Indoor IKEA bike stand

I’ve been planning to sort out better storage for some of our indoor bikes for a while. I had a few ideas in mind but my wife came across online references recently to a bike stand built using a single IKEA Stolmen post. That option was appealing because it was quicker than something I might make from scratch myself so I tried to find further info online.

Any info I found was vague at best, it didn’t entirely answer my questions about what parts I’d need. It seems like using a single post was very popular, but from what I could gather that required obtaining a couple of pieces of aluminium “bar” which attached to the post and to which the hooks to hold the bike attached. Getting hold of suitable bars was going to be a hassle, I reckoned, and anyway I’m not sure I’d be entirely comfortable relying on each bar being attached to the post at a single point.

So, I chose the simpler option of using two posts instead. This is what it looks like holding 2 bikes, I couldn’t fit it all into one photo:





I used:

* 2x Stolmen post @€;26 each
* 1x Stolmen end fitting, that pack has 4 of the brackets, @€;9 per pack.
* 4x Stolmen hook, @€;3 each.

Total cost of €73. I did buy an extra pack of the end fittings, and some more hooks, in case I want to hang up other stuff like helmets, but I’ve not used those yet. The brackets and hooks are very robust, they are really overkill for hanging up anything light, so you could use much cheaper options to suspend helmets, etc., from the posts.

Setting it up was pretty easy:

* I measured where the hooks would fit best on the top tube of the smaller bike and this determined the ideal distance between the posts. I also measured from the rear-most hook to the very back of the larger bike to make sure I left clearance to the hallway door at the back of the bikes. Lastly, I measured the clearance I’d need from the hooks to the wall to allow the handlebar to not hit the wall, and worked out the distance of each post to the rear wall based on that.

* Each post is held in place by pressure only. The posts each consist of 2 parts which thread together - the very same mechanism used for many things such as walking sticks. You unthread the inner section, slide it out to the desired overall length, and then thread it back in again to lock it in place. You fine tune the fit via a small bolt at the base of each post, which you adjust with a spanner to either lengthen or shorten the overall length. Simple mechanism, easier to use than explain.

* I considered driving a single screw through each top cap and into the ceiling to help secure each post but reckon it is unnecessary. In order for a post to fall, the effective length of the post would have to shorten enough to allow it to topple. The carpet underneath will compress over the first day or two, which has the same effect as shortening each post, but the compression is minimal and a quick adjustment of that bolt at the bottom with a spanner will correct for it if/when necessary. So I’m leaving them as they are.

* Once the posts were in place, for which I used a decent length of spirit level to ensure they were plumb, I marked out where best to fit the hooks and bolted them on. I positioned them to hold the bikes reasonably level (couldn’t be bothered to use the spirit level for that, I may be anal but I'm also lazy).

By the way, I wrapped the hooks using an old inner tube, taping the tube in place with electrical tape. Not only does it help prevent the hooks scratching anything but it also helps the hooks to grip the top tubes (not entirely necessary mind you, gravity does a good enough job of keeping the bikes from moving).

The only thing to be careful off is damaging your ceiling, the posts are capable of exerting a lot of force. I’ve not had any problems so far and I didn’t go to the trouble of checking whether I was pushing directly against a joist. But if you were worried you could use less pressure and compensate by screwing the top caps into the ceiling, you could distribute the force over a larger area by putting a piece of wood between the top caps and the ceiling, etc.

Anyway, it’s not the cheapest means of storing bikes, but it’s convenient/quick, requires little or no "damage" to your house, is not the ugliest to look at, and is very robust, so might be of interest to others. The posts can also be re-used later, for their intended purpose, of course if you get sick of using them to store bikes.