Solutions for apartment living and multiple bikes.. Pics please!

Hello Everyone,

Due to a divorce and a *drastic* drop in income I will be moving from a 1500 sq ft house w/oversize 1 car garage into a 662sq ft efficiency 1 bedroom apartment. I have thinned the herd down as low as I am prepared to go = 5 bikes that get ridden regularly and are all completely different purposes. There are bike racks in the garage, so theoretically I can lock up one or two outside the apartment, but that still leaves 3 to "decorate" with ;-) My question is, what solutions are there for storing multiple bikes in small apartments and still make them accessible? I'd love to see pics of creative solutions or just solutions in general.

Thanks so much!
Scrappy

i'd think something like the Minoura bike tower would be the best solution - no mounting hardware, but gets bikes off the ground - looks like you can get it through Nashbar
here's their website - http://www.minourausa.com/english/st...ower10-e2.html this looks really cool... attachments for holding all kinds of stuff, shoes, accessories, trainers - if you can walk around it, it can hold up to 4 bikes - 2 per side. - several other types of stands too
Attachment 16241

Thanks Eden! That looks like it will work :-)

Scrappy

I have the wood version. Sturdy and attractive. Be sure you put it under a ceiliing joist and cushion it with some felt or something so it doesn't mar the ceiling.

I have this in my laundry room and no problems so far: http://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Hang-I...ke+rack+indoor

Not nearly as attractive as the ideas already mentioned, but we have a wood pallet leaned up against the wall that works as a bike rack. We have one of those floor mats - like retail stores have right inside the door - underneath them. Our cat would never leave alone bikes hanging up anywhere so this was the best we could get (plus it was free). It fits four bikes. We plan on moving again soon to a bigger place so this works for now. If you're going to be there for a while those towers would be nice.

Try googling bike hanger and then click on images. You'll find numerous pictures of various ways that people are using to hang their bikes inside.

Attachment 16259

It is not attached but leans against the wall and is very stable. It does, however, only hold two bikes and no attachments. Now I only have one bike the tip is for hanging helmets and such :)

I have a standalone rack like the one that Catrin posted-- holds two bikes.

But I'll admit that I've been drooling over some of these: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/5-ha...-for-ap-148404

All great suggestions ladies, thank you! I love the wood shelves solution, but unfortunately only one of my bikes has a traditional straight top tube. Glad to see so many ways to keep most of them in-house.

Scrappy

This isn't the most beautiful solution (and a crappy phone pic), but here's my herd.....our apartment has a handy little nook right inside the front door which makes for very convient in/out storage. It doesn't attach to the wall, but it's sturdy enough, it's the older version of this

Attachment 16260

I have the delta michaelangelo bike rack. http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Michelan...elta+bike+rack
It just leans up against a wall so no hardware, and is very sturdy and looks nice. I too have it in my laundry room, but 2 side by side could give u a nice 'bike wall'. Before you leave them locked in shared garage make sure they are safe there.

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

I have the delta michaelangelo bike rack. http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Michelan...elta+bike+rack
It just leans up against a wall so no hardware, and is very sturdy and looks nice. I too have it in my laundry room, but 2 side by side could give u a nice 'bike wall'. Before you leave them locked in shared garage make sure they are safe there.

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Attachment 16261

I have the same rack in my hallway. Yes, it makes the passage narrow, but it works for me. There is another bike propped up in front of the fireplace in the living room.

I got a similar rack to the one mentioned above at Target, called The Art of Storage Leaning 2 bike Rack. I have it in my outdoor shed, but you could put it inside, and don't need to mount it to the wall. I could not believe how it holds both of my bikes. The arms are adjustable so it's very easy to move the bikes around.
http://www.target.com/p/the-art-of-s...m=bike+storage

+1 the Minuora rack. It has padded ends so doesn't damage anything. Held our road bikes great with adjustable holders to align with a sloping top tube. We also used angers that hold the front wheel. Of course must be into concrete or stud, but meant our tandem bike could be stored in the apartment.

Tip for bikes in a lift. Pull up the front wheel and roll in on the back wheel only while vertical. Means other people can get in the lift too. Even our tandem could get into the lift this way.

Another vote for the gravity rack: Doesn't mar up the walls in a rental apartment! As a record, my 500sq ft apartment at one point had a bunch of mountain bikers crashing on my hide-a-bed, so we had a total of four people and 7 bicycles in here.

Attachment 16269

Bumping this thread up to show off our freshly painted bike/guest room. Our daughter (living with us while in grad school) moved down to our basement, so we're moving stuff around and repainting bedrooms. What used to be her room is now our bike room, and overflow guest room (son's old room will be the main guest room). We spent the last week painting over all the pink & purple, getting a simple but stylish IKEA sleeper sofa, and moving the bike stuff. The big reveal:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5632/...985e95e1_z.jpg
The new bike room by DutchRosie, on Flickr

Still needs some art on the walls and a rug on the floor, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Hey, that's really nice, BikeDutchess! Love the teal color and minimalistic decor. Well done, and functional too!

Thanks, Emily! The color scheme was inspired by the throw pillow :)

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Originally Posted by BikeDutchess

Thanks, Emily! The color scheme was inspired by the throw pillow :)

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And that is a really pretty throw pillow! :-) Only wish you'd posted a couple of the photos full-size. I was having to squint to look at them. Do love it, though.

Your wish is my command! ;)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5718/...1232e1ba_z.jpg
Bike/Guest Room: IKEA BALKARP Sofa Bed by DutchRosie, on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/583/2...5aa24f23_z.jpg
Bike/Guest Room: KNIPPE coat stand; unknown brand wire storage rack by DutchRosie, on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/752/2...bf6b9cfb_z.jpg
Bike/Guest Room: Topeak B2 Bike Stand by DutchRosie, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5733/...0efc074c_z.jpg
Bike/Guest Room: Accent Wall by DutchRosie, on Flickr

Very nice, thanks for the bigger pictures!

Now I love it even more! I love how you picked up that color in the pillow.

Thanks so much for sharing the larger photos. :-)