I make no bones, or excuses, for keeping my bikes in the house. Not in the garage or shed, in the house. First, I didn’t drop that kind of coin on bikes to have them rust away in the shed. Second, if someone is going to steal my bikes, they’re going to have to get by me (and my S&W security system) to get them. Now, while garage and shed break-in’s may be rare in my neighborhood, I’ve never heard of a home invasion – not one, in the ten years I’ve lived in this neighborhood. Not around here, it’s too dangerous, for criminals.

That said, it’s getting a little cluttered in the house with six bikes between my wife and I… It’s time to do something about it. After consulting with Mrs. Bgddy’s Velo Storage Consulting Services, conveniently located in my bedroom, I set out to my local bike shop for a solution – and to pick up my mountain bike (which was in the shop to have the handlebar shortened and it’s first maintenance checkup done). I settled on the Velo Hinge because it perfectly matched my spousal consultant’s specifications for something to hang the bikes from the wall but this hook has the added benefit of folding so the bikes can lay tight to the wall (!).

I had planned on going mountain/road/mountain/road but you need a longer hook for mountain and deep-dish wheels so we decided to use the four-bike rack I built in the spare bedroom for the two “A” bikes and the rain bikes and I ordered two more hinges with long hooks for the mountain bikes.

In any event, building everything was quite simple and only took about an hour:

I used a true 1-1/8″ x 10″ to attach the hinges to and I plumbed (the vertical equivalent of “level”) the bikes with my 4′ level… Installing the steadying rails for the back wheels came down to an interesting choice – mount them to another board or opt to use drywall anchors instead… I went for the drywall anchors. I didn’t use any of the screws that came with the hinges either. 1-1/4″ coarse threaded phosphorous screws to attach the hinges to the 1x and 2-1/2 coarse thread to attach the 1x to the studs. Important note there folks… The 1x is anchored to the wall studs. I used the old “knock on the wall” trick to locate the studs behind the drywall. Keep in mind, I am a professional – I own a carpentry company, I do this for a living so my walls didn’t end up looking like Swiss cheese. Point is, when you’ve got thousands of dollars worth of bikes hanging on the wall, you don’t want them falling off. Mount to the studs. Also, I have 15-1/2″ OC between the hinges. When we put the spring bikes up, after their stints on the trainers this winter, we’ll be hanging those by the back wheels so they all fit.

All that said, I am exceptionally pleased with the system. Four bikes, hung on the wall and out of the way for around $125. Excellent system – but watch that longer hook. The standard hook does not work with your 2″ mtb tires.