BIKE RACKS BLOG

This blog has discussed bike racks, ceiling racks, wall racks and pretty much anything bike storage related.  Well, today I want to discuss something that is indirectly related to the storage of your bicycle and gear.  Most people store their bikes in the garage or in a shed, and are forced to share this space with a variety of other everyday items, one of which is garage tools.  Everybody needs them;  few know how to store them.  I have a couple of suggestions for garage tool organizers that will clear up space in your garage, providing you with the storage necessary for your fleet of bicycles.

garage tool organizer

Floor space in the garage is important if you want it to function at its maximum efficiency.  This is why I suggest using wall or ceiling racks for your bicycle storage.  Well, the same principle is at work here with your larger garage tools.  Items such as weed-whackers, rakes, shovels, hoes, chainsaws and ladders take up so much floor space when they are not being used; floor space that would be the perfect place to tweak your spokes or fix a broken bike seat!  I would recommend checking out the tool wall organizers over at StacksandStacks.com, where you can find magnetic wall racks, heavy duty wall racks, and even a simple pegboard for your tool storage.
Another suggestion for garage storage deals less with saving space and more with saving time.  Don’t you hate it when all you need to do to finish your bike-building project is fasten a few screws, but your disorganized garage makes you spend an extra hour just searching for a Phillips head screw driver?  Well add some bin storage to your garage and know exactly where everything is, at all times!  Most of the bin storage units at Stacks and Stacks include place holders for labels, ensuring you will never waste time searching for tools again.
I know today’s post was a bit tangential, but I just finished cleaning up my garage and was inspired to share what I learned from the experience with you, my dedicated readers.

Jeez, how about this guy? He’s headin’ for a brusin’ — or crusin’ for a hurtin’. If only we could save him from his fate, with like a really neat futuristic device that could change the way gravity works, like really just make sure he didn’t clobber his face and more importantly wreck that sweet bike, simply by using a device that could stop gravity in it’s tracks and by extension stop this guy and his bike in their tracks so he didn’t wreck that cool bike and break face, which he’s about to do. Man, too bad it’s only 2010 (almost 2011, ha-ha) and no one has invented that futuristic thing yet, and when they do, they should invent a futuristic time machine so they can go back in time and stop this guy from eating it. But hey, maybe he didn’t crash his bike into that rock, sending him over the edge of that cliff, maybe gravity DID stop, maybe gravity stopped, and everyone was so freaked out that some forward-thinking guy actually had time to go run and get his camera and take a photo of this biker floating in midair. Maybe. I doubt it. You don’t mess with gravity. But what I don’t doubt, is the coolness of this similarly titled bike-rack, the Gravity Bike Rack. Cool!! Right? It’s from Stacks.

A bicycle stand built for two! The space-saving Gravity Bike Rack holds 2 bicycles and helmets securely and needs no installation. Just choose a location and place the bike-rack against any wall. That’s all! No drilling into walls, and no mounting hardware. For added convenience, this unique bike storage stand has two hooks to hang riding helmets. Rubber pads on the back of the rack protect your wall. Perfect for apartments, condos, garages, homes and anywhere space is limited or permanent markings are prohibited. Arms can be partially rotated. Bike rack extends 12.5″ from the wall. Made of sturdy steel tubing. Weight limit is 100 pounds. Good luck!

I am not exactly sure what to make of this bike. How do you ride it? What do you do when you’re riding it except pray that you don’t fall? And maybe die? Why is this invention please? Making no sense and then! Still, better than nothing or bicyckle then of course not at all of course. I’m all for innovative innovation, but sometimes you have to know when to quit when you’re ahead. And judging from the odd shape and fprm of this bizarre bike, the inventor, a Mr. Nickosla Tezla, should have not invented it. Why, it would take something impressive, like a Small Mountain Bike Rack from Stacks and Stacks just to keep this thing from falling over!

Well, it looks like this fellow didn’t have a Small Mountain Bike Rack at his disposal. Maybe then he would provides the ultimate in flexibility to accommodate today’s wide variety of bike frame designs while still maintaining all the advantages of having a hitch mounted bike rack. This rack holds four bikes and rotates to allow your bikes to be carried with the wheels level to the ground and provide greater clearance. Other features include a locking knob for added security and soft vinyl cushioning, which is grooved for cables and provides a secure, scratch free ride for your bike. Can accommodate up to a 2 inch frame tube. Assembly required. Good luck!

Jeez, how about this guy? He certainly thinks he’s cool. Kids seem to do that. They act smart, crack wise, and mouth off. And when you mix dangerous levels of self-confidence, a 4th grade intellect, and allow no filter, you get… this blog! Ha-ha. Just kidding. No, really, you get kids! And poor kids; those poor, poor kids. After they are done acting smarter than adults and sassing elders, they notice that their bike is stolen. But wait, son, I thought you were so smart! I thought I told you to chain and lock your bike to a rack when you got to the park, and you told me you didn’t need to! Stop crying, son! I thought you were so certain of your world, a world that no longer includes your bike. How did you think your bike was stolen? Can you think of anything, anything at all that could have prevented thieves from taking your bike, forever? Anything that I suggested to you before you went to the park? No? Really? Smart-ass kids. They often end up with no bikes. I doubt things will even change. But what I don’t doubt, is the coolness of this playfully titled bike-rack, the Indoor/Outdoor Poly Lumber Bike Rack. Cool!! Right? It’s from Stacks.

Tired of tripping over those kid-sized bikes in your garage? Sick of near-misses with bikes left laying in the driveway? Take a close look at the Indoor/Outdoor Poly Lumber Bike Rack. This bike rack can hold both child and adult sized bikes! That means this bike rack has a capacity of up to 8 bicycles. It is crafted out of Poly Lumber - which is lumber mixed with plastic. That means the bike rack won’t split, or rot away - plus the color will last for many years without fading. The black pipes are aluminum, and the hardware is stainless steel. Instructions and necessary hardware included, all you need is a 7/16″ wrench for assembly! And kids, remember: even if you ignore grown-up advice to lock and rack your bike, be sure to follow the advice of those big yellow signs. Good luck!

Brrrr. Winter is here today, friends! The Holidays and Santa are on the way! Woo-hoo! That means peak bike-related gift buying days ahead! I can’t wait for the undoubtedly great gifts I’ll receive this year from all my friends and fans of this blog! The Holidays are great because not only do you find values but you can get so many things for free if you just ask for them and the people you ask shop at the right places and like you enough to get you great things and not weak gifts or “gag” gifts because those are the worst! And you now what is the best part of the holidays? Christmas trees!! You know what other kinds of trees are cool? Bike rack trees! Check out this crazy cool Bike Tree. Cool!! Right?

Now, isn’t this the PERFECT GIFT FOR A WRITER OF A BIKE BLOG (me)? Hint, hint. Ha-ha. This Heavy Duty Bike Tree is a new bike storage system. This bicycle rack holds two bikes on its patented arm assembly that can move up and down as well as side to side for perfect positioning. And what makes this bike tree so cool, so really special, is that it holds any style of bike! Think about that for one second, then TRY not to order one! It features a powder coated steel tube construction that is both durable and stylish! And get ready, because this unique bike rack stands 84″ tall and the vinyl coated arms will not scratch or mar the paint! Dude, really. AND it holds up to 120 pounds and requires some assembly, no tools needed!
Pretty sweet. Pretty wild. Pretty bike rack! Good luck!

Is there any hell worse than the hell of a flat tire? You’re out on a great ride, enjoying the path and the trees and the air and the freedom, and suddenly WHAM, WHOOSH, FLAT! Not good. It’s a true feeling of not good. Which is EXACTLY the feeling I get when I ride over to a friends house and see that their garage has no bike rack. I feel embarrassed for my friend, I feel sad, and to be honest, I feel a little angry. In this day and age, there’s really no reason to go without a bike rack, even in these troubling economic times. And the good news is, just like the ease of changing a flat tire, you can add a bike rack to your home or garage or front yard! Here’s a handy suggestion:

You’ll have NO NEED to lift up or hoist your bike with the easy-access 4 Bike Fold-Up. It features a patented locking A-Frame that folds flat for easy storage when not in use. Constructed of high carbon steel tubing with soft, rounded, euro-style corners, the rack is as attractive as it is rugged. The smooth powder coated finish resists scratches and rust. No assembly required. Rack opens from 3″ up to 24″. Man, that’s just perfect for the home or garage, especially a home or garage that doesn’t have a bike rack yet! And it sure beats a flat tire, know what mean? Good luck!

Yep, that wreck is absolutely as asphalt-eating terrible as it looks. It happened in the sleepy Northern California town of Santa Rosa not long ago. Santa Rosa is mostly known for its tide pools, logging industry, and the Pez Factory, but it also is a hotbed of bicycle activity. Bicycle enthusiasts can be found on just about any street corner, and sometimes they aren’t riding a bicycle. Ha-ha! Anyway, there was a race. Many Santa Rosa folks, and many from abroad, and many from Cleveland, and Paris, raced their bikes. And then, there was one fella who used substandard tracking foils on his dimster-splitter (in the front gulf), and he crashed. Which lead to chain reaction. An ugly, FATAL one. Many cyclists perished, BUT ALL WAS NOT LOST!!

Santa Rosa is crafty, so they bandied together and took all of those smashed bikes and created a tribute to the bikers who bravely gave their lives to race that race.

They actually built a giant tower crafted from all the destroyed bicycles; bicycles destroyed that horrible day in Santa Rosa. There were many.

Finally lifting the mighty shaft of wheel and steel into place, the healing began. it wasn’t soon before Santa Rosa was hosting races again, and the speeds were back up to 10. Friends, in these troubling economic times, and even in Santa Rosa, you need safety, sure. But you also need value and dependability. And if it’s those last two your after, then by definition you’re after this awesome Aluminum Bike Rack that is Tension Mounted!

There’s no minimum to the aluminum here, friends, it’s all aluminum. This rack is sleek and slender and it totally stores up to 2 bikes right out of the box, or you can add more with other attachments. If you look at the web page you’ll see how. It’s cool! It’s got a no-holes tension adjustment that secures the bike rack without wrecking your wall, and in these tough economic times, that’s cool. It adjusts to fit ceilings from 7′ to 11′ — like the convenience store. And that’s convenient. I would say this is a futuristic rack, maybe not crazy futuristic like the new space-age phones and all the internets, but it’s still pretty dang modern. You don’t really need anything more than a roof over your head, a nice family (just like my girlfriend and three daughters), a couple of bikes, and a good place to rack them. All this other crazy technology is just glitter. It’s cool, but you can always just stick to the essentials! Good luck!

Holy, holy Toledo, I had a BAD NIGHTMARE last night. Imagine this: a hellish world of gross black smoke, boiling lava, free-range fire, hot rocks, devil imagery, and torture shops. Sounds bad, sure, but it also sounds like Sacramento in early September. What made MY NIGHTMARE so very scary was the fact that in this bubbling hot-fire hell-house, THERE WERE NO BIKE RACKS. I know, unthinkable. In the dream I was leading a group of brave bicycle enthusiasts across this unspeakably terrifying vista, leading them, I hoped, to a vending machine of cool water, possibly a Snickers Marathon Energy bar, and at the very least, a BIKE RACK. So this group of tired, poor, huddled, yearning, breathing-free enthusiasts could rack their bikes for one moment of peace. But this was a NIGHTMARE, with the same thing happening again and again and again and again and again and again with no bike racks anywhere! Whew. I woke up screaming. I ran to my computer, and saw that it was still powered up, still on a website that would make me feel so much better. Friends, my computer was still tuned to Stacks and Stacks, and I was starting at something beautiful. I was staring at Stack’sFree Standing Bike Rack. Thank the lord, I was in heaven.

It’s a strong, black powder coated, steel framed free standing bike rack, and it really gives you a storage option for your bikes that doesn’t take up a whole lot of space. Or send you to a hell with no bike racks, BECAUSE IT IS A BIKE RACK, ha-ha!! Since this unit is free standing it gives you the option of placing it anywhere. Which is why they call it free standing. AND this bike rack looks stylish AND is able to handle up to 200 lbs worth of bikes AND is awesome! No wall required! Use it inside or outside, this rack can handle any bike holding job! I want you to think about that. And think about not having nightmares, too! Good luck!

You may read the news and hear about what is going on so you probably heard about this already but I’ll tell you now because IT’S IMPORTANT. On the internet, this story tells all about this guy who was totally slam-a-blammed for loving bicycles and bicycle riding. You can go read the story but if you don’t have time I’ll cut and paste the important, important part:

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — In January 2009, a disgruntled JetBlue customer was slapped with a $50 fee for checking a box containing a fold-up bicycle, clothes and some cheese. The box met the height and weight requirements to keep it from warranting a baggage fee, but JetBlue’s policy for checking a bicycle, no matter the size, called for a $50 charge.

The angry passenger called the airline’s customer service center but was repeatedly told it was company policy and that no exceptions would be made. After getting back home, he took his fight public in a blog post on the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s website.

Then it was picked up by Twitter.

Within three days JetBlue called the cyclist back to tell him the $50 charge had been reversed and that it was changing its policy. “I have a great deal of respect for a company that is capable of recognizing an error and working quickly to fix it, ha-ha,” wrote the cyclist. The resolution of the saga was picked up in the bike blogosphere and Consumerist.

Yes, you guessed correctly… the airline passenger was ME. Boy, that whole thing made me mad. But alls well that ends well, ha-ha! I spent that 50 bucks on a new bike rack! Next time I fly JetBlue, I’m seriously going to consider taking a whole BUNCH of bikes with me - so I’m going to need something real cool, like this real cool bicycle storage rack called the Freestanding 4-Bike Rack from the folks over at Stacks and Stacks.

Need a bike rack that can accommodate many styles of bikes? This is the one for you. It’s a really sweet free standing bike rack! Great for the garage, this bike rack is perfect for families and people who collect multiple bikes (yes, that means me). It is super easy to put together, and super easy to use as well. Tough and strong and great looking, too! So really, I can’t think of a better way to store multiple bikes of different styles all in the same place, all at the same time. It makes organizing you garage a whole lot easier to, because all of your bikes can be stacked up. Maybe those wise guys at JetBlue hate bicycles, but I know you don’t, and I sure don’t, so don’t hesitate to buy this bike rack and show JetBlue what America is all about!!