irishexpat

Not sure if this is the right place, but I thought that maybe some of you may have fixed the issues I am currently having.

I live in an apartment, and I have 3 bikes. I can keep them in the basement, but I cant take up too much room, cant drill into the walls or ceilings, and the ceiling is 6 foot high (very annoying when you are 6 foot 4)

Right now I am using a rack that I built out of pvc (looks and works basically like this one: )

Of the three bikes, one is my commuter, which i use everyday. the second is my road bike, which sees service 2-4 times a week during the warm months. The third is my fiancee's bike, which is hardly ever touched.

The issue is that I am currently waiting on my very own cetma 5-rail rack, which will mean that my commuter will no longer fit in the pvc rack I have built. So far I have come up with a few possible solutions, but I would love some feedback or other ideas.

1) modify/redesign my pvc rack into something that will accomodate the cetma-equipped commuter

2) buy a Feedback Rakk. The main drawback to this is that with my new longboard fenders, I would be forced to use this on only the front wheel. Will it still work well with a 62cm steel bike with a steel rack on front?

3) buy an Evo Bike stand (for 29ers). This would seem to be an elegant solution, but how sturdy is it, really? will it provide the support I need or will the front wobble?

4) ????

I currently have a $40 gift card to amazon, and while I don't mind shelling out a bit of my own money, less is more. Also, the missus would murder me if I suggest bringing a muddy bike into our 450 sq ft apartment, so don't bother asking.



thanks in advance.....and happy commuting!!

tombc

you let your fiancee live in an apartment with 6' ceilings? don't you love her?
e: can't read

if you were to get rid of your huge rack and just lean the 3 bikes against the wall it wouldn't take up nearly as much space.

acidfast7

A rack in those dimension looks like a poor use of space. I try to keep my bikes parallel to the longest wall. I usually chain them all together at night (all three for you) and that keeps them out of the way and thieves away from them. They're behind three locked doors, but two of the three can be opened by all people in the building.)

I'm not sure of your space but we get a 5m x 1.5m room.

HvPnyrs

^^^^
Generally agree with acidfast as to the use of the available space.

I would suggest adapting/rebuilding your DIY pvc rack so that it makes full use of the height of the room, aligning the bikes vertically (floor to ceiling) side to side with both tires in contact with the wall (the bikes looking like they are trying to *ride* up/down the wall).
OR
You could make/purchase a *bike tree* to make full use of the height of the room. The tree would align the bikes lengthwise parallel to the wall, in the normal *leaning* against the wall orientation, One bike ABOVE the other (the bikes and tree would look somewhat like a piece of modern industrial *art* displayed against the wall).
BOTH systems would have no issues with racks or fenders.

The *bike tree* is the system I chose for my less than 350 sq. ft. "Ultra Efficiency" studio apartment with a 9 ft. ceiling. After a rough start, I have been EXTREMELY happy w/ my choice, A "floor to ceiling beam type storage rack" for the past 6-7 years.

The rack allows me to to keep 2 bikes, 2 sets of spare wheels, 2 helmets, spare tires, spare tubes, cycling shoes, and a set of bike rollers. In The SAME Floor Space as a single bike !!! NO NEED TO PUT HOLES OR FASTENERS INTO THE WALL OR CEILING.

Juha

How about an adjustable floor-to-ceiling beam with two racks? That would save floor space, and your most frequently used bike could be on the floor in one of the smaller stands you linked to.

https://www.amazon.com/SpareHand-Q-Ra...1875696&sr=1-2

There's no info on whether it adjusts low enough though.

--J

HvPnyrs

^^^^

I believe most adjustable beam racks require a minimum of 7 ft. clearance.
When I suggested a *bike tree*, was thinking more along the lines of a *gravity rack* as being shorter and easier to modify should it need be shorter still.