Indoor Bike Rack Guide – Storage for Wall, Ceiling & Floor
Have you been tripping over your bike? Need an indoor bike rack? Biking is great for burning calories biking. But constantly stumbling into your bike while you make your way for breakfast, first thing in the morning is no fun.
Need to store it somewhere safe, where you can get easy access to it? This guide will take you through the different options for indoor bike rack storage, be it in your garage or apartment.
Below are all the different types of bike storage options available for mounting to walls, ceiling or the floor. Find the right storage solution for you.
Indoor Bike Rack Hooks for Garage Wall
There are various types of wall mounted bike hook systems. Some of these you’d really only want to use in a garage, others would like just as tidy in an apartment. They all work in one of two ways:
Wheel mounted where the wheels attach into one or two brackets
Frame mounted where the frame is supported by the hook
Vertical Wall Mounted Bike Rack for Garage
Vertical wall mounted racks fix onto the wall so you hook the wheel into them.
These have two types. The first come with two hook brackets. You attach the brackets to the wall then hang your bike vertically, with one wheel in each bracket like this:
The other type comes with only a single bracket which you mount lower on the wall. This secures your bike upright, without needing to lift it.
No pressure is put on the spokes as the wheel absorbs the weight due to the angel of the hanger. These can optionally be attached to a wood stud or you can buy separate hardware fixings to attach it to a concrete wall.
Track & Hook Systems like Rubber Maid Fast Track
Vertical brackets can be integrated into a more complete storage solution, using a track & hook system such as the Rubber Maid Fast Track.
A track and hook system provides you storage of all different sorts of items. You buy the storage rail tracks and fix them horizontally to your wall then, purchase various different types of hooks, which attach to the tracks. The hook sits on top of the fast track rail and can be easily moved left or right and taken off again if needed. There are different garage wall track systems on the market, the most popular of which is the Rubbermaid fast track. This can be used with the Rubbermaid Bike hook. This is very much a utility design. It’s probably not something you’d want on your apartment wall, but is ideal for a garage.
Adjustable Frame holders
The adjustable frame holders screw onto your wall and allow you to hang your bike by the frame. Depending on the design the arms will adjust in different ways to match the shape of the frame. The compact design of these frame holders, mean they are just as well suited to your apartment wall as they are to mounting in a garage.
Ibera Wall Hanger
The Ibera wall hanger, has two arms which move in or out to fit the dimension of your bike frame. The arms adjust from 8.5 inches to 15 inches wide. The frame also moves towards or away from the wall to suit your bike size. The mount can adjust from 10 to 14 inches in depth from the wall. The hanger mounts to your garage wall via three screws. All screws etc are included as well as wall anchors/plugs. The arms have a soft holding surface to avoid scratches to the bike frame.
The Velo wall mount hook has two arms, which swivel left to right and move up and down in order to fit the shape of your bike frame. Then you just hook the bike on top. It has soft rubber arms to prevent damage to paintwork and comes with all the hardware required to mount it to your wall.
Folding Wall Mounted Bike Racks
The folding rack mounts onto your wall and have arms covered in rubber which pull down to hang your bike on. This is a great choice for apartment bike storage, where space might be tight. Once folded up when not in use this is very low profile and takes up little space.
The most popular folding wall hook is the LifeStore tilt and fold. It can be mounted to a concrete block wall or timber stud. The arms tilt left or right by 30 degrees to accommodate the shape of your frame. This holds the bike out far enough from the wall to turn the pedals. This means you can also use this to support your bike while carrying out maintenance tasks like cleaning the chain.
Ceiling Mounted Bike Racks for Hanging Bikes in Garage
Ceiling mounted bike racks allow you to hang your bike in your garage out of the way.
Ceiling Mounted Bike Hooks
Ceiling mounted hooks attach to your ceiling or a suitable joist and give you a way to easily hang your bike. You can either use one hook to hang it vertically or two to hang it horizontally. The most popular ceiling hook is the cleverly designed Gladiator self grabbing claw.
To attach your bike you push it up so the wheel pushes the orange button. This triggers the hooks to close and makes hanging a bike above your head as easy as possible. Gladiator also makes a wall mounting track system (similar to the rubber maid fast track) you can attach the hook too: To use this wall mounting you’ll also need to buy some tracks and track ends.
Bike Storage Pulley System
Ceiling pulley bike storage systems are ideal for the garage. They are cheap, easy to fix and get your bike up of the floor and out of the way.
They come with two mounting brackets and all the hardware you need to fix them to your garage ceiling or joists. Thread the rope through the hooks and mounting brackets then you’re ready to go. The whole unit, brackets and wheels are made from strong metal. The hooks have rubber arms to prevent any scratches to paint on the bike frame. The pulley system reduces the force required to lift your bike. This means even a child will be able to lift the and stow their bike. Once your bike is lifted you wind the rope around the wall bracket to secure it in place.
Hydraulic Ceiling Bike Storage Lifts
If you’re willing to spend a bit more for the ultimate in garage storage, take a look at bike lift options. You can choose a hydraulic option like this flat bike lift.
Sit your bike on the rack and just lift it up out of the way. The lift scoops the bike up into the ceiling. The hydraulic pistons take all the weight, so you won’t have to struggle lifting above your head. This is best suited for 8 foot ceilings. The manufacturer can provide an optional extension if required or will also build a custom specification if needed.
Motorized Ceiling Mounted Bike Storage Lift
For a more general purpose lift to store your bike and or other things there’s the Racor storage rack / lift
This is a 4 foot square heavy weight lift that attaches to the joists. It comes with a drill attachment (to reach an 8 foot ceiling), which you use to operate the lift. Lower the lift. Then put your bike on and use the drill attachment to store it away in the ceiling.
Free Standing Bike Rack for Garage Floor
These floor parking indoor bike racks are ideal for garages, storing a family collection of bikes.
They are a tubular design that comes in multiple pieces for easy delivery. All pieces clip together and provide you a stable parking rack. The parking racks come in various different sizes for multiple bike storage. As these parking racks are a cheap solution, if you need a different size configuration to what you find available you can customize them. For example to store 4 bikes but can only get hold of a 5 bike rack. Simply leave one section out when building it. You can even combine multiple racks together to make a 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 bike storage system.
Indoor Floor Mounted Bike Rack Bike Rack for Apartment
These are free standing racks, with hooks to allow you store up to two bikes vertically. They are all suitable for either your garage of apartment storage. The Delta Michelangelo bike rack is easy to assemble by connecting the pipes together. Once assembled you just lean it against the wall and hook you bike on.
It’s low profile so takes up minimum floor space, making this an ideal option for apartment storage, where room is limited. The supports are adjustable so can be used with either men’s or women’s bike frames. The frame can stand on flat floor or carpeted floor. The feet are around 18 inches from the wall and the main frame about 12 inches from the wall.
Another very popular wall leaning rack is the Racor Pro PLB-2R pictured below: If you’re looking for storage for 4 bikes then Racor do another freestanding mode the Racor Pro PLB-4R
This has a wider standing area so doesn’t need to lean against the wall. The feet are adjustable as are the arms. On the arms are v shaper rubber hooks to support your bike frame. These are soft so won’t damage any paintwork.
Floor to Ceiling Bike Rack Pole
Floor to ceiling bike poles are great for indoor storage or possibly even garage depending on the maximum height of the model. They adjust to wedge between you floor and ceiling. Then use the adjustable hooks to store up to two bikes. While these are great for storage, don’t confuse them with maintenance stands as the pole gets in the way of rotating the pedals. Swagman Bike Hanger expands up to 9 feet.
