General Cycling Discussion - bike storage solution - I just built

This is a simple way to save a little space and I built it for about $33. It took only about 2 hours to cut and assemble. It is 6 feet wide and 6 1/2 feet tall and 3 feet deep. It holds 5 bikes. I used carriage bolts and wood screws so it can be moved to another location in the future.

8 2x4s @ $2.50 ea
8 carriage bolts @ $.25 ea
8 nuts @ $.10 ea
5 bike hooks @ $.79 ea
4 L brackets @ $1.10 ea
misc 1 1/2", 3" and 4" wood screws $2.00

I'm probably going to change out the upper board to a 2 x 6 instead of a 2 x 4.

It looks like it has a pretty good sag in it. You may want to change it out for a 4x4, or double up on the 2x's. It looks good though. I am looking for something to store a couple of bikes that I dont ride.

If you change the top board to vertical, instead of horizontal, you could eliminate the sag without buying anymore wood. And it could easily be accomplished if you notched the small support board you have under it.

I would be more concerned about the hooks pulling out of their holes than the top board sagging. Flipping the top of your hanging frame to be vertical would eliminate the sag, and if you notched the board it rests on you wouldn't really even need to screw in through the sides for a fairly secure hold.

That would require repositioning the hooks which would just weaken the thing even further though. I'd just put a vertical support in the middle. It doesn't even need to attack to anything, just get it a bit longer than you need and cut off the extra at the right amount to make a wide foot for it.

Thanks for the suggestions, even though it is not sagging as much as the picture appears, I will make minor changes to make sure things hold up. I picked the boards (at Home Depot) and found the most demise/heaviest ones and believe it or not it is quite sturdy. The steel L brackets helped.

With only a couple of bikes on the rack, it is a great way to clean and do some work on a bike, without having to bend over so much. Also so many of the road bikes do not have kickstands. This was an experiment that worked. I have more than 5 bikes so I think I'm going to try to get down to 5 bikes (some day). Wish me luck on that one. I'm a bike junkie!

Hey, I have that same yellow Trek 1000. Yours is closer to original. Mine has had some mods over the last ten years. It currently fills the fair-weather commuter role.

http://www.brucew.com/images/bikeforums/2009/07/yellow-bike-cobbs-hill.jpg

And everybody likes Yellow Bike.

With only a couple of bikes on the rack, it is a great way to clean and do some work on a bike, without having to bend over so much.

You know, you could add one board on the end, horizontally, and put a couple hooks in it and hang one more bike by the top tube and use that as a work stand. If the rack is right up against the wall, you may have to extend the board beyond the frame so the end of the bike does not touch the wall. If it is just a temp thing while working on the bike, you could maybe design it to fold out of the way when you're done working.

I may build of of these myself. My wife is redoing the spare room as her office. When that happens she will have the printer in there and it will free up some room in our family room. I think a rack like this might fit. I think I'm gonna build one of these for myself. If I do, I'll show pics of the extra workstand thing I'm talking about.

Attached is a quick concept sketch.

I would have put the hooks in the ceiling or wall. I assume that wasn't an option in your case (rental?).

Nice, I like it. You can put a shelf on the top to store helmets, shoes, etc. FWIW, if you gusseted the rear corners you would not need a 2 by across the front. I'd make it easier to vacuum under the bikes.

Solution: rotate top board 90 degrees!

Nice work! Simple, but effective.

I changed the top by adding another 2 x 4 and flipping it 90 degrees and some more screws. Its a lot more solid than it looks in pictures.

Hey TSI - I've been riding both the Yellow Trek and the Blue Allez to decide which one to keep. These two are my only Aluminum Frame bikes, I think I've fallen for the CRO MOLY classic bikes of the 1980s like my Centurion. They have a different feel.

I would just lag a 2x4 on edge to the 1 that is there & put 4 locking casters on the bottom 4 corners. Nice job

Looks to me like a pretty handy free-standing design. How is it for side-to-side sway?

Only time will tell, but at this time with 5 bikes on it, it is solid as can be. I built the sides (triangles) first so it can be taken apart and moved later. I searched at Home Depot for the heaviest pine 2 x 4s. The added stability comes from the triangle design. The top weight pulls down on the base. I used steel L brackets to reduce wood fatigue. Thanks for asking.