12 best bike storage systems — get your bikes tidied up

Short on space? Here are some ways of storing your bikes so you’re not always knocking them over in the hallway.

Bikes are awkward things to store. If you don’t have a shed or garage and don’t want to leave your bikes outside in the rain, then you need some way of stashing them in the house. With pedals and handlebars sticking out, just standing them in the hallways is a bad idea; they’ll snag, get knocked over and generally be annoying.

• Bikes leaned up against the wall always seem to get in the way, especially in narrow hallways and like that; these bike storage systems comprise racks, hooks and stands that tame unruly bikes

• Your choices range from simple hooks for a quid from pound shops to bike storage furniture that doesn't look out of place in a modern flat

• Vertical multi-bike racks are a good way to reclaim floor space and reduce hassle from housemates and loved ones fed up of whacking their ankles against pedals

• Not allowed to put holes in the wall? Look at gravity racks and racks that brace against floor and ceiling

12 of the best bike storage hooks, racks and stands for 2020

• Pro Bike Tool 3-Bike Wall Rack — £59.99
• BBB ParkingLot Storage Hook — £14.99
• Hornit Clug Roadie — £14.99
• Gear Up Off-the-Wall — £47.84
• Feedback Sports Velo Hinge — ~£22.00
• Feedback Sports Velo Wall Post — £37.98
• Feedback Sports Velo Wall Rack 2D — £40.47
• Cycloc Endo — ~£39
• Gear Up Lean Machine Gravity Rack — £57.99
• Topeak Two Up — £154.99
• Gear Up OakRak Floor-to-Ceiling — £169.00
• Saris Parking Cycle Glide — ~£225

What you need is a rack or stand that’ll hold your bike, preferably off the floor. There are two types: freestanding racks and wall-mounted racks.

If you live in rented accommodation you may not be able to go bolting a rack to the walls, and that’s where freestanding racks come in. These are either ‘gravity racks’ that lean against a wall or ‘floor-to-ceiling’ racks that expand to brace vertically. A gravity rack will usually carry two bikes, one low and one high, while some floor-to-ceiling racks can hold up to four bikes. There are also free-standing racks that will hold up to four bikes, though these need more floor space

If your walls are your own (or you have a tolerant landlord), then you have lots of choices in single-bike hangers that mount on the wall, ranging from simple hooks to nicely-styled mouldings that also have room for bits and pieces like lights and gloves.

Let’s look at some of your options.

Pro Bike Tool 3-Bike Wall Rack — £59.99

The Pro Bike Tool 3 Bike Wall Rack is a neat all-in-one solution to storing multiple bikes to help you save floor space. It's a slightly more expensive route to take than buying individual bike-specific hooks, but the end product is much better overall.

Consisting of a neat-looking aluminium bar with three hooks that slide onto a rail, the PBT rack is designed to be mounted high (at least 180cm from the ground) so that bikes attached to it hang vertically. The rack can be used in a garage, shed or even inside your house, and can be mounted to plasterboard (provided it's supported by wooden studs) or something a bit more solid like masonry or concrete.

The hooks used are quite substantial and are suitable for tyres up to 5 inches wide, so there's plenty of scope to hang up pretty much any type of bike you wish, and if you have a serious case of N+1, there's a version that'll take six bikes.

Read our review of the Pro Bike Tool 3-Bike Wall Rack

BBB ParkingLot Storage Hook — £14.99

The BBB ParkingLot is a simple bike hanger that grabs your wheel and rim and holds them vertically at 90 degrees to the wall where you mount it. It'll take tyres up the three inches wide, but is otherwise very short on bells, whistles gimcracks or geegaws; it simply does one job well and inexpensively.

Read our review of the BBB ParkingLot Storage Hook
Find a BBB dealer

Hornit Clug Roadie — £14.99

One of the simplest bike holders, this Kickstarter success holds your bike against the wall by simply grabbing your front tyre while the rear rests on the ground.

And, er, that’s it. No clever features or bells and whistles, but a simple flexible plastic clip that Just Works™.

Read our review of the Hornit Clug

Gear Up Off-the-Wall — £47.84

Gear Up's Off-The-Wall Two Bike Vertical Storage unit does exactly what it says and does it very well at a reasonable price. You can use it in the house or, so long as you've installed a gamekeeper type wall-anchor for security purposes, it's also great for garages and similar brick outbuildings.

What we have here is a sturdy MIG welded twin hook design complete with wheel guides that hold bikes securely and out of scratching distance. A removable wire mesh basket gobbles lids, gloves, pumps and other accessories that otherwise might go untamed and lead to domestic clutter and strife. Build quality is generally very good - the welding's a little workmanlike in places but easily up to the 100lb payload. Powder coating is also better than we've come to expect from mass produced units.

Read our review of the Gear Up Off-the-Wall

Find a Gear Up dealer

Feedback Sports Velo Hinge — £30.00

The secret sauce of the Velo Hinge is its ability to hinge your velo (never let it be said the FBS Marketing Dept don't earn their crust). The plastic-covered hook folds out from the wall plate, your front tyre rests on the plate, and the whole thing swings from perpendicular to as far over left or right as your handlebar will allow. The resultant bike or pile of bikes then only protrudes as far as the widest handlebar you have in your fleet.

If you need to store multiple bikes, whatever the size, type or number, up to 22.7kg in weight, the Velo Hinge has you sorted. As your fleet grows/changes, simply remount the hook and bumpers to suit. It's probably the last bike wall hook you'll ever have to buy.

Read our review of the Feedback Sports Velo Hinge

Feedback Sports Velo Wall Post — £30.30

If you agree that the best way to store your bike is off the floor and against a wall then the Feedback Sports Velo Wall Post is possibly the simplest way to do that. It's also superbly made, and the action when folding it down is so, so smooth. And it's handy for other things too.

The Velo Wall Post is just that – a post, which sticks out from a wall, for your velo. You hang your bike's saddle over it, job done. For the price of half-a-dozen coffees and cake, what you get is Isambard Kingdom Brunel-grade engineering, with features to protect your bike from harm – accidental or deliberate.

Read our review of the Feedback Sports Velo Wall Post

Feedback Sports Velo Wall Rack 2D — £47.00

Its adjustable arms allow the Velo Wall Rack 2D to accommodate narrow road bike or wide mountain bike/hybrid handlebars and all the variety of shapes and swoops of modern bike frames.

Simple tweaking of a 3mm Allen key (provided) in one of six boltheads on the side and arms takes just a minute to get more or less spot on, depending on whether you have a partner to give the 'up a bit, down a bit' guidance.

The arms end in rubber-coated V-shaped cups, stepped to provide even the strangest of profiles a snug fit. A bonus of the V-profile is that if you have under-tube cabling it will pass through without being held against the tube underside – even down to traditional steel tube diameters around the 25-26mm mark.

Read our review of the Feedback Sports Velo Wall Rack 2D

Cycloc Endo — £37.46

The Cycloc Endo continues the marque's penchant for stylish, yet practical solutions for keeping one's pride 'n' joy indoors without flouting health and safety regulations, detracting from the décor or inducing acute domestic disharmony.

The Endo is a hinged hook that cantilevers to accommodate different rim and tyre diameters and will support bikes with tyres up to 2.3 inches in its generous, rubberised channels, defending walls from unsightly marks.

Read our review of the Cycloc Endo

Gear Up Lean Machine Gravity Rack — £57.99

Gravity racks are very handy if you have a spare clear interior wall to store two bikes. The feet sit out just beyond the centre of gravity of the bikes, so the whole structure is stable as long as nothing shoves it too hard.

The arms are coated to protect your bikes' paintwork and can be moved independently so your bike ends up level and looks tidy.

Find a Gear Up dealer

Topeak Two Up — £151.99

This freestanding unit can hold up to four bikes. It comes with two sets of hooks and extras are £14. Topeak says it'll hold up to 72kg of bikes, so you should be fine unless your fleet includes some very cheap e-bikes.

The workstand-style tripod feet mean it can be folded away and it's sturdy enough to be used for light maintenance.

Find a Topeak dealer

Gear Up OakRak Floor-to-Ceiling — £169.00

The GearUp OakRak Floor-to-Ceiling Bike Rack is easy to assemble, looks good and is a great way to store up to four bikes inside your house or flat where they're safe and sound.

Made in the USA from American red oak, the OakRak comprises an assembly of interleaving wooden beams that brace between your floor and ceiling. The vertical parts are held together with threaded studs and furniture nuts. Thickly coated steel hooks attach to the sides and you hang your bikes from them.

Assembly is straightforward, with clear instructions. Everything screws together with the supplied 4mm Allen key, except for the top piece for which you'll need a crosshead screwdriver.

Read our review of the Gear Up OakRak Floor-to-Ceiling

Find a Gear Up dealer

Saris Parking Cycle Glide — ~£225

If you've got high ceilings — and fairly light bikes — this space-saving storage unit is worth a look. You hoik the bikes upside-down into the hooks and can then slide them together on the rails.

If you want a bike that’s deep in the pile, you can just slide the others out of the way. Out of the box it will take four bikes, and there's and add-on to accommodate another two.

Find a Saris dealer

Explore the complete archive of reviews of bike storage systems on road.cc