Blylan

I recently sold my house and moved into an apartment for the time being,
My lady and i combined rack up 6 bikes, and we're running into a bit of a storage problem.

We don't really want to store them outside either. We have a two bedroom apartment so i picked up a Gravity based wall rack for two bikes in our office/storage. It seems to work alright but i wanted to see if you guys had any clever ideas or suggestions we might have overlooked.

I hope all of your weeks are going well!!

chubbyhubs

I'm in the same predicament my self so will follow your thread.

One thought I am having is to request the property allow me a storage container if the unit comes with a parking space. I have also considered that buying a cheap van and just parking it at the apartment complex space. As a vehicle it could get registered and as a junker it can be hauled off if you move again. Since I don't have intrest in driving I would re-purpose the van to a storage container, and keep my bikes in there.

Artkansas 

My landlord has rules requiring that a vehicle is in good operating condition. It can be a pain if you are not driving the vehicle with some regularity.

My bicycles fill the dining room of my apartment. My ex-wife got the dining room table, so it was an obvious decision.

gerv 

Might be stating the obvious here, but do you really need 6 bikes? Getting rid of a few bikes might make storage a little easier. Of course if you are in an apartment for only a short while, you might want to postpone this question. I'm not going to answer the question for you, because I believe I have more than you... depending on your defnition of ownership... I am kind of postponing that question...

Artkansas 

That's only 3 apiece. I've got 5. Whatever happened to N+1?

Dahon.Steve

+1

I used to have six bikes and living in an apartment. After a while, I would get sick of the bikes and sell them all! Then I would start buying new or used bikes and do the whole thing all over again. I think the OP should just stay with folders. That way, he can have more than one bike and it doesn't take up a whole room.

Roody

I googled "bicycle storage solutions" and got a lot of ideas. Here's a picture from the top result:

molten

And if the 'van' gets stolen? (esp if it be done by a retaliating tenant or person who has seen to know the relations of you/your bikes/your van. Add the possibility of your van's VIN, from some time.)

molten

If a single (human) --- lives alone as a multi bike owner. Even the owning of a single bike.
THe bike or bikes make so much a companion, in comparison to a CO$TLY HUMAN.
As BIKES DON'T don't do into pregnancy. Don't file lawsuits against you.
Bikes will only argue/talk back for their sake in needing adjustment. Parts breaking down over time; or from impact to against an object.

Bikes, that want attention, make a single person more of want in the home.

Walter S

The sex is not that great.

Artkansas 

Ask Robert Stewart.

Walter S

I never would have thought it. And not just a male thing - apparently these two are getting married! Woman Needs Your Help to Take Bicycle On Lavish Honeymoon

I go for the softer type myself

Roody

I don't know how you tell a man bike from a woman bike, but at least it would be legal either way.

Hopem

Of course they need 6 bikes the proper response is n+1=....in my case I personally have 4, well actually 5 but the fifth one is/was my dad's so more sentimental than practical (to big for me) and my husband has 4 all of which are in my sewing room. Someday when the youngest moves out her room will become the bike room. We have outside storage, we own our home but my bikes will not be held outside I would first get rid of the couch and store them in my living room I know that this is a temporary storage issue for me but was willing to give up my sewing room for a bit until the youngest moves out (again).

striknein

I left my house with 3 bikes and a whole lot of parts. I brought one with me to the apartment and rented a storage unit for the rest, at a cost of about $50/month. I got so sick of riding what I kept with me (a mountain bike converted to drop bars), that I ended up selling all the rest of the bikes and parts. Then I built myself a more well-rounded bike using mostly new parts. It does nearly everything I used to do with the other 3 bikes, and I don't really miss not riding singletrack. Though I suppose I could with a tire upgrade.

TenSpeedV2

Single male in a 2 bedroom apartment here. 3 bikes, down from 4. I have a gravity stand for the road and fixed gear and the fat bike sits in the dining area behind the table. The apartment is pretty good for a cyclist with plenty of room for storage and racks. I have a frame on "display" as you walk in the door currently. I hate the rack that I have because it just seems really cheap. Been pondering making something myself but not exactly sure where to start.

Roody

What bike did you end up with?

Van Goghs Ear

I have the same setup with the gravity stands. I used to dismantle them and put them in the closet, and then I moved all my clothes to the linen closet because I'm a guy and don't have linens...don't really know of any other solutions...my girlfriends condo is even more cramped, but she only has 3. She keeps one locked in the parade and the other 2 on a standing pole that locks between the floor and the ceiling, but it constantly loses traction and falls. I think the only solution would be to lose some bikes, but that's not really a solution

Roody

A garage with no cars in it is a great solution!

striknein

Soma Double Cross with 36 spoke wheels and a mix of 105 and Ultegra components. There's a rack installed now as well.

Roody

Nice bike! Good photo also.

striknein

Thanks! I'm not quite car-free yet, but my city has been steadily building infrastructure that will make it possible within the next year. I'm looking forward to that day.

79pmooney

You could hang all 6 bikes in 8' of wall space by the front wheel with hooks. I do this in my garage. Hooks are made from 1 x 1/8" flat bar (common and cheap at Home Depot) wrapped with inner tube over the hook and mounted to the ceiling (or to a 2x4 bolted to the ceiling). I hang them 17" from the wall, 17" apart and staggered with the lower hooks 72" off the floor and the higher hooks 83" (My bikes are 59 cm bikes and even my longest with big tires and fenders clears the floor easily.) The staggered hooks will mean that dropped bars will overlap quite a bit, but it makes it no harder to get the bikes up and down.

I built shelves to go under the higher bikes. I slide open boxes of bike gear under the shelves; the top protecting the open boxes from dirty bike drippings. I could have designed the low hooks to be hung from a shelf over for more storage. Maybe a future improvement.

This system makes storing the bikes easy. Wheelie the front wheel up, lift inches and swing the front wheel over the hook. (Not hard even with heavy bikes. Just put the heavy ones on the low hooks.)

Oh and cost? Drawback - it's prohibitive! (6) flatbars will probably set you back $9. A 2x4 - $2. Hardware $4 Things I forgot 33% more. Total (hang on) $20. (I am assuming you can scrounge, batter or otherwise get your hands on a bicycle inner tube or two. And in a bedroom,you will probably want to spring far more for a good looking 2x4 so add another 25% to $25.

Ben

Scummer

Exactly

Roody

I once lived in an apartment that was the bicyclist's nirvana. It was the second floor of a two-story farmhouse, on a huge lot just a mile from downtown, 1/4 mile from Kroger, and 1 3/4 miles from my work. There was a 2 car garage, of which half was mine. It looked so cool to see my one bike sitting in the middle of all that empty space! And the tenant's half of the garage was crammed with an SUV and all kinds of car-related junk. There was even a garage door opener, so I could open the door when I hit the top of the driveway and coast down into my private space, just ducking my head a skosh so it wouldn't hit the rising garage door.

I lived alone on the second floor in a two bedroom apartmen. I used the spare room as a bike room. There was a table, shelves and hooks for all my gear. I did most repairs there--air conditioned or heated to a comfortable temperature all year 'round. Another nice thing was that with everything in one place, it was quick and easy to get ready for a fun ride, a commute, or just running errands on the bike.

Unfortunately, the landlord walked away from the mortgage right as the Great Recession was first starting. I squatted there for eight more months, then the mortgage company gave me $2000 key money to move out. Otherwise, I would still be there.