How does one store a bike in a dorm room? It’s simple, learn from this guide how to do it! If you have any questions or concerns, don’t be afraid to ask us.
Moving around when in college is an essential part of college life. You will need to get a means of transporting yourself to lectures, the library, and other parts of the school. If you do not have a means of transporting yourself around the school then it means your legs will sort you out.
If what you have for moving around the college is a bike then you’ll need to find a way to park your bike in your dorm room. If you have a bike and looking for how to store your bike in your dorm room then your search is over you do not need to go elsewhere. We would be looking at how to store your bike in a dorm room in this article.
How to Store a Bike in a Dorm Room
Before you decide to bring and store your bike in the college dorm you need to ensure that your school allows for the storing of bikes in the dorm. Having ensured this we will now look at the different ways, you can store your bike in your college dorm room.
Luckily, there are easy solutions for storing your bike in the dorm room so that you don’t have to worry about theft or damage. Some of these ways include:
- Underneath The Bed
- Using a Loft Bed
- Using your Dorm Closet
- Use A Freestanding Rack
- Use the Ceiling to Store your Bike
- Hang It On The Wall
Underneath The Bed
You can store your bike underneath the bed, but this is only if you have a low-to-the-ground bed. If you have a tall bed and need to lift the bike onto and off of racks, then it’s not an ideal way to store your bike in a dorm room. Here are some tips for using this style of storage:
- Make sure that you have clearance under your bed for the handlebars. You may need to move things around to make room for them when putting away or taking out your bike.
- Check with other people who live in the building to see if they have any ideas that might help with storing bikes under beds (like moving furniture).
Using a Loft Bed
If your dorm room has a lofted bed, it’s the perfect place to store a bike. The best type of bike for this is one that can be folded. Avoid using bikes with quick-release wheels, internal hubs (like those found on many mountain bikes), or belt drives (commonly used by folding bikes). If your dorm doesn’t have a lofted bed but you’d still like to store your bike in there, there are some other options available:
- The back of your closet door is probably the best place if you want somewhere out of sight. All you need to do is remove the door and attach hooks or eyelets so that it will still function as an entryway when closed.
- Your closet could also work well if it’s big enough but make sure not to block off any light sources.
Using your Dorm Closet
If you have a closet in your dorm room, there’s a good chance it will be the ideal place for storing your bike. There are several things to consider before hanging your bike in the closet, however.
The first thing to check is whether or not the hook that comes with your bike is compatible with the type of wall anchor system used by your dorm room closet doors. If you have disk brakes on your bicycle, you will need a hook that is compatible with disk brakes as well. To begin storing your bike using your dorm closet you need to:
- Lift the bicycle and place it on top of the hook provided by your manufacturer; then slide it down so that both wheels are resting upon it and attach them using their quick release systems (if applicable).
- Hold onto both wheels while inserting them into their respective clamps along with any other accessories or tools needed for riding such as helmets or water bottles, etc.
Use A Freestanding Rack
To put it simply, a freestanding bike rack is probably the best way to store your bike in a dorm room. A regular hook or hanger will do nothing more than scratch your beautiful frame or leave unsightly marks on its paint job. You can avoid this by using a specialized bike storage device that won’t harm the integrity of your ride and allows you to keep it off the floor.
There are many options available when shopping for a freestanding rack, but we recommend choosing one that is small, portable, and easy to assemble, given that you will be using it inside your dorm.
The freestanding racks usually come in all shapes and sizes with varying degrees of difficulty involved in putting them together (some require only a screwdriver), take up floor space (from two feet squared up to eight feet squared), and come with other extra features such as locking cables.
Use the Ceiling to Store your Bike
You can use a pulley system to hoist your bike up. A pulley system consists of two or more pulleys, ropes, and hooks that allow you to lift objects vertically with minimal effort. You’ll need to install hooks in the ceiling where you want to store your bike (or hire someone who can do this for you). Once installed, thread the rope through one end of each pulley and tie it securely around both sides of your bike frame.
Then attach each end of the remaining rope from both pulleys onto either side of your mountain bike’s front wheel so that when hoisted up, it will hang straight down without tipping over or spinning in circles.
Lastly, use some sort of lock device on both wheels when storing them indoors on the roof so that they don’t roll out if someone trips over them while visiting (or walking across) dorm room floors.
Hang It On The Wall
To hang your bike on the wall, you will need to first purchase a wall-mounted bicycle rack. There are many styles of racks available and you should choose one based on the type of bike you have and where you would like to place it.
For example, if your bike is light enough, you can use a simple hook that attaches directly to the frame; if not, then look for an easy-to-install rack with adjustable arms that allow for different heights.
Once you have purchased your bike rack, find an appropriate place on your wall where it can be mounted safely. Make sure this area is sturdy enough for holding heavyweights (usually at least 1/4 inch thick) as well as stable enough not to be affected by bumps from normal living activities (like walking into doors). It’s also important that this area isn’t within reach of any easily by visitors who may pull the bike by accident.
If hanging from drywall alone seems too flimsy for holding up such heavy loads, consider adding anchoring brackets underneath so that there’s more support than just two screws keeping things in place (these can usually be purchased separately if not included with certain hook styles).
FAQs
How do you store a bike in a living room?
There are several ways to store your bike in a living room including hanging it up, using a freestanding rack, installing hooks from the ceiling or on the wall, etc.
How do you store a bike with minimal space?
Storing a bike using horizontal racks is the best way to store a bike with minimal space getting taken up by the bike. The horizontal racks can be hung along walls.
Do bikes get stolen on college campuses?
Yes, bikes get stolen often on college campuses hence why you should store your bike in your dorm room. For context over 1.5 million, bikes are stolen on college campuses which is a huge number of bikes stolen.
Conclusion
Storing your bike in the dorm room is very desirable especially if your school allows for the bringing of bikes into the dorm and your school lacks safe parking spaces for bikes. Your dorm room is the best place to store your bike, especially during the night.
All the ways we have discussed for storing a bike in your dorm room are quite easy to implement and require little to no spending of money from you.
Source: Studentmajor.com