Wall mounting bikes

I’ve moved and need a new bike storage solution as I don’t have a spare room for bikes anymore (despite currently having three in the bathroom…)

I’ve got a brick outbuilding which is now suitably insured for bike storage.  I want to mount bikes in the wall, probably with those big covered hooks.  I’m planning to anchor a batten to the wall for the hooks rather than sinking them into brick.

What I’m wanting to know is fixing centres.  I’m planning top and tailing. My usual bar width is 760.  On paper it looks like simple 400mm centres should be fine, possibly with a bit of tolerance added to keep things knocking.  Is it really this simple or am I missing something?

I have mine on the wall using pedal hooks with little tabs for the tyres to rest on.

It keeps the bikes as high as possible without pedals to walk into.

As you can see from the photo they are mounted straight into breeze block, they have been up for ages and get regular use with no issues.

https://www.aplaceforeverything.co.uk/home-storage/bike-store-pedalo

Batten bolted to wall, hooks into batten. Bikes mounted top to tail at 18″ intervals. Don’t screw the hooks into the wall.

Thanks!  Pedal mount isn’t an option. Far too space hungry for the available room which is shed proportions even though it’s brick.

@TiRed, ok, so 18” is around 457mm so basically the 400+fudge I was thinking.  Do you really need the whole dead 100mm between bikes or is it just a round number?  100% agree on batten.

Just double-check that you want to put them vertically.

When I calculated mine, with long forks and big wheels, they came out from the wall far more than I was expecting.
Putting them parallel with the wall 2-deep gives me much more room as long as it’s worked out properly.

ymmv.

Any thoughts on locking them up? At the moment, I use a ground anchor into concrete with a big-ass motorcycle chain looped through the frames. If I wall mounted, I think that I would probably still us the ground anchor, but would run one chain up the wall, and the chain the bikes to that one.

I mount mine with the front wheel removed, turning the bars so they’re parallel with the top tube and hanging them from the axle with the rear wheel on the floor, the front wheel then tucks in along side this.

It saves a load of space, well about 15-18″ at shoulder height and allows you to put a shelf above the hooks too. That way you can get more bikes in, I’ve got 4 hung in a building that’s no more than 4ft 6inch across.

@nwmlarge that’s not an out house it’s a full on building!!!

Just double-check that you want to put them vertically.

When I calculated mine, with long forks and big wheels, they came out from the wall far more than I was expecting.
Putting them parallel with the wall 2-deep gives me much more room as long as it’s worked out properly.

+1

I hung my bikes vertically using hooks, with the hooks mounted on arris rail, so the bikes sat at 45 degrees. The idea of this is that they wouldn’t stick out so far.
The reality is that they still stick out too far. I have recently removed the rails & hooks & have bought a wall hanging hook that will supposedly take two bikes; it’s one of those mounts that is basically 2 long prongs that stick out from the wall. The idea is that I’ll have 2 bikes top to tail on the floor, stood up against the wall & 2 on the mount above it top to tail. I think the prongs are only deep enough for a mountain bike & a road bike, rather than 2 mountain bikes – dunno, I haven’t mounted it yet….

Here is a pic of the bikes on the wall, although in fairness it doesn’t really show how far they protrude from the wall:

13-10-20 DSCN5261 by STW stumpy01[/url], on Flickr

Just double-check that you want to put them vertically.

When I calculated mine, with long forks and big wheels, they came out from the wall far more than I was expecting.
Putting them parallel with the wall 2-deep gives me much more room as long as it’s worked out properly.

+2

In the end went with the pedal mounts as in @nwmlarge’s picture. 2 rows of 2, with more bikes on the floor below them. If I had a bigger budget, I might have gone with Steadyrack – I like the way the bike is supported on the tyre, and the pivot addresses the space issue. But with a variety of tyre widths and mudguards to cope with it was all a bit complicated, and would have been expensive too.

Yep, vertical is the only option. The building is physically too short or narrow to take a mountain bike in one piece otherwise, but is nicely sized for a vertical rack of 29er length bikes plus some clutter.  I’m pretty resigned to the likelihood that I’ll have to unpack the shed if I don’t want the bike closest to the door.   It’s bigger than an old outside toilet but not room size.  Looks like I was about right with how I thought it would work, that’s tomorrow’s mission now!

@daerne, beyond big Abus disklock and hasp on the door, I haven’t really thought about security yet.  I’ll probably end up with some sort of bar and lock arrangement. Space is very limited, and I’ve got it in writing from my insurance that so king as the building is brick and slate (it is) and the door is locked they don’t require further internal security…

I mound mine as above with a hook screwed into wood but I do it from the back wheel with the front turned to 45 degrees.

Reasons being my cellar isn’t quite tall enough to take a 29er on end and it reduces the distance they go into the room.

If you must mount them vertically, ensure you have every other hook a decent bit lower than the last as otherwise the bars will touch.

Someone mentioned top and tailing them, good luck manoeuvring the bike to that position.

Are all the bikes yours or are some children’s or partner’s?

can they man handle them up and down if you aren’t about?

i’m in the process of rigging up a pulley hook set up for my sister in law so that she can get her ladies town bike in and out of vertical storage.

8 bikes fitted in a 3m or so stretch. Bit of 60 x 25mm batten screwed into the wall and plastic coated hooks (from Wickes?) screwed in at about 350mm intervals.

Not pretty but it works 😉

I went with a beefy wardrobe rail and brackets on the roof joists, then s-hooks and velcro straps for the bikes. My thinking was to allow them to sit against the wall and reduce how much space they take up, but slide/separate them as needed. Much like the velogrip racks.

D5FE7DFB-6BD0-49F0-B8CD-3D755BA4E86E.JPG by kiteless[/url], on Flickr

It kind of works but is a bit of a pain really. I could do with the rail being a bit closer to the wall so the front tyre touches it. Road bikes (with their narrow bars) work much better than wide-barred mountain bikes, and it takes some care to avoid pedals clashing and scratching things. It does get the most bikes in the smallest space though, and the ones that don’t see light of day much (like the wife’s MTB) have their bars turned to fit better.

My next plan is probably to go for a setup like nwmlarge for the couple of bikes that get regular use, and an Asguard box out back for all the others.

I’ve got 6 bikes hung from their front wheels (mostly, depends on the order they go in sometimes back wheel up to clear bars) with these, they work out about £2.25 each depending where you get them from.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-Steel-Bike-Bicycle-Storage-Wall-Mounted-Mount-Hook-Rack-Holder-Hanger-Stand/132531304776

Needs a bit of tape to hold the hook open but otherwise perfect.

Bikes are all mine. I don’t anticipate lifting being an issue, biggest problem is lack of space. With a 29er held against the wall in the anticipated position there’s height to go a couple of feet or so higher at the high end of the pitch and maybe 2 feet between the saddle and the back wall. A compact CX bike with the front wheel at 90deg just fits in front to back.  Currently I’ve got my 29 and 650 HT standing on their back wheels with fronts wonky to brace, and the CX in the afore mentioned position.  I’m hoping to fit four bikes plus cleaning kit in there.

It’s guaranteed that unless the bike closest the door is the one I want I’ll need to unpack to get it out and repack but that’s life.  It’s very much making the best of a less than ideal space…

Did anyone else notice that, in the image for those bike hanging hooks from the eBay link, all of the hooks are mounted upside down…? 🙂

(I have a box of these sat on the floor next to me waiting to be fitted in the workshop!)

Bookmarked for inspiration! I have 17 bike hung by front wheels in my garage on both sides and would love a system that gave me more useable space.

We’ve a move in the works and if it comes off I’m getting a much nicer garage…

Current setup has six big hooks in a timber beam in the roof space between two of the garage roof support beams a couple of inches out from the wall, the hooks are on ~400mm pitch to allow the bikes to be “Top ‘n’ Tailed against the wall.

That works but TBH it’s not perfect, so my plan is to put two battens on the new garage’s wall, a higher set @ ~1700mm-ish to accommodate adult bikes with longer wheel bases and a lower tier for the kids bikes, I also plan to double the pitch are hung on and stop “Topping ‘n’ Tailing” so I can just wheelie them up to the wall and hook in, the point is it needs to be easier.

The other thing to consider if you are hanging bikes is the room you’ll need to manoeuvre and lift them into whatever storage arrangement you settle on…

Got our bikes hanging vertically from cheap B&Q hooks that go straight into the block walls – don’t see the need for wood battens – no point in over complicating a simple task. Top to tail works fine for me. They do stick out a bit so take up a good quarter to half of the width of the garage, but the only option for me really.

Just a minor gripe with wall hooks (or ceiling hooks, or any other vertical mount), the bigger the bike it gets exponentially harder to lift them up at an awkward angle as your not just lifting the bike, but fighting it wanting to rotate back to level too.

My OH cant lift her e-Bike onto the hooks so I’m looking at some sort of bunk bed arrangement where I can maybe put two bikes on top and two on bottom with frequently used bikes (commuting ones) at the front and weekend bikes at the back, or just pick up some budget flange mount bike racks on ebay and get the metalworkers nextdoor to put two flanges on a post.

Batten-mounted wall hooks here, and bikes mounted vertically from the wheel. Around 40cm spacing, but that can be tightened if you mount alternate bikes upside down. That will take a little more ceiling height for larger rear wheels; front wheels can be turned to get them in.

I’m thinking about switching to a rolling hangar system to make more space, using sliding door gear.

I used steadyracks. They swivel so can move them about. . Have 6 bikes in a 4m space. Spendy option though.

Home Page

I’ve got 3 of these, they aren’t cheap but I like them.

£36 with British cycling discount

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/bike-storage-solutions/topeak-swing-up-bike-holder?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bike+Maintenance-_-Bike+Storage+Solutions-_-449986&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=-wtripxiwmr&istBid=tzpr&_$ja=tsid:94971%7Ccid:868555870%7Cagid:49387670372%7Ctid:aud-297219197969:pla-330865665751%7Ccrid:203456299149%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:3097314862728907832%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:1o1%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1006958&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyrG7utCW3AIVwrTtCh1qQgztEAQYASABEgLeUvD_BwE

Are there any potential issues with suspension forks when hanging off the front wheel?

I’m probably going to chuck some large hooks on the wall and hang from the frame – will make it easier for the kids to get their own bikes down too.

No issue with hanging them, the only issues you might get are spongy brakes if they need a bleed.

Bumping this thread for more insights.  I’m sorting out the bike storage at the moment after having too many bikes leaning on the floor.  So far have my two bikes hanging vertically from front wheel hooks but *gasp* they really do stick out a long way.  Bikes are surprisingly high!

Another two bikes are on a Saris Bike Bunk, so one above the other horizontally.  Not bad, but getting them on is a bit of a pain for bikes with sloping top tubes or kids bikes.  This needs replacing.

So now I’m thinking the pedal mount thing is probably a good idea.  Presumably something for the tyres to rest on is a good idea so the bike doesn’t try to rotate?  Any cunning solutions, or just drill a bit of wood into the wall.

just drill a bit of wood into the wall.

This. I tried without anything at first, but the bikes didn’t hang straight. So I fixed wooden blocks just for the front wheels – bikes tend to be front heavy when hung from a pedal. They now hang straight and it’s easier to put them up, resting the front wheel on the block first. I’ve got 4 of them on the wall.

I’ve got mine wall mounted vertically on cheap hooks screwed into rawl plugs directly into the breeze block. Don’t see the point in battening unless there is something up with the wall. Bikes are light and a standard rawl plug in breeze block is more than man enough to hang a big heavy full suss bike off.

Vertical hang vers horizontal….doesn’t really matter, the bikes take up the same space ultimately just depends on what shape you want that space to be. Vertically hung bikes stick out but don’t take up as much length so you liberate space elsewhere vs horizontally hung bikes that don’t protrude much but take up alot more length. Depends on your space and what else you’ve got going on in the room.

Sadly posting photos from an iPhone is beyond me (on this forum anyway), I’ll try on the PC in the morning, but I have 8 bikes in a 2.7m run. They sit on their back wheels with fronts  looked hooked into brackets I fashioned from steel guttering brackets. Three of the bikes are Fat Bikes, so off the shelf hooks to fit are thin on the ground. The front wheels are turned 30 deg, so the bars all clear. They sit on their back wheels so that the kids can wheel them in & out, not easy with a 38lb Fatty. It all works remarkably well. I’ll see if I can magic a photo up in the morning.

Go on, im intrigued as to why people think its better to batten and screw into wood rather than just fix straight into the brick?

Mainly asking because tomorrows project is to fit some of the big foam covered brackets to the wall in the garage, one pair of hooks im not too fussed about as it will just be holding 2 roadies up, but the other has 25kg of kayak above the car and id really prefer it stay up.

Was going to fit 2x 10×50 nylon and steel fixings to each bracket but would a batten actually be any stronger?

I put a horizontal batten up first so that I could move the hooks at a later date more easily. I also reckon that the bikes sit a better angle as the hook is slightly further out from the wall. That’s just serendipitous though.

Mine hang vertically and I staggered the height so the bars don’t clash, it also helps to put the odd bike in front wheel down but this does make it a bit harder to put the bike away as you cant just wheel it in holding the handlebars.

You can also swing the bikes left to right to get to the one you want so they can be closer together than measuring the widest part of each bike.

This was my solution.

Having them on the floor wasnt an issue, space under them was not needed anyway, but it was more around the kids being able to rack & un-rack their bikes. Plus an O.O Fatty would probably pull the wall down. 🙂

Brackets are the result of a forage through a builders merchants. They were fashioned up mainly for the fatty’s wheels, as normal hooks just wont fit. I think theres 8 bikes, in about 2.5 metres.

IMG_5564 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

IMG_5536 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

IMG_5560 by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

I went for Unistrut formed brackets for 2 BMXs and Steadyracks for the 3 family bikes. As mentioned above it was important in my case that my Wifes and kids could get their bikes in and out and the Steady Racks do this perfectly.

To avoid turning the garage wall into a seive with too many drilled holes I’ve fixed 3 lengths of unistrut vertically to the wall and then bolted the Steady Racks to them so they are easy to adjust in height. This has allowed me to tweak the position of each bike to suit. The wall the bikes are fitted to also has the fusebox for the house on it so being able to rotate the bikes means no more reaching through and around them if I need to get to it.