apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a friend that has 11 bikes and I have two, soon to be 3, so I can understand how they add up. First question would likely be, do you need all 7?
How high are the ceilings in your new place? High enough to mount the bikes above? Do you have a garage, porch, or a storage closet?

I would ask yourself if any bikes that you have can be used by more than one person. YOu would need to keep some to go riding together, but that's a LOT to keep. Sounds like something needs to change.

i personally like the look of bikes in a home. i like them all lined up - hung either on the wall or from the ceiling.

when i moved into a new apartment a year ago i was considering where to store seven bikes as well (i have two, my boyfriend has two, and my roommate has three). luckily, my landlord allowed us to place them all in the basement at the last minute, where there's plenty of room to line them up on the floor.

Two ideas:

1. Dismount the ones that you will not use very often and hang the parts around the apartment/house if you're into funky art. You can even get empty frames and hang around a wheel, handle, etc.

2. There's a great organization that would place your bikes to very good use, Pedals for Progress: http://www.p4p.org/

Let me get this straight... you want to store 14 bikes... in an APARTMENT?

It's hard to give you suggestions not knowing what space you have to work with. We need more information! Do you have a guest bedroom you could convert? A garage? A large unused balcony? A studio apartment? Of course, you could always rent a neaby storage locker for the lesser used ones.

Really, though, inkstainedwriter is right. When you merge households you tend to be able to share a lot of things and get rid of (or donate) the extras. You don't need two toasters or two beds... so maybe 14 bikes aren't all totally necessary either. Just a thought!

may I ask what the seven are for? different purposes, or sentimental value, etc?

I echo the first comment when it comes to knowing more information about what current storage places your house/apt has?

However here are a few solutions that I think could be helpful

Rubbermaid Fast Track Vertical Bike Mount and track
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd100588
Stagger two tracks, one higher then the other, giving you a lot of storage and flexibility in a compact amount of space. Also allows for easy reconfiguration.


If you have a tall garage this could be a solution, never seen it in person but coud solve part or all of the solution
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_206187_-1___


You can go the bike shop route if you have the space
http://www.lindcraftracks.com/

a few other ideas
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/bicycle-hanger-stores-up-to-four-bikes/?id=175&sku=117933

http://www.rudyrack.com/tiered.htm

lend 12 out to friends then swap out as needed..

Craigslist

wow, I'm not in the spandex crowd, but that just sems like a ton of bikes. how much of your space are you willing to sacrifice? if they're hung up high to be out of the way, will you really take them down and use them often enough?

how often do you use all of them? in the spirit of making due with less, perhaps you can give some up? if there are similar models, perhaps pick one to keep. I've known people who bought better bikes but kept the old one because there was nothing wrong with it... except that it was just sitting around not being used. don't fall into the "I might need it one day" trap.

Do you REALLY need 14 bikes? Probably not. Keep one each and give away/sell the rest. I can't imagine what quantities of other things you both have??? If you really need to keep them, put them in storage. That monthly storage bill will make you figure out if you really, really need to keep them.

In this economy the op could probably find a small, cheap space at a storage center.

between my roommate and i we have have a lot of bikes (but not as many as you!), we keep our every-day bikes by the entry, and then my roommate has an additional road bike that he rides regularly that we keep leaned against the wall, in an out of the way area.

Everything else is put away. We have a back room off the kitchen that has a washer the refrigerator and not a lot else, so we store some bikes there some are disassemble in boxes (rarely used mt. bike etc.) or hung from bike storage racks.

PS: non-cyclist readers, bikes are very personal and you can't really "share" them. Also different types of bikes are suited for different situations.

if you've got 14 bikes, none of which can go in storage, adequate bike storage simply has to be a part of your criteria when choosing a home. Seriously - you're talking about nearly the same space as an elephant. You're not going to be able to tuck this away somewhere. Even if you're hanging them off the wall or ceiling, you need a decent chunk of dedicated space.

As an avid biker, I understand your dilemma. Downsize your rides by making more bikes multi-functional and put the others on display. Hang one horizontally on the ceiling at your light source and hang an industrial pendant down right below it. or make something with parts, like a table: http://blog.makezine.com/bike_part_coffee_table.jpg

good luck.

We are building a shed to contain our many bikes (lost count, but I don't think it's 14!) But, that's the luxury of living down south. I like having that many, because when we have visitors we can all bike around town together. (We have visitors a LOT.)

I have the same problem... 15 bikes between me and my wife. I race road, multiple types of mountain, cyclocross, commuter, road tandem, (and we want a mountain tandem), etc... Only one does not get ridden often, and it has sentimental value.

As far as compact storage, define "compact." I hang two rows of hooks in the garage. The top row has half the bikes and the hooks are spaced about half an inch wider than the bars. Then I have another row of hooks about a foot lower then the top, with the hooks centered between the other ones. The bikes on the top are hung front wheel up, and the bikes on the bottom are hung front wheel down. It still takes up about 14' of wall space. I could fit them tighter if I loosened the stem and turned the bars sideways whenever I put them away.

Good luck. Bike storage is one of the top 3 concerns for me when choosing a place to live.

14 bikes between two? that's insane. I've lived with couriers and triathletes before and at most one of us would have 2 or 3 rides.

If you have a basement or garage, my suggestion would be to get a bike rack. My condo association bought one for our basement and it holds up to 10 bikes.

My boyfriend just brought home another bike. This one is supposedly for me, even though I only ever ride one bike. The grand total now is four bikes and a tandem. Our house is 1000 square feet and there is are bikes in the living room, attic, porch, guest bedroom, dining room. We don't have even half as many as you and I am guessing your square footage will be much less. Get rid of some bikes. Then buy yourself a Dimension Under Bottom Bracket Bike Stand for 10 bucks each. It is like a little lever that keeps your bike up the way a double kickstand would. When you park your bikes in the house, they won't lean or scuff the walls. We have one to display a vintage bike that my boyfriend can't part with. We park the tandem in the living room because it is 40 years old and the patina goes with our antique furniture.

Get a red nose, extra large shoes and baggy pants and start your own traveling circus.

With 14 bikes, I can't imagine you have much time for sleeping for sitting, so you could park 7 in the bedroom and 7 in the living room. Just kidding.

In all seriousness though, I think the universe of creative bike storage solutions ends somewhere around 4 bikes. At 14, you clearly love cycling and are destined to just have to live with them in your way.

Sadly bikes are not very compact but there are ways around a love with cycling. When I kept 3 bikes in a shared dorm room I took the front wheels off and kept two under my bed (slightly lofted) and one hanging from the ceiling (with the fork and rear wheel attached to the ceiling). Now I live in an apartment big enough that two bikes in the bed room and two in the living room is not an issue. From my experience, if you have the height, hang them.

Get rid of at least 4 bikes each and make room for eachother instead.

OP here, thanks everyone for the suggestions! And I completely understand those who think we must be insane. Once upon a time I thought one bike was all I would need....then I started racing. We both compete in track, road, time trials, CX, and MTB, and we commute or train outside every day, year round. The only sentimental bike is a cruiser that used to belong to my grandmother, and that gets used by friends.

I'm comfortable leaving the commuter bikes & cruiser on the porch, but not the racing bikes. In the winter, our road or TT bikes stay set up on the trainers, and in the summer the track bikes stay at the velodrome. The basement will have to suffice for the remaining 9. The ceilings are

I like the idea of building it into something interesting. What if you made/custom-designed a long glass-topped table where the bikes could all line up or hang underneath? Maybe bar height to ensure adequate space below, with some kind of minimalist mounting hardware to hang the bikes from the surface. Could be a fun view for diners! Though I guess they might end up with bike mud on their legs after dinner.

I'm not very familiar with bikes, but could you replace any of your bikes with the kind that fold up? I mean if you really need that many because of the many uses, maybe a couple have folding versions. I've seen one outside my office building and it just folds into a smaller square. That would save some space or at least make it less awkward for storage.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/397/

http://www.transalt.org/resources/foldingbikes

These are just some links I quickly googled, not really sure where you buy them.

i havent read this yet, but just by the title--congratualtions! i will have this problem when i get married too... well more like a total of 10 bikes.
you rule!

so now that i have read--it sounds like you have some great high end bikes that you could "display" when you are not using them as much/when it isn't velo season using some rubberized hooks on the walls. if you have an additional room then install some of those hooks that allow for vertical keeping of the bikes.

It's like the bike Brady bunch!!

I used to live in a house of cyclists and we had about 10 bikes between everyone. We had a very large entry way and someone had built a rack for them that was great. The rack was made of 2x4s and was a basic frame with and 8ft beam along the top and 8ft or so supporting beams at each end with "feet" on the bottom to keep the whole thing vertical. Those bike hooks (the rubber coated ones) were screwed into the beam along the top and we hung the bikes vertically from the front tire. You can actually hang them fairly close because you can move the bikes around without taking them off the hooks. It worked really well for us as they were all accessible but still out of the way. Good luck and keep riding!

you better start winning some races because your gunna need to buy a large house to fit all of these things

We only have 6 bikes between the two of us, but we live in a condo without much storage space. The (relatively low value) mountain bikes are locked on a wall rack in our parking garage and the nicer road/racing bikes are stored inside our place. We hate bumping into them, so we eventually screwed some big, rubberized hooks into the higher-than-normal ceiling and hang the bikes upside down by their wheels (not racing wheels, of course!!). It is sort of a pain to get them up and down all the time, and yes we get the occasional tire mark on the ceiling, but it's so much nicer than tripping over them.

I had 14 bikes all on my own once. I basically wallpapered my place with bikes. I put up rubber-coated hooks or used those stands that lean against the wall and require no mounting hardware. It looked pretty amazing. But different frame sizes and shapes require hooks in different places on the wall (as I'm sure you know), so you need to really plan ahead when you go to hang them up. Bikes on walls also make excellent places to dry your clothes, but never admit to any of your cyclist friends that you do this (and don't tell mine!).

Ok no one really needs seven bikes...stream it to two apiece. If you two can't, you need to fork over the money to rent a storage space somewhere since we ALL know you aren't using all those bikes on a regular basis.

whoa with the judgment passing on bikes...trimming down isnt an option, if it was then the question wouldnt be posted...i LOVE Cord's wall paper idea i think that would be an awesome display of your hobby, another idea depending on ceiling height is to hang the frame overhead like most bike shops, of course you still have to store everything else.

Wow ChrisGal, that's a massively judgemental post. And that's not the only one here telling the op to chop it down, because "no one needs that many bikes."

I guess some of you have never met any hard core cyclists, or in the case of the OP, racers, cycling commuters? Some of us view bikes as some car fanatics view cars, with the upside of cycling being very beneficial to the body. Not only that but you can't take a road bike through a mountain trek, nevermind a time trail bike.

Sorry, my rant got a bit off topic. I have friends who don't understand my love for bikes and cycling, and just sort of smile and wave, which is fine. But I find it really rude to tell someone else that their collection of hobby/sports/work/etc equipment is ridiculous and should be pared down just because you can't understand the need for the different equipment.

Yeah- It's easy for someone who thinks a bike costs $200 to talk about downsizing. But the OP is a cyclist, and let me assure you- each one of those 14 is like a baby to them.

Way back when I live with my folks, out collection hit about 17- and they ALL got ridden often.

I'm at 6 on my own now. I built a rack given the lack of height in my setup- but you can get those rubber coated hooks (find them at HomeDepot, for example) and put one on every stud (16"). Alternate handlebars up and down, and they'll fit. You have to just accept how it's going to look...

I want to thank the bike enthusiasts for the info. I agree no one has the right to tell others how to live their lives or enjoy their hobby etc. Although my first reaction was the same since I only rode the quaint step overs back in the day, when three speeds were perfect. Imagine I thought that the seven each was about a fashion statement, one for each day or for certain looks. My mistake.

I suggest if you have property and space buy a work shed and store them in there. If not then as some one suggested rent space nearby. Or a canopy attached to the house might help with a ramp and platform to move them in and out of.

everyone has their thing
some people buy shoes some purse... me and you bikes!

So I have a few friends who hang there bikes all over the house from hooks like the ones you would use to hold yard tools in the shed (being as some bikes are real light)
also a pulley system if you have high ceilings.
we have four bikes that we keep built at all times and we have this
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?action=details&PageID=30&SKU=DS1704
and it holds 1 full size mountain bike two road bikes and one BMX so it doenst have to be all the same size and weight.

People for whom cycling is a passion often accumulate multiple bikes because there are actually huge variations in types of bicycles that are designed for different terrains. People who don't cycle and don't know cyclists have probably never heard of things like velodrome (track) racing or cyclocross racing, though I encourage everyone to learn more about them as they're quite interesting and fun.

Indoor storage near or inside one's home is the best choice for people who cycle often and need access to the different bikes when participating in different sports. Everyone I know who is really into cycling does nearly all of their own bike maintenance and often builds and transforms their bikes with different components. So you're not just looking for space for complete bikes, but for all of those spare parts and tools, and you probably also want a decent space to work on the bikes. For these reasons, my first choice for bike storage would be a dedicated bike room. If you don't have a spare room then I'd try to close off a porch or section off part of a larger room for this setup.

One last comment: many people who love cycling and own multiple bikes also commute by bike and do not own cars. People who critique bike addicts for their 'wasteful' ownership of multiple bikes should compare space usage, cost, and environmental impact of multiple bicycles (yes, even seven) against a single car.

pikku sukku (sp?) -- Ok I have known people who were athletes and even cyclists - my father-in-law is one. He owns a house that could probably house a few families easily - he still refuses to have more than four bikes. He finds it as ridiculous as I do to own more since there is no way you actually use them enough to rationalize keeping them.

The OP needs to decide what is more important - all seven bikes or her new husband. Trust me - I'd get rid of a few bikes for my guy. We only own one apiece.

I admit I have problems with having too many things - but geez, even I have fourteen pairs of shoes (including boots) and they all mostly fit on my shoe rack. The purses only take up one shelf in my closet...though I only have about four or five. I find not keeping every single thing very freeing at times.

There is a time in your life when you got to realize if it's really important to have so many of something - seven bikes...that's a little excessive. They could at least combine it to seven between them instead and make a little money for their new marriage by selling the rest.

And we get our family annoyed at us for owning four computer - at least I now have a really hilarious story to tell at the next family dinner.

I think we shall just agree to disagree, ChrisGal. :)

I think there is a difference between shoes and bikes, especially if the OP is doing time trials and racing (this could be their job), however, if one were a runner, one would naturally have extra shoes for that sport in addition to street shoes, as an example. It's just a bit of a pain in the arse that bikes aren't as compact storage-wise.

Since they both have seven bikes, both share the same hobby, and can both spend time doing it together, I don't think it's necessary for them to cut down on the bikes (mind you, I don't think it's a good idea to buy more until they get a bigger place), because they both understand the need for them. It's not like one spouse is going to get angry and resentful for having bikes everywhere, or the extra laundry from the cycling clothes, bike shoes in the shoe racks, panniers by the door, etc. If only one of them was a bike enthusiast, then I think paring down or at least off site storage would be respectful to the other who doesn't maybe want cycling reminders everywhere.

My suggestion to the OP would be to create an open storage solution on one wall that showcases their hobby. Not the most convenient after a rainy ride to hang a bike up, but certainly doable for the non-commuting bikes. :)

As a last note, four computers is ..yeah. Gaming computer, work computer, desktop, laptop, multiple OS.... each computer has it's own use. Nothing wrong with that, we currently have three computers between two of us. :) They all have their primary use, just like the bikes.

You say the other spouse will never complain. I believe they will once they realize how big of a place they will be forced to have to store 14 bikes. That means more rent or more of a mortgage payment, if buying a house, sacrificing the entire garage for the bikes, etc.

We keep both our bikes not stored here - but luckily mine is at my father-in-law's in his barn's loft (basically since he knew I only use it when I'm in that small town) while the fiance's is at his mom's. But we are grateful for loving family - the father-in-law actually got rid of a bike to allow mine to live there.

I would not consider myself an athlete, but I do jog - I still only have two or three pairs of shoes dedicated for that. Yes, luckily shoes are smaller and much easier to find a space just for them - especially since they are rarely anything pretty to look at.

I agree with a poster above - the couple should allow themselves to get a storage space for any of the bikes they do not ride on a weekly/biweekly basis and after a few months, I'm more than sure they will part with three or four apiece to have the room in their own space for them. It's the best idea for anything you think you can not part with.

Well, our computers aren't dedicated like that. My desktop is used for anything I want to use my computer for (including work), his desktop same story, the third is a barebone that we are turning into a server, and the last is the laptop which we mainly have for travel purposes (or for those nice days when sitting inside is so sad and it can still get the wireless signal on the balcony). But we only need three areas for them (one is living room, two in guest room/office, and the laptop area) since the laptop just sits on the top of a bookshelf in the bedroom when charging. Again I do realize computers are smaller, but everyone needs to realize when they hit that excessive point.

Rent storage space.

ChrisGal, you are missing the point...
let's say you have 3 pairs of jogging shoes 2 pr. casual shoes, 3 pr. works shoes, 2 pr. dress shoes, 1 pr. seasonal boots, 2 pr. sandals = 13 pairs of shoes you could reasonably own as one person. Some for hobby, some for work, some worn for casual social outings, etc.
Now, you marry another person with feet (highly likely) and they bring 14 pairs of their own to the table. Now you have to store a total of nearly 30 pairs of footwear.... All of which are practical to your lifestyle, and in current rotation. I doubt we'd all be sending you to craigslist to unload your shared 'collections'.

Keep one bike for each, and sell the rest. If something gets broken on either bike, a repair shop should have it. Otherwise - put them all in a garage.

Dolly -- I thought this got mentioned above - I'm engaged and living with the guy. He stores his shoes in his own closet - all six pair - LOL. If I run out of room to store my shoes, yes I would likely get rid of some. I work from home, so it's more like 2 pr jogging shoes, 1 pr boots, 3 pr sandals, 5 pr tennis shoes (since they get worn more often), 2 pr "work" shoes (meaning what I'd wear to paint, do some work outside, etc), and one misc pr that doesn't really hit a category so easy. Easily, I could remove three or four pair - mostly because I have three pr that I haven't even worn since our last move.

Why is it I'm only one of several who tells them to downsize bikes, but I am the only one who gets jumped on? Wow, I thought topics got posted here and we were allowed to say what we thought - not just have to say "Hey, it's fine to be idiotic enough to keep 14 bikes when I really doubt you need more than three or four apiece - especially since you won't ever ride the rest". Maybe you should read this thread - I'm not the only one who said to downsize. If you want an apartment, you got to rid yourself of excessive large objects - especially when it comes down to many extra bikes you do NOT ride on a regular basis.

We'll be more than happy get rid of redundant equipment & tools, but not the bikes themselves. I don't have a car, we aren't into cooking, gardening, pets, crafts, collecting fine china, etc. Racing is how we met, and riding--together or alone, 10-20 hours a week--is simply what we do. We support each other in it, and take training & racing trips together instead of vacations. When our priorities change, we'll happily sell the bikes to make room for other interests...like BMX or randonneuring, perhaps. In the meantime, we have to store what we have in an easily accessible manner.

I think esj's suggestion of building a freestanding rack will work great for us! We could definitely build something like that for the basement. Thanks!

The good news is that the basement is available. It sounds as if you don't have to lock them--another bonus.

I live in a building with at least 35 bikes (3 of them are mine) in the basement. The landlord asked me to research a rack that folks can use to lock their bikes because our basement is overtaken with bikes. This post has helped get me started on it. I'm thinking of having marked "parking spots" based on who rides most. (There are many bikes down there that haven't seen the light of day in years.) Thanks for the links and ideas!

I can't help but wonder why this site seems to engender a lot of posts from readers who think that telling someone what they should do or should need is an acceptable way to behave. Passing a value judgment on this person's lifestyle isn't particularly helpful, now is it?

OP--you're awesome! Keep on racing! It sounds like you and your mate have a great time together doing something you love. I'm jealous.

hang 'em up like ceiling fans... that'll probably look pretty cool

ChrisGal-
Why is it so hard for you to accept that they WANT all their bikes? You've posted here more than anyone else, and you seem to be taking this personally.

Also, the OP was about how to store the bikes, not how to downsize. They appear to have no interest in downsizing.

Am I glad that biking is not among my hobbies!!!