Like many others that I post here, I have multiple bikes strewn throughout my garage. I need some type of bike rack so I can neatly store my bikes. My garage has a very high ceiling, so I can’t just mount a few storage hooks on the ceiling. I am thinking of purchasing one of those commercial bike racks that you see in many parks and schools. We need to have room to rack at least 6 bikes, including several mountain bikes. Anyone have any recommendations on where to purchase such a rack? Has anyone ever built a bike storage rack before? I’m not very handy, so I don’t even know if that would be an option for me.
I bought a 2 bike rack at Sports Chalet that I am unhappy with. It was about $40-50 and stores the bikes in opposite direction by the front wheel. Can’t remember the manufacturer. Too flimsy-avoid it.
I found some wall mountable bike racks at Home Depot in the section where you find all of the pegboard accessories. They were something like $5-$6, will fold up out of the way when not in use, and basically hang your bike from the top tube. They keep the bike far enough away from the wall to clear 46cm drop bars and your pedals, but since they fold up, they won’t stick out when there is not bike hanging from them.
Not positive of the brand, but I have one that sounds just like that (my LBS is a TREK dealer so probably same). I think the thing is fantastic. I expected a lot more problems with the “gliding” but the thing works great. FYI-make sure everything is properly aligned and spaced. I found that the mounting screws also had to be properly tightened (too tight for some reason was also a problem). Do not rule out hanging by seat and bar. I have found that is easier.
If you want to stand them up like the ones at a school yard, try a shipping pallet. You can just set your front tire or rear tire between the slots. If you are storing a mtn bike, just take of one piece of wood and nail it back in leaving a wider gap for the wider tire.
I live in a house with four cyclists! lots of bikes in the garage and the house. We bought the racks that they use at the K TOWN TRI. It looks like the transition zone in our garage… no room for the car but the important transportation vehicles are easy to get at and lots of transition practice.
I am really cheap, so I built a couple of racks that hang from the walls out of 2x4’s and 1x3’s. I copied the designs from other wall racks I have seen and they work really well. Of course, my wife had plenty of suggestions for improvement!
Well, I think getting them up on the ceiling is the best way to go (if you’ve got a high enough ceiling so you can still walk under the bikes). I built my own modeled after the ones they sell at performance etc. I currently have 3 mtn bikes and 2 road bikes mounted on the ceiling (plus a couple of trail a bikes for the kids). I leave the kids bikes on the floor so they can get to them easier.
Here’s a couple of things I found out the hard way:
Use a pulley system if you build your own. My first version I just used eye-hooks with rope running through, and although I could yank the bike up using my extensive body weight, it was a bit too heavy for my wife, so she frequently woudn’t her’s up (which led to increased blood pressure for me).
Don’t mount your mountain bikes upside down. I can’t explain it, because it seems like the seals should work in both directions, but I found that the oil in certain types of front forks tends to leak out if they’re hung upside down for long periods of time (like over the winter).
