alternative bike storage question...
 

so i need a rack of some sort, but rather than hanging on the wall it needs to be free standing so i can move it as needed. it also needs to not hold the bike completely in the air, but just hold it up on the rear wheel and have something to secure the front wheel to.

anyone know of anything like this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2628

It is freestanding, rolls, holds six bikes in 4 feet o' space and is forty bucks!!! I am getting one this week.

wow. that's pretty perfect.
problem solved.
thanks.

yep yep... hye.. I just noticed you live in philly. You wanna go with me and a bike trailer down to harbor freight and pick up a pair?

if i was in philly currently (or any time in the near future) i would, but i go to school in lancaster so i'll be stuck out here for a while. and i also have to wait until i have a spare $40 laying around!

ah, no prob. not sure how much shipping would be, but they do apparently weigh 33 lbs. anyone esle in hilly? You haul an empty trailer there and Ill haul the 66 lbs. back!

sometime i may DRIVE down there since i'd be keeping it outside the city anyway. if you still havn't got it i'll give you a ride down there AND a ride back to your place.

sweet.. let me know when youre goin and we'll see if ive gone yet. If I do get it before yo go ill let you know how it is.

definitly.

i'll probably be really needing this around late september if i can't find another way to store bikes and other stuff under a loft bed.

That is pretty cool.

I will report back with a new thread in about 4 days, but here is my untested plan:


Drop a sheet of plywood inside the top of the bedframe under the mattress.
Drill through the bed and through the plywood wheelbase length apart.
Get some of those red hook things from home depot and screw in.
Hang rear wheel then front wheel.
Replace mattress.
Sleep.

yeah i was thinking that's another option for me too. i hate living in dorms.

Reviving this thread, but I thought since ive had the rack I talked about back then for a few weeks now Id report on it... basically, it worth the price(40 bucks at harbor freight). It is a bit sketch putting 6 bikes on it because you ahve to make sure they're not all scratching each other to hell, but four bikes is perfect and needs no special attention to put them on, you just stagger them pointing one one way, and the one next to it the other way. Also, with 2 on a side, you only ever have to take one bike off to get to the one you want. Ive had 6 bikes on it before and it was just fine, you just have to be careful, like I said. It seems very sturdy, and even rolls around no problem with all that wight, even on carpet. This is helpful to me so I can clean under it, and I also keep my bike-related stuff in a container next to it, but i dont have to leave room near it to get to it because I can just roll the rack out of the way.

Putting it together was straight forward enough. Youll need two 10mm wrenches and two of a larger size(I forget, but measures 5/8" with my s.a.e. tape measure) One of the square tubes was a bit bent at the end where another had to go through, so it made it hard to get together, and scraped the paint of part of it.

that thing is so cool

i like the vanna white-esque modeling to show it off.

haha, yeah.. she was around and I couldnt stop her from getting in the shot.

i will probably end up getting one of them in a few months when i (finally) get a somewhat longterm living situation.

To anyone who has purchased one of thsese: Are they online only or are they available in the stores?

$40 is a freakin steal. nice review as well, if my room mate doesn't freak out about the idea I'll be able to bring a few of my bikes back out of storage...

Oooohhh, nice!

I was able to find one today at one of the "local" stores. He had to look in the back for it and it was the last one they had. But, this is the kicker it is on clearance for $14.99!!!!!!!! This was one of the Michigan stores so I don't know if it is the same in other states. But, tomorrow I am going to check another one to see if they have any more and if they are also $14.99. You guys thinking about one might want to call your local Harbor Freight.

if you don't have a harbor freight (one actually just moved to town...i'll have to check it out!), i found this: http://buycycletree.com/purchase.html

that's the patent company's site.

so, does anybody have any other ideas for bike storage that doesn't require screwing things into the walls or ceilings?

preferably, something that would allow the bike to stand up against a wall, but keeps it secure.

i guess i could make something, but if anybody has already made something, pics and schematics would be cool.

I built a rack out of wood that works fairly well and is sort of tree-ish. It's not really free-standing, but it does have a foot made out of ~2ft of 4x4 to keep it from falling away from the wall it's next too. The post is a single 2x6, but it's also connected to my loft on one side.

Something like above doesn't seem too hard to make. If I were doing it, I'd probably use a 2x4 butted against a 2x6 for the post (a 4x4 might work also, but I'm not sure how much one would flex or twist given the long lever at the top). Just stick a 2x4 or 2x6 up top (oriented vertically) and you should be good to go. As for the base, probably just make a square out of 2x4s, then run a 2x4 from one side to another, sort of offset so the post is centered in the square with the back of the 2x6 flush against this 2x4 (note that centered may not be good depending on the weight distribution). Screw those together, then take another short 2x4 from the bottom of the vertical 2x4 to the outside of the square. Lastly, a diagonal strut or few from the square to the post and you're done.

I realize this might be a bit hard to visualize given my rushed description; I might draw something up if I remember later

http://web.mit.edu/~xsdg/www/bf/rack-diagram.png

All the unlabeled pieces would be 2x4s in vertical orientation (that is, long axis and short axis parallel to the ground; medium axis normal to the ground). The two that say "vertical" in the diagram have the long axis normal to the ground. The red things are things that I imagine being fastened together (probably with screws and possibly a bolt or two from the post to the attachment pieces on the ground)

For the less physics-inclined, the unlabeled pieces have the long, skinny edge down. The two that say "vertical" in the diagram have the ends touching the ground.

The diagram doesn't show any bracing, but I would brace from the same side of the vertical 2x4 to the support square (so, basically, it would be directly above the right-facing piece in the diagram). I'd probably do a piece from a side of the 2x6 to the left edge of the square, and possibly a small triangle from the back of the 2x6 to the sides of the square (top and bottom in the diagram).

If try this, I'd like to hear how it goes. I have no idea how well it might work.