9 Ways to Store a Bike in a Small Apartment

You get back from a bike ride, and when you arrive at your place, you ask yourself: where can I store the bicycle without it taking too much place? You can’t leave it outside, and you don’t have a fancy garage or shed to put it away in.
If you live in a small apartment, it’s highly likely that you’ve had this problem for some time.
Here are nine great ways to store your bike away, without any worry about space.

The Bike

First, let’s take a look at the bike itself. There are a few ways you can tweak it, before you even consider buying stuff for your apartment.

Folding bike

If you live in a large city, or have an urban commute, you need a reliable bicycle that won’t be an issue at home. Why not get a folding bike?
You can check out Dahon’s Speed Uno, which has been built specifically to fit these demands. It’s lightweight (24 pounds), and small (folded size: 12x30x25 inches).

Folding pedals

If you’re not ready to buy an entire new bike, you can get folding bicycle pedals. They are ideal for those who want to store their bikes in tight places.
They easily fold and unfold in a snap. When unfolded, it’s impossible to fold them back in without manually activating the system. They often come with reflectors on both sides of the pedal.

Rotating handlebar

These specific add-ons are not handlebars per se, but rather are separators added between the handlebar and the headset. Once installed, you can twist the handlebar from the rest of the body, and turn it around.
They can go to around 90° in relation to the wheels, and are usually made of aluminium, and do not weigh down the bike.

The Apartment

If you’d rather add things to your home than tamper with your bike, here are the many storage options available.

Wall hooks

Hooks can easily store your bike in an upright position on one of your walls. Putting it high up allows you to hang the wheels of your bike. Some will allow you to even hold vertically the handlebar. Most hooks are rust protected.
Some wall mounts for bikes are accessories designed to hang your bike by the front wheel. With a hook protected by rubber, the bike will be stable and the frame won’t suffer any scratches. The hook will also be able to fold.
There are a few very elegant solutions available so you can display your bike (such as the Delta Lenardo).

Bike hangers

Simple bike hangers with a wall mount are great ways to store multiple bikes that take up too much space, instead of stacking them on the floor or against a wall.
With a wall rack, you have a practical hanger that allows you to store multiple bikes in the same place. Some of them even come with handles that can fold over, so you don’t waste any space when you’re not using them.

Ceiling lifts

Although not as aesthetically pleasing as other solutions, ceiling-mounted bike racks and lifts can hang your bicycle up to a height of 12 feet above the ground. The pulley system can hoists bikes up to 50 pounds securely, with its construction usually made of solid steel.
Once in place, you only need to easily raise the bike through the air, with the pulley system leveraging any effort.
If you have a more “industrial”-type apartment, this kind of system may be perfectly suited for your decor.

All-in-one

If you would like a bike storage system that can double as a storage shelf with space for books, helmets, or other items, you may be in luck. Although not common, and often expensive, you can get your hands on “all-in-one” furniture solutions that incorporate bike with your decor. Yes, they’ll run you in the thousands of dollars. But if you wanted to invest money into furniture, why not combine everything.
For example, if you have a narrow entryway, you can try Postfossil’s $1,000 “Shoe, Books and a Bike” straight from Switzerland.

Repurposed shelves

If you really don’t want to spend money on specialized bike equipment for your wall, you can always repurpose furniture or shelves you may already have.
The idea is to have something that can fit within the bicycle frame, specifically in between the seat, top and down tubes. Both width and length are important factors. Make sure to check the shelf is deep enough to steadily hold your bike horizontally without it falling off.

Fancy displays

On the opposite end of the spectrum, maybe design and displaying the gorgeous bike are priorities for you. If that’s the case, “designer” bike racks/hangers are probably your best option.
There are lots of options out there, anywhere from the $90 Cycloc to the $300 Elk.
Despite the price, the idea is for the display to blend itself into the background and highlight the bicycle.

What are some other ways you’ve found to store bikes in a small apartment?