Feb 28 2009
There’s Always Room for One More…Bike!
Bicycles are like potato chips—it’s hard to have just one. There are many reasons why cyclists accumulate bikes, beginning with the fact that not all bikes are made alike. Some are designed for utility riding on roads. Light, tight bikes are best for road racing. Still others can handle the rigors of single tracks with rough surfaces. Whatever kind of cycling you like to do, there’s a specialty bike to do it. And then there are the all-rounders, bikes help you do the shopping, take the kids to the daycare center, while also being comfortable and capable enough to haul your gear on a long tour.
Most enthusiastic bicyclists end up with more than one bicycle, and if you live in spacious quarters, finding a place to securely store your bikes generally isn’t a problem. When I lived on a farm, I just wheeled my bike into one of the barns. Horses and bikes coexisted happily. On the other hand, if you live in a tiny house or an apartment, it can be a challenge to keep your bikes under lock and key.
Cramped quarters need not prevent you from owning one or more bikes. There are more storage options available on the market today than ever before. Check out the local bike shop, browse the selection of racks and storage solutions offered by national mail order retailers, and use your ingenuity. Finding a good spot can be as easy as a DIY project—read how DuBois built a bike stand from lumber he had on hand, for instance.
The photos which follow show a few of the ways to manage bike storage, beginning with this one:
In a small apartment, this bike is berthed just inside the entry door, which opens into a tiny kitchen. Carpet remnants protect the floor from scuffs and dirt, and essentials like bar bag, maintenance supplies (in recycled coffee cans), and cycling gloves are stored on handlebars and between the cocked front wheel and the crankset. The passage is tight but not impossible, and the front wheel can be rotated up so the bike can be backed out of the apartment on its rear wheel.
Here’s another photo of bikes in tight living quarters :
Three bikes are stored in a short hallway. Two are suspended from a rack which is placed almost flush against the wall—this is possible because the rack’s designed so that the rear feet don’t project backwards. A third bike is placed on carpet remnants behind the entrance door. Various bike supplies, tools, and components are stored in the same general area, and though the passageway looks very narrow, there’s plenty of room for people to move through.
Variations on the theme are shown here:
A two-tiered rack is placed before a window in a living room. A third bike is on the floor (protected by a runner rug) next to the bottom bike in the rack. Access to windows is possible, and the bikes have a view.
No spare floor space? Look up. Some folks suspend bikes from lifts that are operated by pulleys and line. Or you could hang your bike on a strong curtain rod using nylon webbing and carabiners (or other snaplinks):
This frame and a pair of wheels are suspended from a curtain rod in a spare room. Foam tubing is wrapped around vulnerable parts, the rear wheel is locked into the dropouts, and the front wheel hangs separately. Not many people have such an unusual window treatment.
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f you have a shed, you’re in luck. Just park your trusty steed or steeds there. If the shed is shared with others, sink a hefty bolt into a stud and lock the bike to it—this is a low security way to keep honest folks honest, not a reliable way to secure your bike from vandalism of total loss:
Creative use of space uncovers plenty of places to store your bike—or bikes—even in the smallest house or apartment. Why park your bike in the weeds?
