor bike racks

May 2, 2009 12:32 PM

Looking for an indoor storage rack for bikes and having a hard time getting past all the vehicle-mounted results. I need help finding more options for the type of rack I'm looking for. Style I want: A tension-based, floor-to-ceiling system similar to this: Dual-Touch Bike Stand

I am looking for an ultra small footprint bike stand to hold 2 bikes, indoors. Ideally, I'll find a tension-based system that comfortably fits my 9-foot ceiling and that has a large enough point of contact at the top that I don't feel anxious about it falling down (like I do about the Topeak linked above). I have a cat who likes to jump on my bike's top tubes, so it has to be stable (so, as cool an idea as the 'gravity' stands are, they sound like a bad choice for that reason), and I don't want a system that requires screws in the floor or ceiling. Where are these things hiding?

posted by caitlinb to sports, hobbies, & recreation (19 comments total)

What about this ingenious DIY indoor bike rack based on tension cables?
posted by bengarland at 1:10 PM on May 2

Just sent you a MeMail....
posted by Mountain Goatse at 1:36 PM on May 2

Could you try a pulley system (range of samples)?

We have one in our apartment we made using a few pulleys and rope we got in a hardware store. We have exposed rafters which enabled us to sink wood-hooks in to them. You might want to secure it to the ground too, as a jumping cat would probably make it swing quite a bit.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 1:40 PM on May 2

I don't want a system that requires screws in the floor or ceiling.
posted by caitlinb at 1:40 PM on May 2

Oops - sorry. Missed that.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 1:43 PM on May 2

Sorry about that, I must have missed that part...

Here's another idea: What about getting some iron pipe sections to approximate the product that you linked to, installing "T"s at the appropriate heights that you want to store the bikes, then just screwing a short piece (maybe 4") with an "L" end piece pointed up (to keep the bike from sliding off) to the middle of the "T".


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The "T" goes where the "T" is in the diagram, but it would be oriented with the middle section pointing to the right. Same for the "L" with the ends pointing up and left. I hope that makes sense.

If you bought the right combination of lengths of pipe, you could probably fit it all together such that the length is within 1-2" of the height of your ceiling. At that point, you could just progressively "unscrew" (but not all the way) each joint from top to bottom a little at a time to lengthen it and tension the two ends against the floor and the ceiling. If you put a couple of 4"x4" pieces of plywood at either end and tightened it securely, I don't think it would go anywhere and also would not mar up your ceiling/floor.
posted by bengarland at 1:51 PM on May 2

By the way, you can do that without any tools or cutting if you work out the lengths of pipe correctly such that when the entire assembly is tight it is 1-2" shorter than your ceiling height. With 2 "T"s you would have at least 4 connection joints, so you would have to unscrew each joint about 1/4" to 1/2" to tighten against the ceiling. If your pipe assembly is more than 1-2" shorter than the ceiling, substitute one of the longer sections for 2 shorter pieces, this will give you more joints to unscrew, making each joint require less unscrewing for full tension.

I just made a bike stand out of iron pipe from Home Depot (the kind you put the bike on to do maintenance) and it cost $50, which is $50-100 cheaper than a commercial bike stand and a heck of a lot sturdier.
posted by bengarland at 1:57 PM on May 2

How about this?

Found googling "floor ceiling bicycle mount."
posted by amanda at 2:16 PM on May 2

Also, it looks like mathowie has something similar (far left in photo).
posted by amanda at 2:17 PM on May 2

Not tension based, but no screws and works well holding up my two bikes in a pretty small footprint: tada.
posted by wrok at 2:40 PM on May 2

wrok, do you have a pet who likes to jump on your bikes? How stable is it in the face of such, well, attacks? As I noted, I'm concerned that my cat's gymnastics will make 'gravity' style racks impractical.
posted by caitlinb at 3:45 PM on May 2

Ikea has exactly what you require. We used it for awhile to store two bikes in a kitchen area. It's under their "Broder" shelving system series. You need one bar, one height extension post, and two bike rack attachments.
posted by odinsdream at 3:45 PM on May 2

I also have the Ikea Broder pillar, and it works great. You could fit 3 bikes if your ceiling is high enough.
posted by randomstriker at 5:26 PM on May 2

All the Broder post options I'm seeing require some kind of fastening, eg, to the ceiling (fasteners not included with Broder pieces).
posted by caitlinb at 7:56 PM on May 2

No, I don't have a pet jumping on the bikes, but I do work on my bikes while hanging there. It's pretty stable, I don't think a cat could knock it over without some sort of significant pulley and lever contraption. It comes with a screw to put into the wall if you're super concerned about stability -- but for my situation at least, I'm comfortable with it freestanding.
posted by wrok at 10:00 PM on May 2

the only other tension based product carried by my bike parts distributor is Gear Up
s Floor to Ceiling rack. I have no experience with this product, but their copy claims to use a "no holes" design.
posted by stachemaster at 1:11 AM on May 3

Well, this was an interesting experience. I guess I'm not failing to find what's out there - it's just that all the products available (a handful so far) have the same design issue (from my point of view).

Also, what is up with the "Related Questions"? They have no actual relationship my question except finding themselves in the same, rather diverse category.
posted by caitlinb at 4:37 PM on May 3

Sorry, caitlinb, you seem to have a very unique set of parameters that just have not been addressed by product manufacturers -- high ceilings, no permanent connections and domesticated ninja animals who use your bike as their personal gymnasium. Sounds like you need to figure out a "roll your own" diy solution. Head to the hardware store and get crackin' -- you'll have more fun that way anyway.
posted by amanda at 8:56 AM on May 4

Bengarland's solution would be better served by adding a pipe clamp as a spreader.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 9:39 AM on May 5