Winter Garage Project

[jm2e]

Moving soon. Would like to dress up garage storage for bikes. Need it to look nice and be easy to access for miniature mrs2e. Currently at 6 bikes and could see flexing up to 8 bikes in the future.

Currently debating the investment for one of these:
Steadyrack. $70-90 per bike. Pretty slick, but wicked expensive.


Rudy Rack Stand Up Rack. $400 bones for 6 bikes.


Also thinking about DIY options, but not sure it's worth it if there's a nice looking option that actually works.

Any one already doing this?

[smmokan]

Why not do something similar to the first option, but just use the rubber-coated hooks from Home Depot for $3/ea? You can either offset them up/down so you can fit more in a tight space, or turn the front wheel at a 45* angle to fit more.

Either way, I'd love to see what others are using since I'm hoping to build out a garage space soon too. Oh, and where are you moving?

[::: :::]

Vinyl wrapped j hooks from HD or Lowe’s is <$10
Put up a 2x6 horizontal at 6’ abv the flr w/ 2 screws at ea stud
Put up a 2nd 2x6 at 5’4 abv the flr
Space hooks one up one down so that bikes have 24” clear width each
Maybe add a 24” tall plywd strip to take tire dirt at about 24” abv the flr

[toast2266]

I just built a frame out of 2x4's that has hooks. Horizontal 2x4 sits about 20 inches from the wall, it's efficient with space. Height is just over a wheelbase, so to hook bikes onto it, you only have to lift them 2-3". I actually have the 2x4 running at a slight angle to accommodate longer / shorter bikes. It's simple and cheap to build, works well, and looks clean. My rack holds 8 bikes in about 11' of space

Mine is set up so bikes are staggered up/down (one bike hung by front wheel, next bike hung by back wheel, etc.). That allows more bikes in less space, but you could easily make it so the bikes hang diagonally like those racks if you wanted them all to be upright (which would be a little easier to load / unload). If I did that, I'd probably put 2x4 stubs on the wall for the rear wheels to notch into.

[forty]

doesnt save as much space as hanging but its simple, cheap, and can hold 10 bikes

[jm2e]

Moving to Blacksburg, VA. Gonna miss CO, but the riding around VA is awesome too.
New house has shop extension behind the garage that’s a bit narrower than a 1 car space, so the racks above (like I’ve been using for a while) will probably eat up too much floor space and be awkward to access.
Steve, having the bikes vertical and lifting onto a hook just won’t ever be used by mrs2e. I started looking at the Steadyrack because it looked like she might be able to get the bike in/out a lot easier than a hook. Reluctant though with the buy in cost. Might just buy 1 to check it out.
Toast, you got pics of yours? I’m intrigued.


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[N1CK.]

Board attached with concrete screws + rubber coated hooks for front wheel. Hold 5 bikes and frees up floor space quite a bit.
Nothing fancy but it works and I don't think I spent $40 putting this all together.

[HankScorpio]

Don’t buy the Park Tool bike hooks. Yes, they’re blue and match your tools but the blue rubberized coating comes off and scratches the fuck out of your rims.


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[sethschmautz]

doesnt save as much space as hanging but its simple, cheap, and can hold 10 bikes

Mine is similar to this, but I don't love it. I really like the concept of the clug and similar knock offs. I keep thinking that there has to be a way to recreate that by cutting down different sizes of PVC or maybe scraps of a 2x6" and different sizes of a hole saw...

Seth

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[evdog]

I've had various iterations of bikes hanging from hooks over the years. The place I live in now has a shelf along the wall that is perfect height to hang bikes from. I screwed a 2x4 to the top of the shelf to give the hooks more wood to bite into. Both shorter and longer bikes touch the floor and I don't need to lift them up to hang them. Just raise them upright, flip the wheel over the hook, and let the other wheel move where it needs to. They tend to hang diagonally which is only a pain when you want a bike in the middle and you have to move the others a bit to get to it. Hanging from the rear wheel can also be a pain. You might be able to make the frame Toast suggested so that it will work this way. Or set up the hanging rack to accommodate most of the bikes and then do something else for bikes mrs2e rides most often.

[thefortrees]

Moving to Blacksburg, VA. Gonna miss CO, but the riding around VA is awesome too.

Thread drift: the riding won't dissapoint. You've got to check out the trails in GW National Forest. You don't want to miss Narrowback Loop or the Reddish Knob to Wolf Ridge descent - pretty epic... Search for Stokesville campground. Plenty of info on the internet about the trails out there.

[El Chupacabra]

For a cheap source of large radius hooks - that fit mtb tires better than the small ones - Harbor Freight.

Drawback is that their vinyl coating is cheap and splits. When that happened on mine, I cut off the vinyl and slid on a piece of thick vinyl tubing, which should last forever on the hooks.

[TahoeJ]

Those SteadyRacks are pricey but I've been extremely happy with the setup. Got them for a bit less $$ via Amazon last summer. In particular how easy it is to store the bikes closely together and then pivot them out of the way to make clearance for removing a bike.

[scrublover]

If you do anything with the vinyl coated hooks, be sure to get the heavier duty ones. Larger dia. with a bigger "hook" area, and the coating is much thicker and tougher than the cheapies.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...-202305457-_-N

This one is even working very well for my fatbike.

[EWG]

I used something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Floor.../dp/B005IN02V6

Cheap and easy and you can attach as many bike sections together as you want. We've got a rack of 10 in a row, then another section of 5. Then we have the tandem and my cross bike hanging from the ceiling. Honestly, they don't work great, but they are good enough. And cheap.

If you are willing to give up ever parking a car, then floor mounted racks will still let you fit a lot. We've got a full workbench wrenching area with a toolbox on wheels and a bike workstand. There's one entire side wall covered with shelves with spare bike parts, outdoor supplies and tools/materials. We've got 17 or 18 bikes as mentioned and about 15 wheels hung above the workbench on rubber hooks. On the other side wall we have racks for all the ski boots and bags/packs, a rack that holds about 15 pairs of skis made out of 1x/2x material, another rack for 6 snowboards made out of plywood, a table for gear we are getting rid of, a rack that holds about 16 skateboards made out of plywood, and the rack of 10 bikes already mentioned. Then in the middle we used old kitchen base cabinets to store all the bike softgear and ski soft gear in Mountainsmith cubes so we can just grab whenever. Plus drawers for all the field sports and a huge bin for balls (soccer is serious in our family and we have maybe 25 soccer balls for training.)

So, just turn your garage into a gear shop. It's awesome. You'll love it. The fact that the keg is also out there helps...

A terrible closeup of the bike rack in question - hopefully you can kinda see how it works.

[Anospa]

^^that is actually not a bad price for a storage rack.

I forget what I spent in parts, but built one out of PVC & fittings. Its cheap and easy to build, but does take fair bit of time and PVC glue isn't exactly nicest smelling thing in the world.

[bagtagley]

Thread drift: the riding won't dissapoint. You've got to check out the trails in GW National Forest. You don't want to miss Narrowback Loop or the Reddish Knob to Wolf Ridge descent - pretty epic... Search for Stokesville campground. Plenty of info on the internet about the trails out there.

Plenty of good stuff around Blacksburg and Roanoke as well. Carvins is solid and continues to get better, and Douthat not too far away. Smoother/flowier than GWNF but plenty of trail and elevation for some big rides.

[oftpiste]

Another vote for Home Depot coated hooks. Cheap. Screwed into studs in unfinished garage wall which happen to be 24" on center.

[Andeh]

I used something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Floor.../dp/B005IN02V6

Cheap and easy and you can attach as many bike sections together as you want. We've got a rack of 10 in a row, then another section of 5. Then we have the tandem and my cross bike hanging from the ceiling. Honestly, they don't work great, but they are good enough. And cheap.

If you are willing to give up ever parking a car, then floor mounted racks will still let you fit a lot. We've got a full workbench wrenching area with a toolbox on wheels and a bike workstand. There's one entire side wall covered with shelves with spare bike parts, outdoor supplies and tools/materials. We've got 17 or 18 bikes as mentioned and about 15 wheels hung above the workbench on rubber hooks. On the other side wall we have racks for all the ski boots and bags/packs, a rack that holds about 15 pairs of skis made out of 1x/2x material, another rack for 6 snowboards made out of plywood, a table for gear we are getting rid of, a rack that holds about 16 skateboards made out of plywood, and the rack of 10 bikes already mentioned. Then in the middle we used old kitchen base cabinets to store all the bike softgear and ski soft gear in Mountainsmith cubes so we can just grab whenever. Plus drawers for all the field sports and a huge bin for balls (soccer is serious in our family and we have maybe 25 soccer balls for training.)

So, just turn your garage into a gear shop. It's awesome. You'll love it. The fact that the keg is also out there helps...

A terrible closeup of the bike rack in question - hopefully you can kinda see how it works.

Don't those style of racks put pressure on disc rotors? I like the ski rack though.

But I fully support converting garages into workshop/toy shops. If only I could get my wife to understand that putting cars in them is a terrible waste of space.

[t-the-east]

So, to all the suggestions of the rubber coated hooks-I’ve always read it’s bad to hang the bike by one wheel..... thoughts?

[EWG]

Don't those style of racks put pressure on disc rotors? I like the ski rack though.

But I fully support converting garages into workshop/toy shops. If only I could get my wife to understand that putting cars in them is a terrible waste of space.

The rotor thing is a potential issue. The other trick is making sure the derailleurs aren't getting pushed forward while in the rack. You just have to shift the der all the way to the outside cog and then be careful putting the bike in the rack. IMO, if you do it right it's minimal pressure on the rotors and I personally am unconcerned. I've seen no problems over the years.

YMMV

[EWG]

So, to all the suggestions of the rubber coated hooks-I’ve always read it’s bad to hang the bike by one wheel..... thoughts?

I, personally, don't like to hang bikes in a way that encourages shock fluid to drain toward the fork crown. In other words, upside down or hanging by the front wheel. Others disagree, but I feel like seals leak less when stored upright.

However, I think that on a well built wheel, hanging 30 pounds from it should not be an issue. I guess you could make a case that if you are using QRs instead of through-axles on that hanging wheel it should be checked more often.

Oh yea - an edit to say some folks swear inverting bikes is bad for hydraulic brakes. Since I don't store them that way, I haven't paid much attention to see if there is truth to that.

[gravitylover]

These are nice, make your stuff look better and you can stack 3 bikes on an 8' high wall and even the top one is easy to take down. https://zeitbike.com/brands/cycloc/c...rage-3555.html Use the code TH10 for 10% off.

[TahoeJ]

Oh yea - an edit to say some folks swear inverting bikes is bad for hydraulic brakes. Since I don't store them that way, I haven't paid much attention to see if there is truth to that.

I was concerned about this but it’s a non issue. Take your bike down and squeeze the brakes a few times and they’re good to go. It’s also an easy way to spot a problem, because if that doesn’t happen then you know you either have super dirty lines, excessive air, or a slight leak.

[sethschmautz]

Did a little searching on my own and found somebody that built his own steady rack. Pics are on Amazon, but essentially one if these hanging racks on a 2x6 with gate hinges. Might try this this summer...

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