Anyone have recommendations on a good sturdy container for bicycle wheels? I'm hoping to store like.. 4 pairs of wheels. I can't add hooks to my walls/ceilings so that's out of the question.

I'm going to be interested in any good answers. Bicycle wheels are one of those things that don't look like they should take up very much space until you try figuring a way to store them so they're still accessible.

How about a rack that holds the wheels horizontally stacked above one another? Figure 6" per wheel, 8 wheels would result in a 30" X 30" X 4' tall stack.

You might hit up your LBS.

Wheels are shipped in specialty boxes from the manufacturer that keep them from damage in transport. They may have a couple they'd be willing to give you, or you could ask them to save them for you.

If you're looking for something fancier...how about wheelbags?

wheel bags aren't quite what i'm looking for. i'm looking for a space-efficient way to store the wheels. the wheel bags just add bulk to the wheels, while protecting them. if i stored all those wheels inside a sturdy container, the wheels would still stay pretty safe.

I second the wheelbox idea. My last set of wheels from Joe Young came in these super duty cardboard boxes shaped just for wheels. I kept them. You might try a custom builder like him or Peter White or whoever and ask them where they get them.

Company I used to work for used to have them made custom, but we ordered by the thousand.
Bike shops get them, empty them, smash them flat, and jam them in their recycling bin.

I'd recommend garbage bagging each wheel (to keep them from getting tangled with or scratched by the hub of the one nearest it) and sliding them into full-size bike boxes. You can stagger them and fit many per box. Then you can stack the boxes.

Another possibility is to build a rack that looks like a bunch of truing stands or the wheel holders used on roof racks placed side-by-side. Use wood strips or metal flatstock as the uprights and V-notch the tops for the axle ends. Bolt them to a flat piece of plywood as the base and stager the uprights to allow closer spacing.

Rather than limiting yourself to looking for wheel boxes per se, consider asking the LBS for bike boxes, which you can then cut down to size.

BTW- if you have sufficient horizontal width, wheels store most compactly when packed in eschelon, with the axles pocketed between the spokes of the adjacent wheel. Packed this way, a typical bike box holds 4 wheels very nicely. If space is more limited, pack them in partly nested pairs, using an additional few inches of width but saving significantly in the height needed.

Yeah, I have mine hanging from ceiling hooks in a nice straight row. The problem is the quick releases bump one another. I think that I'm going to bend alternate hooks forward and backward to eliminate the bumping.

Retro, I just sent you a PM. Check your mail box.

The thread title made me think of this:

Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Bicycle Wheel Storage?
Jules: [pause] No. I didn't.
Jimmie: You know WHY you didn't see that sign?
Jules: Why?
Jimmie: 'Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing bicycle wheels ain't my F-ing business, that's why!

I can't believe wheel boxes would be more space efficient than bags which the OP thinks are too bulky.

I'd just line them up vertically in an out of the way corner (like books on a bookshelf) and just put a piece of sturdy cardboard between each. Pieces of bike box would do well.

A wheel bag doesn't stand upright on its own.

I can think of a dozen ways to create a nice little PVC rack which mimics a bike rack, allowing you to simple stow the wheel, ready for use.

I'm thinking that a lot of posters are missing the point.

The issue is the axle and quick release. A rear wheel with the quick release attached is about 7" wide (I measured). If you try to line up the wheels in a nice neat row, like books, storing 8 wheels consumes a lot of space. The trick is to think of a way that staggers the hubs so the wheels can be stored more closely together while still allowing easy access to any wheel without the axle getting caught in an adjacent wheel's spokes.

OK, I think most of us understand that. Line up the wheels, stagger the hubs and put a piece of cardboard betwen each to keep the hard parts from knocking into one another or QR's from getting tangled in spokes.

OR, remove the QRs, makes for less space needed. Keep them in a box nearby or taped to the rim somewhere. Spend the 20 seconds putting the QR back in when you want to use the wheel.

Just keep the wheels attached to bicycles, then you'll have more motivation to figure out the storage issue

Your team support car roof rack will have plenty of storage forks on the rack.

How high are your ceilings, and do the wheels have to be in a container or hidden from view?

I know you mentioned you could not screw anything into the walls or ceiling BUT....if you take a 2x4 you can put hooks in that and then screw that to the ceiling with just a couple of screws/toggle bolts. When you move you can just pull it down and fill the holes. You can get a bunch of wheels up and out of the way doing this with minimal damage to your ceiling.

Or you can take some 2x4 and make a leaning rack with hooks coming out of it that the wheels hang on. Kinda like this:
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The weight of the wheels should keep it in place and you can add a 1x4 to the bottom to add to the side to side stability. You can paint it your liking to make it more artsy too.


Here is a picture of a metal one to help you with the design concept:



-j

There is no need for anything in the ceiling. A well-built tension rod should be sufficient - they are used even for full bicycle storage.