Efficient Bike Storage?

[colby]

Hey ladies,

We have 3 road bikes, 2 mountain bikes, and 2 BMX bikes that all hang out in our garage and/or basement (not to mention 2 kayaks, golf clubs, skis, snowboards, yard stuff, and "other stuff" ;)). They are scattered somewhat precariously around the area, and I'd much rather store them in a way that's better for the bikes, other equipment, and navigation.

I also want to do what's right for my bikes. I've seen a lot of "storage systems" but I'm really afraid of putting tension and pressure on the wrong part of the bike. They are super light little machines, but considering I pet my bike and talk nicely to her when I walk by, I don't see myself putting her in the bike equivalent of a thong and strappy bikini when she really needs a sports bra, jersey, and 8-panel chamois.

I was admiring the new Yakima garage rack system with lots of options for bikes, kayaks, and everything else, but it seems a litlte spendy instead of getting separate systems (bike rack, hooks and rope for kayaks) and gorilla racks for other stuff.

What points are safe to "hang" the bike from?
What should I look for in a pre-made rack?
Any good DIY systems (hooks alone or with ropes, for example) that we could use/make?
(Any other questions I should be asking? :))

TIA

[Adventure Girl]

Caligurl has a pretty nice set-up in her garage. Check out this link. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=4793

[bikerz]

AG beat me to it!

[Blueberry]

AG beat me to it!

Me too. (must add more characters...)

[SnappyPix]

No pics. :(
Or is it just my pc?

[caligurl]

just your puter! there's three pics!

and you guys ALL beat me to it! lol!

this has worked out perfectly for us so far! i even hang my own bike up 99% of the time! the hooks are low enough that i can manage to hand and get down my own bike!

[SnappyPix]

:o Oooh, they're back now.
Wow Caligurl - NICE! I think the Ruby looks a bit untidy though, I'll take it off your hands as a favour! :rolleyes:
Now that's what my garage is going to look like ... someday :o

[caligurl]

http://www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/149.gif

NO.... you may NOT have my ruby! lol!

[SnappyPix]

Heeeeeeee, worth a try!
Jealousy is a wonderful thing! :)

[colby]

Wow, I agree with the poster who said "you call that a garage?" ;) Nice work!

Sadly, we do park our cars in our garage (we have a 3 car garage and 3 cars to park), but I think we could use the space in front of the cars to do something just like that. Right now, the bikes are in front of the cars, next to the cars, you name it, and probably consuming that amount of space anyway.

Thanks for the links -- I'll check them out.

If anyone else has ideas, keep on postin'! I'm all ears. We're doing yard work this weekend (well, except one of us, who will be doing a half marathon AND yard work :rolleyes:) so I could see a garage project fitting in perfectly.

[Tuckervill]

I saw some of those Gravity bike racks at Sam's Club for about half what they were online.

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

We have one of those gravity racks that holds two bikes. It fits inside a really large closet we have in our apartment.

DH was concerned after it scratched my bike, so we lined the hooks with microfiber cloths. It works really well and was the only solution for two road bikes and one mountain bike in a 800 square foot apartment. :)

[Susan Otcenas]

FWIW, we have a system here at TE just like Cali's. Our bikes hang in a row on one wall of the warehouse. Works great and takes up very little floor space.

We bought ours from an outfit called Bike Up. Here's a link to the site: http://bikeup.com/vertical/bike-Up.cfm

Susan

[tamara_69]

We have very tight garage space, as well, with 2 cars and a boat to store in our 3 car garage. We hung our road bikes upside down from the ceiling with big yellow hooks from Home Depot, right between the boat and the truck, toward the front. They are easy to get down from there. For the MTB we bought a special hook and rope pulley system from Costco that leaves it upright so the shocks are not affected. Both are very inexpensive options and keep the bikes out of the reach of the kids, who of course, tend to knock them over.

Good luck! It seems no matter what you do, there's never enough room in the garage!

Tamara

[tamara_69]

Ditto to "That's a garage?"

Tamara

[spazzdog]

Cali... I love it that all the bikes have their own full length mirrors :D (at least it looks that way in the pic)

That's a woman who REALY wants her bikes to have a great "shelf-image"


tee-hee-hee
spazz-o-nomocaffienetoday

[caligurl]

yes.... each bike likes to admire himself/herself! lol! (actually... they are more functional than that... i use the garage for working out, too... and they are there to check form... granted we coulda stopped at probably 3... the three closest to the workout end.... but we had to make it all nice and even... purdy! lol!

[Tater]

I hope it isn't a guy-thing to have a case of garage envy! 'cause I like Caligurl's garage! Nicely done.

[Cecilanne]

I just ordered the Cezanne storage system, which is by Delta - the same maker as the Leonardo hooks- it's two uprights with shelves and a cross-bar in between - room to hang four bikes on the uprights (two per side) and clothing from the corss bar - all the other gear on the shelves - got it cheap from amazon.com after finding numerous reccos to it (including write-up in the NYTimes) - we'll see how it works . . . .:rolleyes: