LBS owners probably deal with this the most on a day to day basis, but I am sure many of you multi-bike owners have plenty of input as well.
I just moved into a new house with a three car garage, and I get to make the third bay a bike workshop. I don’t want to just leave bikes laying around everywhere, so I am looking for advice on arranging bikes in as small of a space as possible, but leaving easy access to any one bike at a time.
I currently have a double bike stand (holds by rear wheel and can either line them up side by side or have them come off alternate sides of the stand), but I need to figure out what to do with the other two bikes. Is there a good single bike stand that you LBS folks use for display that works wonders? Should I just go for another double stand? What do you think of wall stands or wall hooks?
It’s a brainstorm session folks, so just let loose and we will see what sticks.
If you need more information - I don’t have a really long wall to line things up on because of cabinets. The ceiling is not very high (9ft?). I still want to be able to open and close the garage door. Skis and kayak gear also has to fit in there somewhere.
I put am eight foot long 2x4 on the back wall of my third bay in the garage, horiziontally using some lag bolts. I then got some heavy duty bike hooks at Home Depot and hung the bikes alternating front wheel up and then back wheel up. The hooks are spaced so that the bikes can me easily removed individually, yet compactly. I have 6 bikes hanging like this now in a space about 6 1/2 to 7 feet. The remainer of the 8 foot 2X4 is holding my race wheels.
I did screw two additional 2x4 for the front and back wheels to rest on in order to prevent the tires from marking up the drywall.
It took me a long time to educate my wife that garages are not places where you’re supposed to keep cars, unless of course they’re older classic cars. Garages are really about serving as workshops. Don’t know why women just don’t seem to understand this basic concept.
God designed garages as places where guys get to set up workshops and keep their tools and other junk. They are sacred places for males since that is where we can go and hide happily for many hours at times when our women folk are pissed at us.
Two suggestions - build yourself a nice work bench and don’t underestimate how long it should be. I also have a large peg board attached to the wall above the bench. Great place for hanging tools.
As for the skis, kayak gear, etc I’d hang 'em high, as close to the rafters as possible so they’re out of the way in the off season.
The rafters won’t work because the ceiling height is low, which is the only deficiency compared to old house. My wife is cool with the workshop bay, but she just wants to make sure that there is segregation. She helped me assemble the cabinets so we could set them up as a wall between her car and the workshop.
I have a cool rack for hanging the skis on a wall (just have to decide where), the tricky part is finding where to put the kayak paddles.
I have a workbench that is probably going to be too short, but I do have a pegboard and a desire to cover it in tools.
I alway hang mine by the saddle. A small rope or strap from a hook in the ceiling works well. I use the same setup for working on the drive train except a have a second line going to the stem to keep everything from rotating. Work stands are nice but none of the tubes on my Cervelo are round so there is no where to clamp.
I have a wall separating my two car bay from the third bay. The workshop side has shelves and just painted siding on car side. All my bikes are hanging upside down from from the ceiling on J hooks (both front and back wheels.