Top tips on storing your bike
Sheds, garages and under-stairs cupboards are ideal places to stash a bike. But what happens when you don’t have a garage, a garden, or even a set of stairs? You have to get a little more ‘creative’...
Whether your place is stylishly ‘bijou’ or space is at a premium due to the demands of family life, we’re looking at storage solutions for the 21st century house or flat – ingenious ways and means to keep your wheels safe, dry and out of the way.
Go vertical
Take a look at your bike. Unless you’ve created yourself a crazy new style or ride something from Whacky Races, it’ll probably take up most space when measured horizontally from wheel-to-wheel, rather than vertically from saddle-to-floor. So to save yourself vital ground space, consider standing it upright. All that thin air at head height would otherwise go to waste, so hanging your bike with these nifty One Up Bike Holders could minimise the ‘footprint’ of your wheels.
Keep it simple
As is often the way in matters of design, simplicity goes a long way. When combined with something as cool as the Cycloc, you get an all-round winner. Perch it on your wall and slot your bike on via the crossbar, and it will hang freely, keeping your carpets clean and floor clear. Or, if you have a suitable space to keep your wheels, but perhaps want to make the storage solution a little more elegant, how about this fantastically simple stand. Essentially a support that slips onto your pedal crank arm, it will hold the bike upright and prevent scuffs and marks on crisp white walls or beautifully-finished wallpaper.
Not your normal office chair…
Ok, so stick with us on this one. It may not look the most comfortable, and whether you’d want to don a pair of padded pants to answer your emails is debatable, but we have to admit, this is pretty funky. Why have separate bike storage and an office chair? Combine the two essentials and make the saddle of your mount double up at your workstation.
Artistic and stylish
If you have an arty side or like to make a feature wall in your lounge or dining room, kill two birds with one stone by making your trusty steed a piece of wall art. The range of options here is impressive, and if you consider the bicycle a thing of beauty, you’ll probably never get tired of gazing at your real-life work of art. When space is at a premium, being able to make your storage spaces multi-functional is a big plus. The obvious option is to combine shelving, which is stylish too. Stash your cycling essentials here too to keep it all nicely organised and free up storage space elsewhere.
Cheap and nifty
We all love something that is functional and effective. When we can get that for a wallet-saving price, then what’s not to like? You don’t always need to spend big bucks for a solution to your storage woes – simple, yet robust, hooks like these will bolt onto your wall or ceiling and support the weight of your bike without the need for too much banging, hammering and screwing. Bike on the ceiling? Sorted.
Ropes and pulleys
It may look like the sort of kit that Frank Spencer would use to manoeuvre a piano out of a fourth-storey window, but hoist systems can be a really effective way of lifting your bike off the ground into that otherwise redundant space just below the ceiling. Even if you’re not blessed with high ceilings, the engineering alone looks impressive.
Store on the wild side
If you see yourself as a bit of an animal on the bike, one of these brilliant animal heads would suit you down to the ground. Combining functionality with a simple, cool and playful design, they’re a great twist on the deer-head over the mantelpiece. Minus the scary eyes and unwieldy horns.
Dead space
Do you have anything you could consider ‘dead space’ at home? Space that isn’t being used for what it’s meant for, but which could easily house your wheels in the meantime? A redundant bathtub makes a perfect bike container. Probably best to check with your significant other, parents or family on this one though…
Take it outdoors
It may be that you have some outdoor space, but don’t have the luxury of a shed or a garage. Make the most of your yard or patch with an outdoor container. A more high-end option for keeping your wheels safe, but nevertheless a great way to preserve your precious indoor space.
Shrink the bike
If you’ve exhausted all of your storage options, tried hanging things from ceilings, tired of looking at the two-wheeled ‘piece of art’ and have a distinct shortage of space, it is time to think laterally – shrink the bike. Folding bikes will do a job on your daily commute and will fold up to make it easier to fit around vacuum cleaners, suitcase and other stashed household miscellany. You’ll be able to stash it under the stairs, in the utility room or in a cupboard out of the way.
Do you have any other ways of stashing your wheels? Have you come up with a genius way to maximise space at home or work? Send us your pics!
Also worth a read:
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