Apartment Parking Solutions: At Home With Your Bike

Story by Roy Hinshaw / Drawing by David Perry

In most parts of the U.S.A., indoor bike parking isn't usually a problem. But in NYC, apartments are often small and oddly configured, with winding hallways and uneven floors. If you share an apartment, your bike can be a constant source of argument. Even if you live alone, your bike can be in the way.

Yet apartment space is a costly commodity, and bikes eat cubic footage. How to park your bike indoors without it becoming a nuisance? You could leave it standing on the floor. You could buy an expensive wall-mounted bike rack. Or you could read this report compiled by our crack team of City Cyclist improvisers.

Vestibule lock-up

A common practice in large apartment buildings is locking bicycles to a stairwell banister or a pipe running through the stairway. The advantage: Your apartment is bicycle-free. Disadvantage: The bike can become a hassle to other stair-climbers as they bump and trip over it. The major disadvantage: Security. Thieves can gain entry into almost any building, whether by a faulty door, a tenant who allows entry without checking, or a quick foot stuck in a closing door. A bike locked in the hallway is an easy mark for a thief with even the simplest tools.

The alternative: Park your bike inside your apartment.

1: Outdoor shed for utility bikes
2: Elevator access
3: Banister for kids' bikes
4: Ceiling hook
5: Stairway ramp to second floor
6: Double wall rack
7: Double-decker rack with ramp loading
8: Column rack doubles as repair stand
9: Folding bike stores anywhere
10: Twin ceiling hooks with support beam

Homespun Indoor Storage

The easiest way to store your bike is to lean it against the wall by the door, then wait for people to trip on it and knock it over, usually in the middle of the night when someone else is asleep. The next easiest (and cheapest) method is to mount a hook on the wall. The front tire of the bike hangs vertically from the hook while the back tire rests on the floor. You can buy a rubber-encased hook at a hardware store for about $1.50. This way, your bike appears to take up less room and is more stable for the occasional jostle.

Or, the bike may be suspended upside-down from two hooks on the ceiling. A twist: Mount the hooks with longer stems perpendicular to the wall midway or higher up. Place the bike's top tube on them, with the handlebars straight and flush against the wall (road bikes work well this way, mountain bikes if the handlebars are short).

Spend some time finding the studs (wooden supports) behind the wall to attach your hooks into. (Remember, your apartment may be older than you...) You can also improvise your own rack from commercially available designs. With a solidly-mounted bracket, try mounting multiple bikes on the same stand, one over the other. Or, mount a metal lip just off the floor with hooks the height of your top tube. The bike leans at a slight angle as the hooks hold it in place.