The first thing you want to decide is the location of the rack. If you have a garage or storage shed big enough and with enough room the problem is solved. If not or you have an apartment where you can’t damage walls or have little to no storage area, then you need some creative thinking. You don’t want direct sunlight or heat on your bike or gear as in placing the rack near a window or furnace. It fades the paint and heats the object unevenly, which can cause cracking and aging more rapidly. You also want an area with good ventilation.
The major bike catalog companies have racks ranging from less then twenty dollars, to wood or metal costing up to a hundred and fifty dollars. There is something for you in your price range. The least expensive of all, are screw hooks from a hardware store coated in plastic and screwed into supporting two by fours.
If you have an apartment where you can’t damage the walls, it’s a good investment for the more expensive wood or metal rack that works by pressure on the coated ends that touch the floor and ceiling. They don’t work with suspended ceilings since you need something solid to press against when installing. You simply adjust and lock the mechanism in place, making sure you have enough force to hold its position without puncturing the ceiling. Use your own strength in a tempered way to fit the rack. That will be plenty to hold the support structure well. Don’t think the more pressure the better by having a friend help push with you or using a tool such as a lever to add greater pressure. They work very well with a snug fit. Many people put them up next to a wall, if you do, place the rack far enough away for the handlebars and pedals to clear the wall. You can put them anywhere you like and if you have a small space, they can be used as a room divider very effectively such as separating your eating area from the living or kitchen area. Stay away from a window or where light will fall on the frame of your bike or near a heat source.
There are racks that simply lay against the wall. An excellent idea if you can’t mar the wall’s surface. They work because the legs at the bottom bend and allow the weight of the object and the rails of the rack to apply pressure against the wall. Easy enough to set up, the hardest thing is deciding which wall you want to use. Again, keep in mind direct sunlight hitting the equipment or direct heat from any source.
With any type of rack, where you place the bike on a rail that supports it from the top tube, (that’s the section of your bike frame that runs from under the handlebars to under your seat) you might have a problem with the front wheel turning sideways. By taking a short bungee cord and attaching one end to the rim of the front wheel and the other to a water bottle cage you can eliminate the wheel turning sideways.
The least expensive are the ones where you hook the front wheel and suspend the bike. Keep in mind that this requires you to find a stud to secure the mount and that the back wheel, if there is no barrier between it and the wall, will mar the surface of the wall with the rear tire.
If your rack didn’t come with a shelf to store your helmet and other gear, you can always make one of your own. A board placed on the hangers behind the hook part will work fine to put your helmet, gloves and shoes. You can attach your helmet to the frame or wheels using the chinstrap and put your gloves inside the helmet if you prefer not having a shelf.
One of the easiest and inexpensive ways to store a bicycle is with hooks from the ceiling or wall of your garage or storage shed. They come coated with a thick plastic material and once you decide where you want them, you just screw them in a supporting two by four and hang the bike. I found the easiest way is the cross beams in the rafters. One hook will hold one bike by the front or rear wheel. You can screw them into a side support and hang them against the wall as well. These hooks are available at any hardware store and cost a couple of the dollars at most.
Remember, the most important thing when deciding on the placement of your rack is ventilation and keeping the equipment away from direct heat or light.
