How to Choose a Bike and Sport Rack

Indoor bike and sport racks are a style statement for the trendy, adventurous, and sporty amongst us. Much like their bikes and sports gear, these indoor racks too have to be funky and rebel, a bit on the wild side. Along with function, they must display an attitude and outdoor hip even when sitting pretty in a corner of a room.

If you are in this class of bikers and thinking of getting yourself a new bike and sport rack, we will take you through which types are trending and which one you should buy. But first, a bit on the materials and finishes.

What Types of Bike and Sport Racks Are There?

Wall-mounted

This is our favorite, and probably yours too. Wall-mounted bike and sport racks are the in-thing because of a fantastic mix of functionality and hip. They save floor and lower wall space, so you can have more room for your other stuff. This reduces the clutter and gives your room a semblance of sanity!
Besides, you can customize wall-mounted racks and add attachments on their sides without compromising even an inch of other usable space. Hang your boots, pile your activewear, and accommodate much of other stuff in this manner. Go ahead, transform your wall-mounted bike and sport rack into a veritable mini-attic!
Wall-mounted bike racks are available in a wide range of designs and styles. Surf the web stores or go to a sports utility store - you are sure to find your type.
Wall-mounting of such racks is usually done with screws, vacuum rods or pods, clamps, panels, and other ways.

Wall-Mounted Bike Rack with Metal and Wood

Suspended / Ceiling-mounted

This is a variation of the wall-mounted type. You can trap your bike's handle in a projected hook at some distance from the wall. It could be either fixed to the wall or suspended from the ceiling. With more hooks, you can hang more bikes, provided the wall is long enough.
Suspended bike and sport racks give an interesting zero-gravity feeling, as if your bike is in a spacecraft! Choose this type of rack for that extra hype. However, also take the risk of your bike scratching against the wall and ruining its paint.

Floor models

They sit pretty in your room, often doubling up as a shoe rack or storage cabinet. For the amount of floor space that they occupy, you can get a lot out of your floor-sitting bike and sport rack.
If they have multiple shelves, all your biking and sports accessories plus gear can go inside them. And on the sides, you can hang caps, backpacks, fluid bottles, and other things.
On the other hand, you can choose the good old cycle-stand type with a wheel trap. Or choose the stand-type with rods at different heights to hang your accessories and other assorted material. Floor models can also have tray-type shelves for storage, while the bike is secured to a wheel-trap on one side, or it is hanged in the front from one or two hooks.
All floor designs of bike and sport racks offer the common features of easy accessibility and multiple storage options. They will be good for you if your room is large enough to accommodate such a unit without cramping the space.

Corner racks

These are mostly triangular bike and sport racks that fit into corners at the intersection of two walls. Tray-type, shelf-type, tubular racks, pockets and hooks on the sides… There are many interesting configurations of corner-fitting bike racks that increase their utility.
The bike is usually hung from hooks in the front. The basic design often consists of a single rod fixed on the two walls with hooks to mount your bike on them.
Corner bike and sport racks can be either fixed or movable. You can even fit castors to enhance their mobility.
They will suit you if you have room-size constraints, or if your room is rectangular. Then, you can use the extra depth and accommodate the unit at the far corner. This arrangement offers you easy and unhindered movement in the active space of the room.

How to store other types of sports gear?

With your kind of energy and passion for biking, we guess you probably also indulge in other outdoors activities and sports. So, here are some tips on how to store your other sports equipment.

Fishing rods: You can store them horizontally on a long shelf, or vertically along the slots of a fishing rods rack. Shoulder-level is the ideal height.
Soccer and other balls: The ideal placement is on a horizontal wall-mounted shelving unit. Arrange different sizes and colors of balls in a way that makes a striking visual appeal, almost like an art display! You can also place sports balls in plastic nets and hang them on the sides of your bike and sport rack, or other racks.
Tennis and badminton rackets: Simply hang them from the small hole provided at the end of the handle or place them on a shelf or rack. Some wall-mounted shelf racks come with plastic grips that can be used to hang rackets or baseball bats.
Skis and poles: Both are long, so depending on your space constraints, they will either fit horizontally/vertically on a wall-mounted rack or vertically in a freestanding wooden rack.

Wooden Wall/Ceiling Mounted Fishing Rack

What are the advisable materials and finishes for sport racks?

Along with the looks and style, your bike and sport rack also has to be durable and functionally fit. After all, you would be spending a small fortune on it, so it better serve you well. So, here are the materials, finishes, and other stuff that you should check out.

Powder-coated metal

You surely must have seen and perhaps envied your friend's sleek, matte finish rack in bright yellow and flaming red, with a slightly grainy surface. That's the powder-coated metal rack. Usually, stainless or galvanized steel is coated with youthful, energetic colors, in glossy, dull, or matte finishes.

Why should you consider it? It gives a far superior and even finish than liquid paint, is economical, and corrosion-resistant. You can also check out metal finishing options such as sandblasting and buff polishing.

Finished wood or colored wood

Wood is divine but also expensive. Go for wooden bike and sport racks if you fancy the raw and rustic, natural polish. There are variants - French polish, lacquer, shellac, and vanish for you to choose from. You can also color wooden racks as a DIY project, but then you will lose its natural looks.

Aluminum channels

They are coated or uncoated light-weight yet strong and durable bike racks. Aluminum does not rust and being dull steel-grey in color, it will match any kind of room décor. Additionally, you have the advantage of slotted aluminum angles that can offer height and length adjustment.

Aluminum or steel tubes and sheets

Armatures made from such tubes are light in weight and fully functional. When combined, tubes and sheets can offer ideal utility for your bike and sport gear, soccer ball, running shoes, and what not! You will like this combination if you have a lot to hang or store on your bike and sport rack.

Plastic

Industry-grade plastics such as polycarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), fluoropolymer, and the like are suitable for bike and sport racks. These are the plastics from which your helmet shell, car dashboard, and laptop keyboard are made, so toughness and durability are a given. Impact, UV, and scratch-resistance, and stability are the bonuses.

Whichever type of bike and sport rack you select, it makes sense to opt for a multi-functional design that gives you storage space for your biking and sports gear, accessories, and other stuff too. After all, rooms aren't getting any larger, and as you grow, so will your need for space. Besides, bike racks with assortments hanging around does look funky, right?