How close you can hang your bikes are often determined by the length of the handlebars.
Generally, if your bicycle handlebar’s length is 25.44mm or 26mm you can maintain an 18 to 30 inches close distance.
Also, the space in between is dependent on the available space at the place you want to hang your bikes. Don’t just hang your bike, but get to know the place is spacious enough to contain your bike.
Most of the older and the new handlebars are in this range of length shown above.
Therefore, if your bicycle has customized handlebars that are longer than this, you can increase the in-between spacing.
When you maintain the right space in between bikes, it becomes easy to remove them from racks. Also hanging becomes easy as well whatever position you choose either bar up or bar down pattern.
It’s good you keep a reasonable space in between your hanging bicycles. Many people have had their bikes destroyed as a result of a lack of in-between spacing.
Oftentimes, people are always in a hurry to bring down their bikes from the hanger.
In this process, they get their bike destroyed or damaged. Because there is not enough space in between. This is one of the reasons you should keep a reasonable space.
Factors to Consider When Hanging Your Bikes
There are basically some factors you need to consider before you mount a bicycle hanger.
These factors will guide you to achieve a strong and well-balanced hanger. Ignorance of these factors is what makes some people’s hangers experience crack that easily gets their bicycle damaged.
When you have an accurate idea of these three factors then, you’re on the right way to building a strong hangar.
These factors are:
- The number of bikes you want to hang
- The Available wall space
- The length of the wood
Mostly, every bike hanging rig depends on these few factors. Let us take a step further to look at the details of the factors above.
The Number Of Bikes You Want to Hang
How many bikes do you want to hang? The number of bikes you propose to hang is what determines the space in between.
The Wall space for 3 bikes is quite different from the wall space for 5 bikes. The handlebars of these bicycles are what also determine the in-between space.
The in-between spacing for 3 bikes is sometimes bigger than the space for 5 bikes. This is a result of the handlebar size.
If the handlebars for 3 bikes are bigger than the handlebars of 5 bikes, therefore, the in-between space will definitely not be the same.
Before you start out to mount bike hangers, have a clear knowledge of the number of bikes you want to hang.
This will go a long way in planning out the wall space and the wood length. Those who fail to plan out the number of bikes in their hanger have their hanger jam pack.
The Available Wall Space
When you want to mount a bike hanger the first thing you consider is the available wall space.
This is after you might have decided to build it indoor or outdoor. Whether indoor or outdoor mount it, the space of your wall is another important thing to consider.
Apparently, Every bike you want to hang at least needs 20 linear inches of wall to maintain a good spacing in between.
This simply means that the available space for your wall should be more than this. Assuming you want to hang 3 bikes, you need 60 linear inches of wall space to be able to hang the 3 bikes either in a horizontal bar down or vertical bar up.
Also when considering the wall space, the length of the bikes is put into account as well. You wouldn’t want to hang a bike that will scratch your ceiling or on the floor.
The accurate height for your wall that can accommodate a bike is the length of your bike plus additional 8+ inches, so as to keep the bottom tire off the floor and the top tire off the ceiling when hung.
The wall may require even more space if the handlebars are a little bigger or with a customized one. Take note of customized handlebars.
After wall measurement, the next is to measure and drill holes in the wood in which the utility hooks will be installed.
The Length of The Wood
The length of the wood is usually a bit smaller than the wall. The reason is that one side of the handlebars at each edge is always off from the wood.
For example, a 3-bike rig hooks space you need 20 apart. You can calculate the length of wood by following this below:
- 3″ (edge to the first hook)
- + 20″ (first hook to the second hook)
- + 20″ (second hook to the third hook)
- + 3″ (third hook to edge)
- = 46″ board length
If the board length for 3 bikes is 46, then the wall length will be 60 inches. This will give a better spacing for your bikes.
If you don’t maintain this linear wall length, the outer handlebar will not have space to rest on. Once the bike finds it difficult to rest properly on the wall, it will easily get scratched.
Does Hanging a Bike by The Wheel Damage it
Is your bike storage garage crowded? Do you want to create room for more bikes? You might likely adopt wheel-hanging just for a few days like 7-day.
Hanging a bike by the wheel causes damage by exerting too much pressure on the rim. In the long run, it causes potential bending and damage.
The wheel doesn’t have the capacity to carry the entire bike for a very long time. Hanging a bike by the wheel puts too much strain on the wheel as it carries the complete weight of the frame.
For a hydraulic brake bike, hanging the bike by the wheel is not advisable because it drains the air when it is stored vertically. This is courter-productivity for a hydraulic bike.
Sometimes, When you don’t have a lot of space inside your garage you are left with one option: hang your bike by the wheel. Because it isn’t safe for you to hang your bike outdoors.
It could be the only space left indoors is ceiling hanging. And there is no other way to hang it without the wheel.
Hanging a bike by the wheel damages the bike in the long run. It might not be immediately but with time it will get the rim bend.
It also destroys a hydraulic brake bike by causing air to enter the brake caliper making it not perform properly.
Storage Space
The amount of space in your apartment, garage, house, and storage is what determines how the problem of storage space can easily be solved.
The storage space is based on the number of bikes you want to store in your garage.
Though, each method of storage has its way of taking up space. The vertical storage of your bikes takes less space than the horizontal.
So, this depends on the storage space you have in your apartment. How you manage the space to accommodate more bikes depends on the positioning of the bike.
Ceiling hanging is adopted by many even though it destroys the bike in the long run because it gives more space to hang more bikes.
How you arrange your bikes is an effective way to create more storage space in your storage.
The horizontal position is good for those who have an open storage showroom, like bicycle sellers.
What Is The Weight Of Your Bike?
Your bike weight is the determining factor when you want to mount racks on the wall. Likewise, the wall quality is another factor you need to consider.
If the bike weight and the quality of the wall are not considered before mounting a rack you will have your bike damaged.
There are some walls that don’t have the capacity to carry the bicycle’s weight. In this case, you have to look for any means to store your bike.
Those who stay in a rented apartment may take permission from their house owner before mounting a bike rack.
Do You Have a Stud Wall?
Are you finding it difficult to find studs on your wall? If yes you get nothing to worry about because there are many other ways to get this done.
You can use wood in place of a stud. A piece of 2 x 4 lumber can serve in place of a stud. Just get the wood and screw it into your wall.
After screwing the piece of lumber into the wall, get the bike hooks to this piece of lumber. The amount of spacing you maintain solely depends on the size of the handlebars.
Conclusion
The safety of bikes is paramount to every bike rider. The first thing you consider when hanging your bicycle should be how easy it’s to remove it.
How close you hang your bike depends on the handlebars. Different bikes with different sizes of handlebars, therefore the distance is subject to the size of your bike handlebar.
The in-between bike space is maintained to ease removal. If the right space is not maintained you might destroy the bike when trying to remove it.
