Poll: Fixed Bed Height for Bike Clearance in Garage

I'm planning out a fixed bed garage build and want to be able to fit a pair of bike underneath. I am not an avid mountain or road biker (just yet) but I'd like to plan the build to be able to accommodate this feature just in case.

What is a good bed height to accommodate your typical mountain bike setup with front wheel removed and seat post removed? I know the hardcore long travel bikes will be taller, but I'm thinking more your 80th percentile mountain bike.

I've read anywhere from 36" to 42". But when I've measured a few bikes and it was closer to 32"

example bike tray:
https://faroutride.com/slide-out-bike-rack/

I've attached my current layout with 36" tall bed and a random bike off grabcad and have plenty of clearance.

I'll go measure mine, but it all depends on what bike YOU have, not mine. Measure from floor to top of saddle with front wheel off, if that's how you'll store them.

If you only take mountain bikes, you could use a dropper post seatpost and compress that down and save many inches of garage height. It is very nice NOT to have to drop your seat each time you load the bike, but it's not a horrible trade off for a lot more sleeping room up above.

39-41” bed height is my sweet spot. Just high enough for most fixed seat posts to clear and enough head space in the bed to sit upright.







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Our old van (high roof) we had the bed at 39" for all mountain bikes with dropper posts and front wheels off (we could sit up fine in bed and we definitely had more than enough clearance under the bed). If you have road bikes, without droppers or you want to leave wheels on (look for Brian Lopes van online), you may have to go higher, but it's still doable.

My husband (5'11) has a large Santa Cruz 5010, and with the dropper down, it's just under 35". Maybe you should measure your tallest friend's bike (just in case you ever want to take him/her on a trip with you)?

Our current van we're using an Adventurewagon MOAB bed with adjustable height as we have a low roof. It's an option. An expensive option.

I think 34" will do it for most MTBs with wheel off depending on your fork travel (dropper posts assumed, because they are like having 3 bikes in one). We went with 42" because we are willing to give up some headroom to be able to leave the front wheels on.

gltrimble said:

39-41” bed height is my sweet spot. Just high enough for most fixed seat posts to clear and enough head space in the bed to sit upright.

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For those looking closely at the install pictures above do not use my grab handles as a height reference. I shortened the rear grab handles approximately one inch and lowered them slightly to clear the bed panels. They are mounted using 5/16” rivnuts with one of the holes being an empty existing factory hole. This avoids having to notch my custom bed panels to clear the grab handles. The lower grab handle height actually works out better on my 4x4 which now sits 3-4” higher than stock.

When deciding on bed height I had two choices: 1) spend 30 seconds removing the front wheel on the bike. 2) spend 8 hours in a cramped bed. Easy decision.


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Just wanted to add an update for anyone who may be thinking of getting a MOAB bed from Adventure Wagon. We have a low roof and have spent the last year investigating various bed set ups (the van height/length/bed/bikes/dirtbikes/dog/fridge/sometimes passengers, tetris game), where everything seemed to be just a few inches wrong. We managed to find a two person bench seat, so that gave us a little more room to play around with and we have six floor mounts, so we can move the bench seat forward if the bed is deployed, or move it back if only two panels are in place (the third panel sits snugly on top of the middle panel).

Yesterday we installed the bed. And it's freakin' awesome! I don't care what anyone says about the price. It's worth every cent. Because the bamboo is so strong, it's not as thick as regular ply, so that already shaves half an inch of the height of a bed. We bought two sets of rails and plan to keep one up high to quickly move the bed panels out of the way, rather than unscrewing a set of rails and moving them up and down.

Here's some pics. We managed to get the top of the bed down to 35" as the underside of the bed isn't solid, so the bikes can be put in at a slight angle and then upright when in it's bike mount. This is leaving us with 29" of headroom (not including the Exped mats, which will take a couple of inches away from the overall).

Hope this helps someone else who may have bought a low roof.

I would suggest sitting on the mattress you intend to use. Have someone measure your sitting height from the ground. Add an inch or so, and use that. Being unable to sit-up in bed can be annoying.

Here is our 4 bike setup (work in progress). For us (5' 4" to 5' 8"), road bike seats are taller than handlebars. The MTB have dropper posts, so their seat height is not a concern.



While we do not plan to build a bed platform, we have put some thought into it. Everything is a trade off and we decided that our minimum clearance would not mandate the ability to sit up in bed. Instead we went with "lie on you back and stick your arm up". The minimum clearance for us is the ability to put you hand flat on the ceiling. That should give enough clearance to roll over without hitting your head.

Our two bike setup does not remove the front wheels, but does mean the bikes are taller. Early prototype:

https://youtu.be/ssLwxF0yJLU

gltrimble said:

When deciding on bed height I had two choices: 1) spend 30 seconds removing the front wheel on the bike. 2) spend 8 hours in a cramped bed. Easy decision.

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Do you sleep sitting up? Many modern thru-axles do not have quick releases and you have to put your front wheels some place, so your simplistic reasoning falls short. Lack of headroom is a drawback but it depends on one’s priorities. Having spent decades in pop top Westfalias we are very used to having limited room in bed.

radair603 said:

Do you sleep sitting up? Many modern thru-axles do not have quick releases and you have to put your front wheels some place, so your simplistic reasoning falls short. Lack of headroom is a drawback but it depends on one’s priorities. Having spent decades in pop top Westfalias we are very used to having limited room in bed.

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You are obviously not a biker if you are struggling to remove your front axle. I am currently riding in Hurricane, Utah. Brought multiple bikes along of which only one has a quick release. Sleeping in comfort is a priority for me. The bikes do not complain about their tight quarters either.







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haha, I'm not struggling to remove my front axles at all. And we still sleep in comfort, if you can believe that.

I love the St. George/Hurricane area; such great riding.

I also have the AdventureWagon Moab bed. It's one of, if not the best, aspects of my van. I love the adjustability as I need to accommodate mountain bikes and motorcycles, which don't have the benefit of removing the front wheel. Removing the front wheel all the time is a bit of a drag. I've been thinking of getting the new bicycle wheel chock from RB Components, which allows you to secure a bike without removing the wheels:
https://rbcomponents.com/collections/chocks/products/l-track-bicycle-wheel-chock

Of course, this means a taller bed height during travel.

I understand AdventureWagon is soon to release a less expensive Moab bed that doesn't use bamboo, but a textured plastic material. I've seen it and it's nice looking. As much as I love the bamboo, I would have gone that route had it been available when I purchased my bed.

hambleton said:

I also have the AdventureWagon Moab bed. It's one of, if not the best, aspects of my van. I love the adjustability as I need to accommodate mountain bikes and motorcycles, which don't have the benefit of removing the front wheel. Removing the front wheel all the time is a bit of a drag. I've been thinking of getting the new bicycle wheel chock from RB Components, which allows you to secure a bike without removing the wheels:
https://rbcomponents.com/collections/chocks/products/l-track-bicycle-wheel-chock

Of course, this means a taller bed height during travel.

I understand AdventureWagon is soon to release a less expensive Moab bed that doesn't use bamboo, but a textured plastic material. I've seen it and it's nice looking. As much as I love the bamboo, I would have gone that route had it been available when I purchased my bed.

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Darn, I would have gone that route too! Oh well.

For the no wheels off install, I really like our One Up mounts.

Early prototype. The final version is narrower.

https://youtu.be/ssLwxF0yJLU

hambleton said:

I've been thinking of getting the new bicycle wheel chock from RB Components, which allows you to secure a bike without removing the wheels:
https://rbcomponents.com/collections/chocks/products/l-track-bicycle-wheel-chock

Of course, this means a taller bed height during travel.

Click to expand...

This would be cool to convert from loading the mtn bikes to the fatbikes depending on season. I'll need to look at this some more.

My current plan (not executed yet) it too have the bed height so I can slide the bike in with post dropped and wheel off. Then our most of the time use to have the rear and middle bed platform out, and store bikes in with front wheel on. My thought it that it wont take long to deploy the bed, and the truth is I will use it more for day trips without the bed needed than I will over night stuff.

If they made a solid electric dropper post I could get the platform lower.....

It was suggested to me to see how difficult it was to remove my internally routed dropper post. Turns out it is really easy. I picked up a nice quick release clamp to make it easier.

This takes my bike from 33" tall to 29.2" tall.

cyotani said:

What is a good bed height to accommodate your typical mountain bike setup with front wheel removed and seat post removed? I've read anywhere from 36" to 42". But when I've measured a few bikes and it was closer to 32"

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I'm in the process of building a similar bike tray for my Sprinter. I've got 36" of clearance and it's going to be a tight fit for my two 54cm bikes. Something I didn't take into account initially was the inch or so I'd be losing to the actual bike tray. What I'd recommend is taking off your front wheel and throwing your bike into the back of your van. Measure to the tallest point of your saddle, and then add an inch or two.

In case you're still looking for parts:

• Out of all the locking extension slides I looked at, I found these to be the best deal. They extend to 3x their length, so you don't need to go with the longer/more expensive ones.
• And Evo makes a good fork mount.

I have 34" underneath my bed, but no fork mounts or trays yet. I take front wheel off, drop the saddle, place the bike under the bed, then hit the dropper lever to "lock" the bike into place under the bed.

Road bikes and tall people's MTBs are a bit trickier, as I need to put them in at an angle, and they're not really secured. I think when I re-do the bed I'll raise it up to 35" or 36".