How To Install Bike Hooks In The Wall

By Jim Langley

My friend John bought a new business firm recently and asked for bike storage advice. The new identify has a two-car garage with a wall he can devote to cycle-hanging. Then information technology's a relatively easy project. I get asked this question a lot, so I thought I'd share the basic plans.

First, understand that there are every bit many ways to store bikes as at that place are dwelling and garage floor plans. The important thing is to find a way to keep your prissy road bikes inside and out of the weather or else they'll age fast. I also recommend locking them even when they're hanging in your garage or storage area. Bike theft is on the rise.

Also, don't miss our complete guide to other indoor bike storage options!

The amazing "bicycle claw"

An cheap, highly versatile and easy-to-use wheel-hanging device is the bicycle hook. The photo shows the two normally available types of cycle hooks. The ones I prefer and buy at The Home Depot for about $3 each, are the oversized ones on the left in the photo. They're taller, wider and more thickly coated than the smaller ones available at near all hardware stores for about $2 each (the hook on the right). Both back up whatsoever bicycle easily.

These hooks can be screwed into anything that volition hold the weight of a bicycle. You tin can hang a bike from its front or rear wheel on 1 hook. Or hang a bicycle upside down from both wheels with 2 hooks.

The rubber coating on the hooks prevents whatsoever damage to your wheels, whether the rims are steel, aluminum or carbon. However, if there are stickers on the rims – even a maker's logo decal – information technology's best not to residual the decal on the hook. The weight of the bike can scrunch or tear some decals. But information technology won't hurt the wheels otherwise.

Tip: If you're interested in something more advanced than the simple bike hook – for example, a hanger that lets you swing your bikes almost flat confronting the wall – a company with many versatile options is Delta Bike.

Locating the hooks

To hang bikes on walls with typical 16-inch spaced two x four lumber framing, all you practice is spiral the hooks into the two 10 iv studs. You want the hooks loftier enough so that the bicycle hanging downwardly doesn't bear on the ground. But you don't desire the hooks so loftier that it's hard for you to stand the bike up and lift its top cycle onto the hook. Placing the bottom of the hooks near 70 inches (178 cm) above the floor works well.

Experiment with one hook to find out the best superlative for you and and so marking that height on the wall at the stud location for each bike claw. To finish the task, simply drill holes for your hooks and spiral them into the studs. With the hooks spaced xvi inches apart, you'll invert every other bike to utilise every hook. In other words, the first wheel volition exist handlebars upwards, the next bars down, and then on.

If you don't have a stud wall

If it'southward difficult to find or access the studs in your wall to screw the hooks into – or you don't have a stud wall – you lot can usually put up a hook board. This is a piece of 2 ten 4 lumber (or any slice thick enough to screw the hooks into and long enough for the number of bikes you program to hang).

Yous spiral the bike hooks to this slice of lumber. Since you're not forced to follow the stud spacing, you tin can use narrower spacing and perhaps fit one more than bike. Use 14 inches (36 cm) betwixt hooks. One time the hooks are in place, simply attach the claw board to the wall at the preferred top, and you're good to go.

Protecting the wall

Whether you screwed the hooks into studs or put up a hook board, once your bike hangers are in identify, you might want to protect the wall from tire scuff marks since the bottom wheels will residual confronting it. For this, yous tin place a second 2 x iv across the wall at the right height and the tires will balance on information technology instead of the wall.

Using the rafters or joists

Some other way to hang bikes is past placing hooks or a claw board overhead. That might exist easier than dealing with a cement wall or another wall not piece of cake to screw hooks into or attach things to.

It's the same pattern as the wall hook board, merely information technology'southward screwed into the ceiling framing. Be certain the lath is mounted parallel to the wall, with the hooks about 15 inches (38 cm) abroad from the wall. If the hooks are too far abroad from the wall you can end up with the rear bike not reaching the wall and that tin let bikes swing around and bump into each other.

Hanging by both wheels

In my two-automobile garage I take exposed framing overhead; still, there isn't enough room to park cars and hang bikes above them. To solve this problem, I screwed four two ten iv upright posts to the rafters viii anxiety autonomously. I then made ii 8-foot ii ten four hook boards. I fastened the hook boards on pinnacle of the uprights with the hooks facing down. This gave a place to hang the bikes upside downwardly overhead just barely clearing the motorcar roof. The two boards with the hooks are placed twoscore inches (102 cm) apart, which places the hooks in the heart of the inverted bicycles' front and rear wheels.

If you build bike hangers similar this, kickoff endeavor lifting bikes to the height of the hooks to make certain you can do information technology. You have to be able to hold the bicycle overhead long enough to become at to the lowest degree one wheel on a hook and and so push the other ane in place. If this is hard to do, don't use this type of bike rack or you could drop a bike and hurt yourself, the bike or the car.

Clean the bike before storing it

When bikes are stored by hanging them, it'southward non unheard of for sweat left uncleaned to "roll down" tubes and cables and gunk upwardly the works. If sweat gets into a cable housing, for instance, it can corrode the cablevision and seriously touch on braking or shifting functioning. Plus, information technology's extremely hard to effigy out every bit the source of the problem.

So, if you choose to hang your wheel(s), wipe them down or clean them thoroughly after sweaty rides – before storage. This will help proceed your bikes running smoothly, and be ready to roll next time out.

Source: https://www.roadbikerider.com/bicycle-storage-with-bike-hooks-d3/

Posted by: stellateps1959.blogspot.com

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