Apartment bike storage

Posted by: Gordonmcn

The steadyracks do look really solid. 

You guys that have them, did you stagger them at different heights to keep it compact? Only downside I see there is it ends up being a lot of holes to put in a wall

I stagger them so I have 3 on 3 studs 18 inches apart. My hard tail is the higher one to make it easier to lift to it but frankly it is not hard to put any bike on it. The swinging feature makes it easy to pick my bike like flipping the pages of a book.

Studs or a frame built across studs work a treat - I don't stagger them and if I know the bike is going to sit on the rack a little longer then removing a pedal really helps cinch it to the wall. The only other tool you'll want in addition to spirit level, drill etc is a ratchet socket set as the bolts are hex heads but the instructions couldn't be clearer. Each rack took me roughly 5 mins to put up onto a stud and they're very solid.

I just stagger them in height to ensure handle bars don't get in the way of each other while the bikes are much closer than recommended.

Posted by: nobby

I just stagger them in height to ensure handle bars don't get in the way of each other while the bikes are much closer than recommended.

I did the staggered heights but the bars are so wide that they still get in the way when removing a bike between two others. I now hang them by the back wheel and use a rope to hold the bars at 45 degrees. Makes getting the bikes in and out much easier. Although I hardly consider holes drilled in the wall an "apartment solution"

Mounting more than one bike vertically requires a lot of space when you factor for bar width.

Vertical storage for us, not in an apartment, but a 2 bedroom basement suite (in the "garage room"). Find your studs and us a long 2x6 with big hooks from Home Depot. Mine fits 5 bikes, and I staggered the hooks a bit for more chances at "getting along". The stack can "fold over" when you need to access a certain bike, kinda like a vertical filing cabinet. Clearly, we have other storage issues, as the pump bikes get buried by some other stuff till needed, and usually one of the 6 bikes gets relegated off the rack for more frequent use (DH bike currently on the floor as the Dorado is being serviced).

Picture didn't attach at first, for some reason.

My board I screwed into the studs has slots so I can slide the hooks around. It’s definitely a pain to get more than two bikes in, but it is possible:

If you look at it from a space perspective, an mtb takes up roughly 7ft x 3ft x 4ft (LxWxH) of space. So for people with limited free floor space, the question is how to cram as many bikes as possible into that space while still having any one bike accessible. Stacking them horizontally and back to front against a wall you could fit four bikes into that space - two on the floor and two above hanging on hooks of some sort. But that means you have to move two bikes if you want the one at the back. If you hang them vertically, you can get maybe three bikes into that similar space, but it means they project out into the room an extra foot as opposed to them standing horizontally and leaning against the wall. The advantage with vertical is that any one bike is a bit easier to access. So barring cost, bike storage is a compromise between taking up space and ease of access. I only spew all the obvious out as I've grappled with chaos for a while as I have multiple bikes in a perpetual state of floating all over the place and moving around to accommodate a few different things.

I think if you only have two bikes then stacking them up against wall with hooks/shelves above for gear, tools etc works really well. If you have three or four bikes then the same with two on the floor and two above and you can still have some space to hang gear. If you get above four then it gets trick. I'd guess it probably makes more sense to go vertical and alternate the height of the hooks to get them close together. Or if you have more space then you could do another horizontal stack somewhere else. I'm still holding out hope of finding a sugar momma so I can have a 1000sqft shop to store all the bikes, tools etc. and not worry about having bikes and gear in the dining room, living room, hallway and spare bedroom.

Posted by: Cheez1ts

My board I screwed into the studs has slots so I can slide the hooks around. It’s definitely a pain to get more than two bikes in, but it is possible:

Cheez1ts: Is that a custom built rail or a specific product? Seems similar to what I have. 

I wasn't sure if this would unearth some more interesting/unique storage designs but seems like theres the few classic solutions and not that much else.

Posted by: Cheez1ts

My board I screwed into the studs has slots so I can slide the hooks around. It’s definitely a pain to get more than two bikes in, but it is possible:

That's a cool solution. If you mounted another board a little higher up the wall you could stagger the handlebars a bit and maybe that make it easier to get the bikes in and out?

It’s a standard product, I think I picked it up from Lowe’s 3 years ago now.

Craw that’s a good idea! I just moved into a new place and I was going to install the board a bit higher for the DH bike, but maybe doing two would be the better plan.

I have done the vertical storage in every apartment and house i have rented.

One tip I picked up from my buddy Dave is put a tarp behind the stud so there is no chance of muddy dirty tires damaging the wall. When I move out I just have 6 small screw holes to patch and a half ass paint job. I always get my full deposit back.

If you go to Lowes you can find the Rubbermaid FastTrack system and it is great as it allows you to slide the hooks so you can fit the bikes as tight or as far apart as you want.

Pro tip... don't install the vertical hanging hook at the height for your current bikes. in two years your bike will be too long and you'll have reinstall it higher.