A stand-alone rack that stacks a pair of bikes is a great convenience, especially if you live in tight quarters and choose a rack which can be pushed flush against a wall. Various models are available at reasonable prices from mail order retailers and at well-stocked bike shops. If your bikes are on the hefty side, lifting one to the top bunk can be part of your upper body workout. A stable stepping stool will help the vertically challenged cyclist to place her bike in the top position.

 
There’s one advantage to using a bike rack of this sort that you might not have anticipated (a bike lift which suspends a bike from the ceiling works, too). A high bike rest offers a view of the bits normally hidden from sight unless you normally crawl around on the floor or unless you put the bike on a mechanic’s workstand. Why would you want to look at your bike’s underbelly? To see what’s there, of course!

 

 

 

 

If you’re a photographer with a creative eye, this can offer endless possibilities for artistic shots. Get down on the floor, aim up, and shoot. Most folks, though, would find this to be less than entertaining. There is a more practical reason for looking at those hidden places on your bike. You acquaint yourself with some of the working parts which are vital for the functioning of your steed. Here’s an example:

 

 

What you’re seeing is the underside of the bottom bracket shell (the cylinder where the bottom bracket mechanism lives) and the cable guide for front and rear derailleurs (aka derailer, depending on who you’re reading). This is a Surly Long Haul Trucker, and the purple plastic piece is the cable guide. It’s screwed into the steel bottom bracket shell. In addition to noticing that my LHT needed some cleaning there, I also thought I’d see if that screw was loose. As it happened, it was, a bit. I tightened it. Let this be a lesson. In addition to checking all fasteners elsewhere on the bike (for fender stays, racks, and bottle cages, for instance), look for the hidden yet important fasteners and check them periodically, too.

One last note about this cable guide. Some folks who own Surly LHTs have discovered that when servicing their bottom brackets they couldn’t remove them from the shells. After checking all the obvious things and tearing out their hair in frustration, they realized that this little screw extends into the shell enough to obstruct removal of some bottom bracket cartridges. So, when the time comes to do your own bottom bracket work, keep this in mind. Even if your bike is different than mine, look to see if there’s anything screwed into the bottom bracket shell. It might keep you from going bald.

 

 
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