Best way to store bikes in an apartment?

October 3, 2010 7:19 PM

Best way to store bikes in a small(ish) apartment?

I just moved to a new apartment that has no basement bike storage, or any place to lock the bikes up outside (aka bike theft alley). I have seen some nice examples of bikes hanging from hooks in apartments, and I was wondering if anybody knew of the best one to to buy, what to look for, and any advice on installing.

I have two bikes and I would prefer to keep the cost below $50-60. Not very interested in pulleys or having to install anything into the ceiling (wall mounting is fine...we just have 12 foot ceilings.)

Any recommendations?

posted by ghostpony to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (16 answers total)

I can't vouch for this since I don't own it, but i have this on my wish list.
posted by pyro979 at 7:27 PM on October 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

I live in a not-big apartment with three bikes, and have one of these:

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_174842_-1_201502_10000_200439

Beautiful? Nope. Functional? yes. I have one bike behind it (which I don't ride), and the two bikes I do ride on it. It's not horribly unsightly once your bikes are on it.

Another benefit is that you can do some quick maintenance tasks on the bike without removing it and busting out your proper repair stand. Lubing the chain, installing new brake pads, etc.

I have never used hooks, so I don't know what that would be like. I avoid them because I think the dirt and grime on the tires would ruin the walls.
posted by jrockway at 7:28 PM on October 3, 2010

Just buy some hooks and put them in the wall (in a stud of course) instead of the ceiling.
posted by thylacine at 7:44 PM on October 3, 2010

Just buy some hooks and put them in the wall (in a stud of course) instead of the ceiling.

That's what I did. $3 hook at the hardware store that screws into a hole. Like this. Just drill a hole that is slightly smaller than the hook and screw it into the wall in a stud. Or, even better, especially if you have more than one bike, get a thick plank of wood and install the hooks on that, then mount the plank on the wall. The downside is that it takes up a little more floor space than some of the fancier solutions, since the bikes are perpendicular to the wall, rather than mounted on it.
posted by PercussivePaul at 7:56 PM on October 3, 2010

A friend of mine has a Cycloc, which is pretty nifty in that there's a cubby for your gloves, etc. But it's pretty expensive, especially for rotomolded plastic..
posted by hydrophonic at 8:02 PM on October 3, 2010

Tires against the wall method: The Delta line has a decent weld & you can get it with a wall protector for the rear tire or just the hook. Not ideal for fat mountain bike tires - which you likely don't have in your apartment anyway. Mount to the stud in the wall is ideal.

If you change your mind on the ceiling option I would suggest this one, which is essentially a Racor Bike Hoist but less cash.
posted by zenon at 8:24 PM on October 3, 2010

I've found that bikes hanging from hooks (esp. tire against the wall method) seem to use up more of the room's space awkwardly and are more of a pain than its worth... they don't really free up any usable space on the floor. I just have them leaning on each other in the corner. I have two bikes and a frame in my room right now, but I have had more and will likely bring a couple more up for the winter.

Yeah, it's a bit weird, but I don't really use the rest of my room for anything else. They are nice conversation pieces.
posted by glip at 9:00 PM on October 3, 2010

We have the $50 version from Target of what pyro979 linked to and while there are things that annoy me about it (some of the rubber parts are not wearing well), it works really well and frees up a lot of space in our small apartment. We've had it for a little less than a year and don't have any plans to replace it. I'm a shorty, but can manage to hoist bike #2 onto the upper hooks without too much trouble.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 9:16 PM on October 3, 2010

I've been satisfied with the Container Store's bike storage rack. It provides a sort of shelf for helmet/gloves/whatever and folds up when not in use. I've used it with just one bike, but with 12-foot ceilings you could just buy two (at $12 each) and mount one above the other on a stud.
posted by scatter gather at 10:27 PM on October 3, 2010

I have and like the Nashbar rack jrockway linked. I particularly appreciate that it’s freestanding and doesn’t scuff the wall, although it’s a little above the price you desired.
posted by musicinmybrain at 2:50 AM on October 4, 2010

What about a ceiling rack, operating on a pulley system?
posted by MuffinMan at 5:25 AM on October 4, 2010

If I were going to keep bikes in a small room with a 12' ceiling, I would definitely be hoisting it up and out of the way with a pulley, just to make productive use of that otherwise wasted space. With a lower ceiling you'd be bumping your head on it, but having the 12' height just makes it work. Yes, a pain in the arse to install, but should be really good to use.
posted by flabdablet at 6:17 AM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I use the Delta Leonardo hook in combination with the Da Vinci rear tire plate that zenon linked to above. I use it with my fat mountain bike tires. It's not too hard to get the tire in there, it's just tricky to do it without sometimes smudging the white wall with the tire. If I had it to do over, I'd tack some kind of plastic sheet right to the right of the hook in the entry path to the hook so I didn't have to be as careful putting it in. Really it's not that big a deal though - they'll have to paint this place when I leave anyway. Otherwise it's great. I hang the bike between the side of the couch and the wall, which is space I wasn't using for anything anyway. I got mine as a set from REI. Currently on their site it's $20
posted by Askr at 8:29 AM on October 4, 2010

I have 4 bikes plus a tandem hanging on the wall with something based on this instructable:


A good note that the instructable has is the importance of putting better rubber on the bike hooks. The cheap coating on most bike hooks doesn't last a week if you are taking them off and putting them on every day.
posted by rockindata at 10:43 AM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

The delta leonardo hook and da vinci plate linked to by zenon and askr above are what we've had in our small-ish apartment for the past two and a half years (and the bike is used daily - my husband uses it to commute to work). It has been great and the bike fits nicely into a corner. The rear tire plate did fall off the wall after about a year of use, but if you have some double sided tape, you can stick it right back on. Our second bike stands in our coat closet, because I don't use it very often.

One thing to consider when you're looking at options is - do you have room for the bike to lay flush against the wall (like it would with the cycloc) or do you need it to stick out of the wall like mine does? We don't have room for something to lay flush against the wall, so sticking out was our only option, and like I said, it fits nicely into a corner where we walk by it, but it doesn't get in our way.
posted by echo0720 at 5:31 PM on October 4, 2010

I forgot to mention that although the hook we use says you have to hang it on a stud in the wall, we couldn't find one and just screwed it into the plaster wall, and my husband's road bike has held on just fine. I wouldn't recommend that for a heavy mountain bike though.
posted by echo0720 at 5:33 PM on October 4, 2010