Looking for a nice indoor 4-bike rack
June 8, 2020 8:32 PM Subscribe
My wife has four shiny, and, alas, expensive road and track bikes. They're indoor creatures when not in use (10000+ miles per year...), and we have a small apartment where I cannot attach things to the ceiling. Can anyone recommend a good looking bike rack or racks, of wood or metal, that might help corral them without looking like the rack belongs in a garage?
I have this one. It's a very nifty, simple design that does not involve attaching anything to anything else (I also live in an apartment). I was skeptical it would feel secure but it really does - I'm not afraid of bikes/the rack falling even when I bump into them or, er ... use the handlebars of the top bike to hang an extra bag of cans for the recycling. Whoops. However, you'd need two of them for four bikes, and the corresponding wall space. They're not tremendously beautiful, but also sort of visually recede behind the bikes and aren't super noticeable.
posted by sparkling at 10:04 PM on June 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by sparkling at 10:04 PM on June 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
I had a gravity rack like sparkling links to, and I didn't think it was really stable enough that I felt comfortable when there were small children around who might pull on it at a moment's notice.
I eventually got rid of it and switched to something equivalent to this (the exact thing I got is no longer available). It doesn't attach to the ceiling, but it uses leveling mounts to squeeze itself between the ceiling and the floor, holding it in place. I got mine in 2014 and it's been very stable and I like it a lot. It's very stable, reasonably space efficient, and not super ugly. The upper rack is difficult for shorter people to use, but that will be true for any rack where there's two bikes one above another.
posted by aubilenon at 10:35 PM on June 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
I eventually got rid of it and switched to something equivalent to this (the exact thing I got is no longer available). It doesn't attach to the ceiling, but it uses leveling mounts to squeeze itself between the ceiling and the floor, holding it in place. I got mine in 2014 and it's been very stable and I like it a lot. It's very stable, reasonably space efficient, and not super ugly. The upper rack is difficult for shorter people to use, but that will be true for any rack where there's two bikes one above another.
posted by aubilenon at 10:35 PM on June 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Can you attach things to the wall? A friend of mine has this Ibera rack for her road bike, which is fairly minimalist. I also like the look of this CB2 rack. Each of those only holds one bike, though. I've seen pole-style ones that will hold two against a wall. These are going to be the best options for preserving floor space, but presume you have sufficient wall space available to display her bikes like art.
Caveats: The CB2 presumes your top bar is perfectly straight and perpendicular to the ground; the Ibera looks a little more flexible in that regard. I know you said track bikes and road bikes, so we're not talking stepthrough frames; you should be fine with the above options.
Your other options are going to be vertical hanging storage (which also requires a wall mount, but sticks out from the wall more), and floor racks.
(My personal dream for my bike stable is something like this Madrax Bike Boost rack - the two top racks pull down so shorties like me can actually use them! and they can hold as few as four bikes - but they're distinctly more garagey in aesthetic. But look at how well they fit in secure neighborhood storage or apartment storage and in transportation hubs and downtown areas!
posted by Pandora Kouti at 12:28 AM on June 9, 2020
Caveats: The CB2 presumes your top bar is perfectly straight and perpendicular to the ground; the Ibera looks a little more flexible in that regard. I know you said track bikes and road bikes, so we're not talking stepthrough frames; you should be fine with the above options.
Your other options are going to be vertical hanging storage (which also requires a wall mount, but sticks out from the wall more), and floor racks.
(My personal dream for my bike stable is something like this Madrax Bike Boost rack - the two top racks pull down so shorties like me can actually use them! and they can hold as few as four bikes - but they're distinctly more garagey in aesthetic. But look at how well they fit in secure neighborhood storage or apartment storage and in transportation hubs and downtown areas!
posted by Pandora Kouti at 12:28 AM on June 9, 2020
I have a bike nook, which is ok. The bike is quite finely balanced when upright, and always feels like it's about to fall over, but it hasn't in six months of use. I should note it's for one of my less used bikes, and it's tucked out of the way in a low traffic space, so ymmv
posted by Faff at 3:44 AM on June 9, 2020
posted by Faff at 3:44 AM on June 9, 2020
The floor-to-ceiling bike racks like this or what aubilenon mentions are good, and if they're spaced slightly away from the wall, can hold 4 (two behind, two in front - if you get extra cradles). I find that these are better than the gravity-stand style leaning-bike racks: they're a little more sturdy, smaller and less obtrusive.
For one or two bikes, Da Hanger works well and is very minimal, but by putting bikes against the wall, takes up a lot of wall space. However I like having something like this for one bike that doesn't see frequent use.
You take up less wall space but more apartment space hanging them perpindicularly on the wall: these or a simple hook (from the hardware store) screwed into a 1x4 (stained or painted) can store bikes - you hang it from the wheel. you can vertically stagger them (so the handlebars clear each other) and fit 4 bikes in a pretty small area - maybe about 3 horizontal feet (you might want to put something on the wall where each bike's other wheel will make contact - just to prevent tire rub from getting all over the wall).
posted by entropone at 4:49 AM on June 9, 2020
For one or two bikes, Da Hanger works well and is very minimal, but by putting bikes against the wall, takes up a lot of wall space. However I like having something like this for one bike that doesn't see frequent use.
You take up less wall space but more apartment space hanging them perpindicularly on the wall: these or a simple hook (from the hardware store) screwed into a 1x4 (stained or painted) can store bikes - you hang it from the wheel. you can vertically stagger them (so the handlebars clear each other) and fit 4 bikes in a pretty small area - maybe about 3 horizontal feet (you might want to put something on the wall where each bike's other wheel will make contact - just to prevent tire rub from getting all over the wall).
posted by entropone at 4:49 AM on June 9, 2020
Best answer: I'd use one of the freestanding ones like the one sparkling linked. You could paint it or have it plastic-coated in a bright color, add fairy lights and treat it and the bikes as sculptural.
posted by theora55 at 8:41 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 8:41 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have this one . It not a 4-bike system, but it is minimalist and small it enough to not be noticeable. The only thing is you need to get a different size depending on the size of your tire.
posted by gloturtle at 5:21 PM on June 9, 2020
posted by gloturtle at 5:21 PM on June 9, 2020
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posted by at at 9:31 PM on June 8, 2020