The Leonardo: Sleek, Simple Bike Storage
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 08.23.07
Bike storage is something TreeHugger has mentioned a time or two; though it's perhaps our favorite way to get around, when not in use, bicycles can be a bit cumbersome and difficult to get out of the way. If you are out of space in your garage (or don't have one), and locking it up on the street isn't a safe option, we recommend something like the Leonardo single bike hook. It gets your bike up off the floor with a minimum of material, eschewing an elaborate pulley system in favor of a single hook. The tire tray option helps keeps tire marks off the wall, and the whole thing is sleek enough not to be an eyesore when the bike isn't there. $19.99 gets you both the hook and the tire tray; you can knock five bucks off if you don't care about skid marks on the wall. ::Delta Design via ::swissmiss
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I love how in photos like these, there's always only like one piece of furniture and the room looks so invitingly spacious.
They're trying to show you just how much space you can save! Look at how clean and modern and spacious your apartment could be!
Yeah, if I got rid of my dresser, and my bedding, and my shelves, and every other damn thing I owned, save my bed, laptop and bike. It'd be great. But unlike these model photos, I have a life, and it piles up around me.
Every bike-owning person's apartment I've ever been in has been piled with stuff, and the bikes area always in the way in one way or another. No amount of clever bike-hanging engineering will erase the fact that the only PROPER way to store a bike is in ... wait for it ... separate bike storage. A garage, a basement, whatever.
As soon as buildings and workplaces start offering that space, biking will take off much better. In the meantime, it just ain't worth the loss of living space for most of us. I've got enough crap as it is.
I like that this has a mount for the bottom tire too, so your not marking up the walls. Granted I probably wouldn't park my bike inside the house, If I ever re-drywall my garage I'd want to keep the walls clean.
These things are great for saving space but they can be a bit tricky to get bikes in and out of - you have to lift the bike by the front, keep the wheel from turning, and loop the hook behind the rim of the wheel - easy with a racer but harder with fat tires.
I have a couple and once I worked out the knack they've been great. would recommend the tire tray.
You can do the same thing as this for $3 at Home Depot with one of those coated hooks that just screws into the wall. Not as pretty, but a heck of a lot cheaper and no wasteful packaging to boot!
Here's a tip for easier hanging: Instead of hanging the bike from its front wheel, hang it from its rear wheel. That way, you don't have to steer the wheel straight while you lift the bike into the hook.