Clever/compact bicycle storage?

[Flargen]

I know there's little to be done to reduce the storage footprint of bicycles (especially in the era of these effing 29'ers), but I'm really at a loss regarding how to store 3 bicycles in my 8' ceiling garage efficiently. The ceilings are too low to hang them all overhead by both wheels, and my goal is to be able to still park 2 cars in the garage and be able to walk around them. Those swing-up ceiling storage systems are pretty much out of the question as well due to the lighting I've installed (LED housings on 4' centers).

Garage is a 20'x20'x8' attached garage with a ~6'x11' extension off the back wall. Said extension is currently slated to be used for a large U-shaped work bench (eventually hosting a benchtop mill and small lathe as well), so I'd rather not put the bikes back there.

The best idea I've come up with thus far is to hang them vertically at a 45° angle to the wall, starting in the corner closest to the 16'x7' garage door (since the space between the overhead tracks and wall is pretty much dead space anyway).

Anyone care to share their solutions?

 

[rzims]

I have all mine hung on hooks by their front wheel, which is not compact at all.
I found this image though where they pivot to the side once they are hung...

 

[MrSurly]

Let's talk about what's *above* the garage. Attic? What pitch is the roof? I ask because there are ways to utilize some of that space, ceiling modification involved, of course.

 

[PinklyTaurus]

Ceiling mount would be my way to go, wall space is too valuable

 

[DGersic]

Short term, not much. Long term, pull the pedals off and rotate the handlebars 90* to make the whole thing as thin as possible.


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[tachyon]

There is another good thread on this site where I posted photos of my solution. Basically you need a short 2x4, a 3/4” pipe flange, and an 18” pipe with an end cap. Hang them above your head, so the handlebars don’t stick out and get bumped easily...


Easy space efficient bicycle storage
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...om/forum/showthread.php?t=373685&share_type=t


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[CJ7VFR]

PRESS them onto the ceiling.
Lift them up to hooks that hook on to the front and rear wheel.
They're hanging upside down.
Now you hook a pulley to the ceiling,
Put the hook on the side of the stem
Lift it to the ceiling.
It's now 'laying' on the ceiling.

This almost exactly what I did with my bike when I lived in my townhouse!

The only difference is that instead of a pulley system to rotate the bike up to lay flat against the ceiling, I was able to push the bike up by hand and use a third hook and a bungi cord around the seat stem to hold it up.

It worked flawlessly for years! Now that I am in my new house, where the ceilings in the garage are much higher, I am going to use the two hooks and the pulley method.

As a matter of fact, I just bought two pulley systems about three months ago for our two bikes for this exact reason!

Jim

 

[jonshonda]

I made my own version out of 2x4's and some angle iron. But it works slick.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I made my own version out of 2x4's and some angle iron. But it works slick.

Nice. You did an excellent job on the brackets!

But let me ask. You're not married are you?

I don't know any married man whose wife would let them put their bikes right by the front door like that.

Jim

 

[jonshonda]

Nice. You did an excellent job on the brackets!

But let me ask. You're not married are you?

I don't know any married man whose wife would let them put their bikes right by the front door like that.

Jim

haha! Its a stock photo from the company Dahanger...they make the brackets.

While I don't have bikes by the front door, I do have my Santa Cruz Tallboy mountain bike hanging over our headboard!

 

[ratdoggy]

haha! Its a stock photo from the company Dahanger...they make the brackets.

While I don't have bikes by the front door, I do have my Santa Cruz Tallboy mountain bike hanging over our headboard!

Definitely need pics of that......

 

[carterbeauford]

But let me ask. You're not married are you?

I don't know any married man whose wife would let them put their bikes right by the front door like that.

Jim

almost got divorced over a Marin 29ER.

glad I kept it, I never get sick of looking at that rear triangle.

 

[CarsonConcepts]

Something along the lines of this would put them on their side up against the ceiling.

 

[jwh]

I've got an older version of this from Harbor Freight.

Works well to get 2 off the floor, should work for 3.

Item#61231

John

 

[Mecha]

Dero Track Rack

https://www.dero.com/product/track-rack/

 

[Mecha]

What I made for myself. Hooks screwed into 2x4's 2 ft apart with 2 ft offseting between bikes.

 

[Flargen]

Thanks for the tips - unfortunately, ceiling storage isn't an option with my lighting and air conditioning setup:

Seems like I either need to re-evaluate my bench plans in the rear extension, or finally commit to building a damn shed (which is long overdue).

 

[tbear1]

Something along the lines of this would put them on their side up against the ceiling.

Where did you find this? I did a quick search and couldn’t find this setup.

 

[rslaback]

Thanks for the tips - unfortunately, ceiling storage isn't an option with my lighting and air conditioning setup:

Seems like I either need to re-evaluate my bench plans in the rear extension, or finally commit to building a damn shed (which is long overdue).

Do your trusses run with or perpendicular to the lights?

 

[ProGun3400]

Seems like I either need to re-evaluate my bench plans in the rear extension, or finally commit to building a damn shed (which is long overdue).

Keep the bench plans & rear extension. Build the shed, move the yard tools, lawn mower, bikes, etc to the shed. If you want to get creative, build a loft in the shed. I have a Suncast shed in a back corner of the yard that I built a loft in. I store pool pump/filter, hoses, ladder, patio umbrellas, pool accessories, etc off the floor. The shed floor is where patio furniture, yard tools, etc get stored for the winter. Problem solved....

 

[CarsonConcepts]

Where did you find this? I did a quick search and couldn’t find this setup.

Had it saved from a while back when I was gathering ideas for bike storage. Could try Google's reverse image search to see if there's anymore info on it.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

I am in a similar situation, only my garage is even smaller. Roughly 18 x 18 with nearly 8 foot ceilings. I have a XL frame 29er as well. The attic space above the garage was deep enough on one side so I made some bicycle cubbyholes. I framed up the box in the attic, cut the hole in the ceiling (between the joists) and I am working on finishing the interior.

The pulleys are already mounted and work well with some 3/8" rope. The idea is to pull the bike up by the rear wheel. Since the the handlebars are wider than the space between joists, the grips will touch the ceiling. The front tire will be pulled off and hung on the wall.

The last thing I need to sort out is how to keep the bicycle in the correct orientation while pulling it up with the rope. I'm leaning towards making a tire/wheel sled with my 3D printer and using some DIN rail as the guide. That would keep the whole setup very compact, and more importantly, close to the wall. The current plan with just be to use some rope cleats/ties to secure it.