Ā You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Quick question for the singletrack massive...
I'm in the unfortunate position of having to store my bike(s) in my hallway as i live in London. I say "I", but what I mean is "The missus". She hates it. However, she's come to accept that if the bikes go... I'll be really very upset about it!
Anyway, I have a fairly narrow hallway that I need to store 3 bikes in. Because it is so narrow most of the usual storage solutions are not much use. I've been looking about a bit on the internet and have come across this [url= https://www.bikester.co.uk/bicycle-equipment/bicycle-storage/wall-and-ceiling-racks/bicycle-equipment/bike-storage/wall-and-ceiling-rack/4974.html ]product[/url] and wondered if anyone has any experience of them and if we think they'd be man enough to hold a "proper" trail bike and not just a skinny road bike...
Sorry for the rambling post - any advice / suggestions welcome!
Cheers
by the way, in use they seem to work like this... (not my image or hallway...or bikes)
[img] 
[/img]
mucky walls
I was thinking i could attach some small sheets of perspex or similar to protect the walls... which I've got to decorate now anyway!
[url= http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/webupload/APOWER/DRAPER2011/APOWERLARGE59243_bk-hook1.jp g" target="_blank">http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/webupload/APOWER/DRAPER2011/APOWERLARGE59243_bk-hook1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Ā£1 a pair in Asda. I hang bike by the front wheel but you could hook it round the crank arm easily enough I suppose
depends how narrow and high yr hall is but think I'd use a narrow shelf for wheels to rest on and then a longer version of that (or even a bit of rope) to hold top tube rather than all the way down at the pedals
Or could have the bikes at a bigger angle (and hence higher up) - maybe use a brace from the other side rather than a rope from the shelf side (less likely to rip screws out of the wall). I guess they might even just rest against the opposite wall ?
Hmm... maybe the shelf idea could work actually. The hallway is really narrow - the bars on my trail bike fit down it (but you can't squeeze past when it is there so I currently have to take the front wheel out so i can turn the bars at 90 degrees - hence the need to get them above head height if possible)
[img] 
[/img]
doof-doof - that looks nice... but wouldn't be much use for my trail bike because the bars are too wide and it doesn't have a top tube.
I really think those pedal hanger things would be ideal... if they worked and anyone knew if they were man enough for a 30lb trail bike.
That weird hooky thing is only going to work if your pedals happen to fit - ain't going to work with SPDs
I am in a similar situation (London, hallway storage), though it sounds as though we have a bit more width as my bars are not too much of a problem. We got away with a couple of racks like [url= http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Gear-Up-Gear%20Up-Lean-Machine-Gravity-Rack_35530.htm?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Froogle01 ]this[/url].
[img] 
[/img]
timmys - that looks good. If i kept my trail bikes on the top and road bikes on the bottom it would work (looks like that is what you do - presumably to get the wide handlebars up out of the way...)
Whilst all front doors are not the same size, they can't be [i]that[/i] different can they? -my hallway is basically the width of the front door which it looks like yours is too...
Are the racks adjustable to move the bikes closer / further away from the wall?
Also, any idea how wide the hallway actually is?
timmys - that looks good. If i kept my trail bikes on the top and road bikes on the bottom it would work (looks like that is what you do - presumably to get the wide handlebars up out of the way...)
That picture is a couple of years old, the owner of the road bikes has now moved out, taking one of the racks with him, so now we have one rack with two mountain bikes on. The full-suss is on the top and I recently changed from 660mm to 711mm bars and it's still just about OK. I have to turn the bars more which pushes the wheel out more but it's liveable with. But yes, the top bike's bars are above head height.
Whilst all front doors are not the same size, they can't be that different can they? -my hallway is basically the width of the front door which it looks like yours is too...Are the racks adjustable to move the bikes closer / further away from the wall?
The rack I linked is not exactly the same as the one I have but on our's (and it looks as though on that one too) the arms can be rotated on the upright tubes so if you were to kind of spread them out then the bike would be brought closer to the wall. But the limiting factor is going to be the handlebars hitting the wall.
Also, any idea how wide the hallway actually is?
104 cm
What sort of bikes? What tyres and how muddy? I'd run a piece of batten along the wall then use the hooks suggested by nbt. Or something longer attached to the seatpost.
Those bikes in the photo are likely to be more securely fastened because they are fixed, hence mounting them locks the rear wheel.
How high is the ceiling? there are some pulley mounted options.
If all else fails, buy a Brompton š
EDIT : If you are interested, I have one of these available, unused
[img] 
[/img]
I used something similar to [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_522909_langId_-1_categoryId_242557 ]this[/url] for my very heavy commuter, when I used to live in a flat. Keeps them level, so no dirty marks, though mine didn't fold away it had a locking point, which was nice for the shared hallway.
More faff, but............
When I had to store bikes indoors I just put them in a CRC bike bag, with SPD's they went in fine with the wheels off, bas spun round. Wheels in seperate bike bags. If you have to drive to trails it's no more hastle than normal getting them in/out of the car. Struggled with flat pedlas though.
How tall is the ceiling, is it solid? I've hung bikes upside down from the wheels before, but that requires a lot of headroom.
Timmys - i think I'd struggle thanks to the 750mm wide Easton Havoc "mandlebars" attached to my trail bike then.
I think based on everyone's input I'm going to have to come up with a bespoke solution to this - one that most likely encompasses a whole load of nails, battening, wood glue and swearing...
Can you not turn the handlebars?
1 minute with an allen key before/after each ride will save you an awful lof of hassle.
If I was having to keep them in a hall-way next to the front door, I'd also consider some form of 'physical' security - just so they couldn't walk...