Everyone knows that keeping your beloved bicycle inside keeps it safer from being stolen, in addition to protecting it from the elements.
However, not everyone has the luxury of a room, garage, or shed to store their bike at home.
In an apartment, space is critical. You need to keep your bike somewhere out of the way but within relatively easy access so that it is not a mission every time you want to go out on the bike.
So how do you store a bike in an apartment? There are a variety of ways to store a bicycle in your apartment, including installing a bike hook on the wall, displaying it like art, and even easy ways like leaning it on the wall and putting it on the balcony.
If this sounds like you, keep on reading to see a little bit more about each of these solutions.
1. The Simple Solution
One of the easiest ways is to simply leave your bike leaned up against the wall in your hallway.
The only problem is that inevitably you or someone else will bang into it, and each time you lean it up against the wall, you risk damaging the wall (or even worse, damaging your bike).
One option is to buy a small rubber wall protector that can be stuck to the wall.
This rubber piece has a curved design and allows you to rest your handlebars within it (only suitable for road bikes or bikes with dropped handlebars or horns). This of course is inexpensive, and easy to do. However, it does make it so the bike is sitting on the floor, and that takes up space! Which is where the rest of the ideas on this list become a much better idea.
2. Bicycle Wall Hook
Suppose you do not have space in the hallway. Some innovative storage solutions work with you to minimize the area that your bike will take up. You can get a hook to install onto your wall.
This allows you to hook your front wheel towards the ceiling and leaves your bike dangling down on the wall. This is more secure and reduces the risk of you knocking your bike over.
For most bike wall hooks, they are incredibly easy to install. They are either just one large screw that goes into a stud in the wall, or it can be something that uses a couple different bolts.
Either way, they are simple, and easy to install by anyone with some simple tools.
However, as most apartment dwellers tend to be renting, make sure you are allowed to do this form of installation before doing this.
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3. On the balcony
Another simple solution is to keep your bicycle on the balcony!
Thankfully many apartments out there have a balcony that can be utilized for storage of bikes, and other items.
Of course, if you aren’t one of those people, this solution may not be the best one for you.
Another downside being security, as balconies are generally open, and will be showing off your bike to whomever wants to look at it.
Keep in mind though, anytime your bike is outside it should be covered up and taken care of!
4. The Artwork Storage
You can also turn your bike into a work of art by getting a wall mount, allowing you to hang your bike halfway up your wall showing off its full glory.
This reduces the floor space that it takes up and can look cool in the right spot.
Thankfully, much like the wall hook we talked about earlier, this is also a simple install, and can be done by anyone with some basic experience installing hardware.
Basically, if you have ever been to Ikea, you probably can do this as well.
Bonus: Buy a foldable bike
I’m not going to make this one of the primary reasons, just because of the price! However if you are someone trying to research storing a bike in your apartment BEFORE you own one, then this might be an awesome option for you.
Foldable bikes tend to be slightly heavier than their non-foldable counterparts, however it makes up for it by being extremely storable. Not only are they able to be put into vehicles easier for storage, they also take up a much smaller footprint in your apartment as well.
If this sounds like you, this one right here is an awesome option! Its a great price, and a good value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on my findings, hanging a bike from its wheel should not cause any damage. Thankfully the weight of a bike is not quite to the point where it should cause any problems with you bike wheel getting bent, or untrue.
Hanging a bicycle upside down is not necessarily bad for it, however you probably should check with your local bike shop about this if you have hydraulic brakes. Hydraulic brakes have fluid that can messed up if hung in a way they are meant to be.
The space you need to store your bike, depends on how and where you are storing it. Storing a bike on the wall means you only need wall space, while if you are leaning the bike on the wall, you are going to need about 3 feet, by 2 feet of floor space for storage.
Conclusion
Try to avoid having to take your bike apart to fit it into a cupboard. It will get frustrating having to reassemble it every time you want to go for a ride, and you risk not tightening everything if you are in a rush.
Whichever storage solution you decide on, try to store your bike within your apartment as it does protect it from theft and could prolong its lifespan (compared to being left outside at the mercy of the elements).
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