How storing a bike can be a work of art
WE’RE becoming a nation of cyclists. Though a little way off from 1949 when a record 14.7 billion miles of bicycle journeys were made, the number of people pedalling to and from school and work is climbing.
But with an increased number of cyclists come bicycle thieves. Between 2015 and 2016, there were 327,000 reported bike thefts in England and Wales. And then there’s our climate — exposure to wind and rain will wreck a bicycle within a few winters.
This means that leaving your bicycle permanently outside isn’t practical. If you want to keep it in good condition — in fact, if you want to keep your bicycle at all — it needs to be kept somewhere safe.
In densely populated urban areas with small living spaces and little or no garden, this is a problem. There’s nothing more irritating than tripping over your bike in the hallway.
But happily, there are a range of ingenious solutions for getting your bike off the floor.
If you are at all DIY-minded, a pair of simple brackets fixed to the wall about 6 in to 8 in apart are all you need to hook up a bike out of the way.
But why stop there? Rather than seeing the bicycle as something ungainly, it can become part of the hallway aesthetic — particularly if you have invested in a smart bicycle.
For something with a bit more panache than a pair of brackets, Cycloc makes two great products. The Endo, £39.95, will suspend the bike vertically — so it looks as if it is cycling up the wall — which is particularly good for children’s bikes with stabilisers that can’t be hung horizontally.
For adult bikes, the Solo, £59.95, is a cleverly moulded plastic unit that hangs bikes horizontally.
The units come in seven colours, so you can colour co-ordinate it with the wall or your bike. If you have a more traditional interiors style, The Oakak and Rope Company makes es a bike rack that can be engraved with up to 30 characters, but at £255 it’s ’s not a cheap option. FOR
a surrealist solution to the problem (and if your hallway has the height), you can put in a pulley.
The one from Racor costs £ 73 and needs to be installed safely, but will keep the floor and wallspace clear. It will also look as if your bicycle is flying through the air.
The most exciting solutions come from DaHanger, an U.S. company founded productionpro of a new product called Dan, which will allow several bikes to be hung vertically on a wall — it will be availab available later this year and is ideal for a family of bikers or for apartment block hallways.
They hope to be able to ship to Britain by the summer.
And if you don’t mind tiny wheels, you could opt for a folding bike.
The classiest option is the Brompton S Type (£815, Evans Cycles), which folds up neatly.
A super-light version, the S6L, may cost a hefty £1,635, but it weighs a mere 10.78kg (23½ lb).