Bicycling is a favorite pastime and is known for its health and wellness benefits. It’s good for your mind and body, getting you outdoors and boosting your mind, muscles, and cardiovascular health. It is a wonderful family-oriented activity. The only hard part of being a family of bicyclists is how to store all those bikes and accessories. Read on to find out the best bike storage solutions for helmets, tire pumps, and more in any situation.
Outdoor Storage
If you don’t have a garage or adequate space in your garage or home and you have a yard, there are several viable options to consider with the main goal of making sure your bikes are protected from inclement weather, extreme temperatures, and cunning thieves. Constant exposure to rain, UV rays, and extreme temperatures could damage the components and impact the bike’s performance and longevity.
Bike Storage Sheds
If you have to store your bicycles outdoors, a bike shed is the perfect bike storage solution. Choose between a DIY project or from a large variety of ready-made sheds available for purchase. These come in a variety of sizes, material types, and configurations. Storage sheds will have plenty of room for your accessories too; use adhesive clips or nails for hanging helmets and pumps.
Bike Tents
A bike tent or simple full bike cover can provide protection from the weather, but make sure to also consider how to prevent your bikes from being stolen. Locking your bikes to ground anchors is the best way to do this, and there are different types of anchors to suit the mounting surface you have chosen whether it be concrete, wood, or soft ground such as a lawn.
Bike Racks
Bike racks are a common way to store multiple bikes. You can purchase one or find a DIY project on the web. They can, however, take up a lot of room and you will need to protect your bikes from theft and from the elements. You can use bike locks, covers, or tents, or locating the rack in a protected area such as a patio or shed. Ideally, the bike rack should have no metal-to-metal contact.
Garage/Indoor Storage
Indoor storage is the ideal storage space for your bikes so they are protected from the weather and theft. In general, racks that let you store your bike vertically, wheels perpendicular to the wall, ideally positioned in a corner, take up the least space. Depending upon the size and shape of your space, one of the following options might work well for you.
Ceiling Storage
There are several easy-to-set-up ceiling storage systems to choose from, including a pulley or bike hoist, racks, or hooks to hang your bikes from the ceiling in your garage, home, or apartment. These systems, such as Delta Cycle Jumbo Hooks or the Saris Glide, take up unused space at the top of a garage and get bikes out of the way. Ceiling storage makes access a little more troublesome for everyday use but is ideal for off-season storage. The only real challenge is if your bikes are too heavy for you to lift, or if the ceiling is so high that you need to use a ladder. In addition, ceiling bike storage means (most) kids can’t access the bikes on their own.
If you are using ceiling storage to store your bikes for everyday use, make sure that the bike hangs down far enough that you can safely grab it by the frame to take it down. If you have multiple bikes and are hanging them by the wheels, alternate hanging from the front and rear wheel so the handlebars don’t get tangled. Finally, don’t hang bikes with hydraulic disc brakes upside down. Doing so may cause your brakes to get “squishy.”
Wall Shelves and Racks
In general, racks that allow you to store your bike vertically, with wheels perpendicular to the wall, and situated in a corner, take up the least space. Storage rack variations include freestanding racks that aren’t mounted to walls, gravity stands that lean against a flat wall and are stabilized by the weight of your bikes, and wall-mounted racks. There are a wide variety of fixtures with secure mounts for walls from simple hooks, a hook and shelf system, horizontal wall mounts, and more.
Kids Bike Storage
The main goal in storing kids’ bikes should be to keep them easily accessible. Racks allow kids to be able to remove and replace bikes on their own. But, they can easily take up a lot of room. In addition, most racks on the market won’t fit smaller wheels. Consider a DIY rack for your smaller bikes so that you customize it to fit your bikes and your space.
For those of you with no secure space for your bicycles, or for those who want a place to store them out of the way during the off-season, a self-storage unit at Chambers Connector Storage may be the perfect solution. They offer easily accessible and affordable storage units with the best security available. Contact Chambers Connector Storage with any questions or to learn more about sizes and prices.
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