Bike Tree

I have a couple of reasonably expensive bikes, so I don't want to keep them in the shed or garage. I also use them regularly, so want to be able to get at them easily.

I used to keep them in the living room, behind the sofa. The problem with that is they take up too much room, and are easy to accidentally knock over.

This is where the bike tree comes in. An easy (to make and use) bike stand that stores the bikes vertically to take up less room. Plus it's completely free standing - you don't need to make any holes in the wall or ceiling, and can be moved at any time (though I'd take the bikes off it first and remove the ballast). :)

Step 1: Parts

Parts:

I bought all the following from a UK DIY superstore called B&Q for under 35GBP.

2x square wood decking
1x 1.8m fence post
1x bolt down fence post support
2x bike hooks (bought from Halfords)
2x stone coping (ballast)
bag of bolts for the post support
bag of screws for the decking
2x bags of sticky back felt (to use as feet)

Tools:

1x electric drill and wood drill bits
good screwdriver that fits the screws you have bought
spanners or socket set for the bolts

Comments

[bearonautica]

Thanks for the awesome idea! I had been looking for a way to store my bike without having to cause too much damage to my walls or ceiling. I couldn't find any decking here in the States, so I ventured to Home Depot and set out to do an American version.

When looking at your photos, your decking looked a lot like a pallet. I searched around the store and asked if they sold pallets, but apparently they don't. They will however, give you a pallet with a $15 deposit. I then picked out two 2"x4"x8' boards and metal support for about $6. I would have gone for a 4"x4"x8" fence post, but those were going for almost $19. I found a couple of rubber coated utility hooks for just over $5 and two boxes of screws for $4.

I began by cutting 1/3 of the "Quickcrete" pallet off. I screwed the two 2"x4"s together and then cut two feet off it. I mounted the newly made 4"x4" to the pallet and used one of the leftover pieces of 2"x4" as a support after cutting two 45 degree angles off. I drilled a couple of guide holes and manually drove the utility hooks into the post and it was good to go.

The nice part about using a pallet was that the wheel fit snugly into the grooves between the boards, eliminating the guide boards as well as the back board.

Superb idea and again, thank you! For under thirty bucks and a couple of hours, I have some much needed free space.

[bearonautica]

I forgot to mention that I used some sample pieces of carpet on the bottom of my pallet. Home Depot gives away 4"x4" pieces for free. Also, since I used a pallet, there wasn't a need for ballast blocks. I'm glad I had a receipt!

Oh and I just noticed dclays comment below. All great ideas! Keep up the good work!

[dclays]

Zzpza, I like the design ^_ In fact, I liked it enough to make a modified and cheaper version, now online at http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Tree-v20-for-10-or-less/. Thanks a bunch for your ideas!

[dshehane]

Like the design a lot and I am going to build one...I am not familiar with the decking sections, so will have to build something similar. It looks to be about 2 feet square and maybe a 4 inch opening after you assemble the two parts. Does that sound close?

[reedz]

This is really neat, I would worry about the weight of the bike bending the front rim though. Also in the first picture, it looks like one of the bikes is "charging"

[hammertong]

The rim supports alot more wieght from riding than hanging, plus rims are extremely tough vertically, they are more likely to bend from sideways force, but they deal with that fine when turning.

[toekneebullard]

I've heard plenty of bike mechanics say it's fine to hang bikes this way. I've been to plenty of shops where they keep them this way also.

[beerboyone]

From the looks of it the bike actually sits on the rear wheel so the hook in the front just holds it upright.

[zzpza]

lol, that's the cable going through the wall to the satellite dish. :D no need to worry about the wheel, the red bike weighs 10kg and the blue one 13kg. when i'm riding them the wheel has to put up with a LOT more weight (the weight of the bike AND me). ;)

[blazeitup]

Very smart sir.

[zzpza]

thank you :D

[toekneebullard]

Very cool design! You could even throw a little bamboo tree in between the bikes and it would fit right in. Very classy build!

[zzpza]

thanks :) good idea too. i keep my track pump there at the moment...