Very Cheap Bike Wall Mount

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Intro: Very Cheap Bike Wall Mount

I've just moved into a new flat that had an ideal space for hanging my bike. I really like the slightly utilitarian/industrial look of wall mounted bikes. I think it can look quite stylish and especially suites nice simple bikes such as my three speed.

Although you can buy some really cheap wall mounts on eBay I thought it would be more fan to make my own. I had also just bought a workbench so this seemed as good a time as any to start using it.

Ingredients:
-Old Wooden Pallet
-2 Utility Hooks (B&Q)
-Good quality screws and plugs
-2 small corner reinforcers

STEP 1: Chose Your Materials

I picked up a very very cheap work bench and whilst walking home with it I stumbled across a brilliant little pallet.

If you want to do this all properly you could just use some large pieces of 2x4 & 1x4 timber.

STEP 2: Cutting & Shaping

Carefully select the best pieces of wood from your pallet and gently pry it apart. These things split really easily so be careful. Wear some gloves if you have them.

I wanted the bike to hang slightly away from the wall to avoid the pedals scratching the paintwork. In order to achieve this it was necessary to measure the distance from the stem to the end of the handlebars. In order to achieve this distance I decided to mount the 2x4 on its edge (like a small shelf).

I used a set square to give the edges of a 2x4 a slight angle.

STEP 3: Utility Hooks

The utility hooks that I have chosen come in a large set of rubber covered hooks. If you're in England you can buy these in B&Q. You can also pick them up cheaply on eBay, some other DIY shops charge silly money for them. Luckily I had them already.

Using the work bench I drilled a pilot hole at a very slight angle. You can see in the image that they are angled outwards. I also slightly angled them upwards to allow for some flex when under load.

You can use some washing up liquid to help you screw these things in.

STEP 4: Mounting Part a to Part B

I knew this joint would probably be the most important in the entire project so I decided to attach the two pieces together using a few techniques.

Firstly I inserted some very long screw directly through the back of the 1x4 piece of wood. I probably should have used some washers for extra strength at this point. These screws will hold the majority of the weight.

Next I added a few corner reinforcers underneath the 2x4 piece in order to act as additional strengthening.

STEP 5: Mounting Points

It's really important to find some good screws and plugs at this point. The ones I am using are intended to support 20kg of weight EACH. My bike only weighs 11kg so that should be more than enough.

At this point I decided to use some washers to reinforce this mounting points.

STEP 6: Wall Mounting

If you've ever hung a shelf this bit won't need explaining. Mark holes, drill holes, insert plugs, insert screws. EASY!

Don't forget to check the rating of your screws and plugs against the material of your Walls. My wall is solid brick so it shouldn't be any trouble holding the weight.

I'll let you know if it falls down!!!

STEP 7: Another Bike Mount!

I was given an old (and very very rusty) 1967 folding Bianchi bike by a friend. After refurbishing it for my girlfriend I realised that it was time to make another wall mount. I used the remaining wood from the original pallet project and a couple of similar rubber coated hooks.

I have changed the design slightly because the bike weighs Over 20kgs! It also doesn't have a straight crossbar so I decided to hang it by the wheels. The screws and plugs are rated to hold about 60kg each so 8 should happily hold this little bike.

15 Comments

Great work. I added it to my LoTek collection and voted.

I went to the B&Q web site and did not find the hooks you used. I noticed that the hooks you used are about 5 inches in length. Is that correct? I found a larger set in the US in The Home Depot home-improvement chain stores.

Note about wall mounting holes: rather than depending on the weak drywall to hold up the hooks and bike, I suggest to locate two adjacent studs behind the drywall and mount the assembly over the wall studs. You will end up with a sturdy mount that will not wear out from frequent use. Cheers.

Hello Alcurb,
Thanks very much for your message! Excellent advice concerning the dry wall mounting.

The length of the hooks (not including the threaded section) is 6 1/2 inches. Perhaps these particular ones aren't as common in the US. They are sometimes referred to as ladder hooks... I have found some on ebay although they are located in the U.K....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STORAGE-HOOKS-SCREWS-HOM...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-Heavy-Duty-Ladder-...

Oh wait! Here we go...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-RUBBER-COATED-UTILITY-HO...

Hope that helps!

How about drilling two big holes and using a dowel instead of the brackets. Might be a cleaner finish. Great project, thanks for sharing.
Hello there,
Yes I expect that'd look good. It doesn't even really need the brackets to be honest, the screws at the back hold all the weight.
Cheers

nice one. Straight forward, simple and inexpensive. Thanks for posting.

nice! I just made a bike support for my bike too, but I bought a black iron pipe already curved to the right shape.

Hi there,
I've just had a look through your instruct able page and it's brilliant! What a fantastic selection of instructables! Well done!

It would be nice if We could see a closeup picture of the finished project.

Oh, sorry. For some unknown reason I only see only the frist picture of every picture group, and there is a gap under it. It may be because of Chrome browser?

Now I realized, when I click that white space, the image shows up.

It is a nice project. I will have to bulid it for my sister :)

Thanks very much indeed Colonel!

Great.

Attaching part A to part B could be easier and cleaner if you use wood glue.

Thank you for your work, and showing us how you did it.

Hello Ricardo,
I think you are right, wood glue is amazingly strong but I wanted to go for the whole 'belt and braces' to make sure it would hold the weight.

Cheers